The third and forth books of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings no longer just focus on the power of the One Ring, but also the corruption and spread of good and evil all across Middle-Earth. At this point in the novel, the main characters have been separated for a long time and have all experienced their own temptations. The majority of the main characters have now acted in a certain way that shows slight corruption of their moral ideologies by their environment, therefore expressing a common theme between all humans explored in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago.
The ending of the third book of The Lord of the Rings follows Gandalf and the rest of his crew, excluding Frodo and Sam who are traveling to destroy the ring. Gandalf’s group works with the King of Rohan to fight off a Saruman and a group of Orcs that threaten the city. The forth book begins with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum reaching the gates of Mordor, but are unable to enter. The hobbits choose to travel around to a back entrance, where they meet a local army and continue to question Gollum’s loyalty. In the last chapter of the third book, Pippin briefly steals a strange orb from Gandalf that the group accidently received from Sauron. Tolkien states that “Pippin bent low over it(the orb), looking like a greedy child stooping over a bowl of food, in a corner away from the others” (592). Gandalf catches him and tells him that it is called a Palantir, and he has possibly put them all in danger. This quote and scene shows that even Pippin, who is supposedly one of the “purest” of the group has a moment of greed and his brief curiosity reveals the corruptive abilities of power.
Part Four of The Gulag Archipelago discusses what Solzhenitsyn believes he learned about himself and others during his imprisonment. The first chapter deals with the concepts of “good and evil” and it’s presence in humanity. Solzhenitsyn states that “even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains… an unuprooted small corner of evil” (312). This is shown through many characters in The Lord of the Rings. Pippin’s pull toward the Palantir shows the “small corner of evil. Gollum assisting Frodo and Sam shows his “bridgehead of good” even though it is more due to his loyalty to the ring. Gollum could have just stolen the ring, but he chooses to help Frodo and Sam. This reflects on the idea of “good and evil” being in everyone, and their actions toward possible power shows which one is more prevalent.