Lord of the Rings: an allegory of the PhD?
A friend just sent me this. Oh, so true...
http://bfg.hpc.susx.ac.uk/~irene/lord_of_the_rings.pdf
"Lord of the Rings: an allegory of the PhD?"
The story starts with Frodo: a young hobbit, quite bright, a bit dissatisfied with what he's learnt
so far and with his mates back home who just seem to want to get jobs and settle down and drink
beer. He's also very much in awe of his tutor and mentor, the very senior professor Gandalf, so
when Gandalf suggests he take on a short project for him (carrying the Ring to Rivendell), he
agrees.
Frodo very quickly encounters the shadowy forces of fear and despair which will haunt the rest
of his journey and leave permanent scars on his psyche, but he also makes some useful friends.
In particular, he spends an evening down the pub with Aragorn, who has been wandering the
world for many years as Gandalf's postdoc and becomes his adviser when Gandalf isn't around.
After Frodo has completed his first project, Gandalf (along with head of department Elrond)
proposes that the work should be extended. He assembles a large research group, including
visiting students Gimli and Legolas, the foreign postdoc Boromir, and several of Frodo's own
friends from his undergraduate days. Frodo agrees to tackle this larger project, though he has
mixed feelings about it. ("'I will take the Ring', he said, 'although I do not know the way.'")
Very rapidly, things go wrong. First, Gandalf disappears and has no more interaction with Frodo
until everything is over. (Frodo assumes his supervisor is dead: in fact, he's simply found a more
interesting topic and is working on that instead.) At his first international conference in Lorien,
Frodo is cross-questioned terrifyingly by Galadriel, and betrayed by Boromir, who is anxious to
get the credit for the work himself. Frodo cuts himself off from the rest of his team: from now
on, he will only discuss his work with Sam, an old friend who doesn't really understand what it's
all about, but in any case is prepared to give Frodo credit for being rather cleverer than he is.
Then he sets out towards Mordor.
The last and darkest period of Frodo's journey clearly represents the writing-up stage, as he
struggles towards Mount Doom (submission), finding his burden growing heavier and heavier
yet more and more a part of himself; more and more terrified of failure; plagued by the figure of
Gollum, the student who carried the Ring before him but never wrote up and still hangs around
as a burnt-out, jealous shadow; talking less and less even to Sam. When he submits the Ring to
the fire, it is in desperate confusion rather than with confidence, and for a while the world seems
empty.
Eventually it is over: the Ring is gone, everyone congratulates him, and for a few days he can
convince himself that his troubles are over. But there is one more obstacle to overcome: months
later, back in the Shire, he must confront the external examiner Saruman, an old enemy of
Gandalf, who seeks to humiliate and destroy his rival's protege. With the help of his friends and
colleagues, Frodo passes through this ordeal, but discovers at the end that victory has no value
left for him. While his friends return to settling down and finding jobs and starting families,
Frodo remains in limbo; finally, along with Gandalf, Elrond and many others, he joins the brain
drain across the Western ocean to the new land beyond.
http://bfg.hpc.susx.ac.uk/~irene/lord_of_the_rings.pdf
"Lord of the Rings: an allegory of the PhD?"
The story starts with Frodo: a young hobbit, quite bright, a bit dissatisfied with what he's learnt
so far and with his mates back home who just seem to want to get jobs and settle down and drink
beer. He's also very much in awe of his tutor and mentor, the very senior professor Gandalf, so
when Gandalf suggests he take on a short project for him (carrying the Ring to Rivendell), he
agrees.
Frodo very quickly encounters the shadowy forces of fear and despair which will haunt the rest
of his journey and leave permanent scars on his psyche, but he also makes some useful friends.
In particular, he spends an evening down the pub with Aragorn, who has been wandering the
world for many years as Gandalf's postdoc and becomes his adviser when Gandalf isn't around.
After Frodo has completed his first project, Gandalf (along with head of department Elrond)
proposes that the work should be extended. He assembles a large research group, including
visiting students Gimli and Legolas, the foreign postdoc Boromir, and several of Frodo's own
friends from his undergraduate days. Frodo agrees to tackle this larger project, though he has
mixed feelings about it. ("'I will take the Ring', he said, 'although I do not know the way.'")
Very rapidly, things go wrong. First, Gandalf disappears and has no more interaction with Frodo
until everything is over. (Frodo assumes his supervisor is dead: in fact, he's simply found a more
interesting topic and is working on that instead.) At his first international conference in Lorien,
Frodo is cross-questioned terrifyingly by Galadriel, and betrayed by Boromir, who is anxious to
get the credit for the work himself. Frodo cuts himself off from the rest of his team: from now
on, he will only discuss his work with Sam, an old friend who doesn't really understand what it's
all about, but in any case is prepared to give Frodo credit for being rather cleverer than he is.
Then he sets out towards Mordor.
The last and darkest period of Frodo's journey clearly represents the writing-up stage, as he
struggles towards Mount Doom (submission), finding his burden growing heavier and heavier
yet more and more a part of himself; more and more terrified of failure; plagued by the figure of
Gollum, the student who carried the Ring before him but never wrote up and still hangs around
as a burnt-out, jealous shadow; talking less and less even to Sam. When he submits the Ring to
the fire, it is in desperate confusion rather than with confidence, and for a while the world seems
empty.
Eventually it is over: the Ring is gone, everyone congratulates him, and for a few days he can
convince himself that his troubles are over. But there is one more obstacle to overcome: months
later, back in the Shire, he must confront the external examiner Saruman, an old enemy of
Gandalf, who seeks to humiliate and destroy his rival's protege. With the help of his friends and
colleagues, Frodo passes through this ordeal, but discovers at the end that victory has no value
left for him. While his friends return to settling down and finding jobs and starting families,
Frodo remains in limbo; finally, along with Gandalf, Elrond and many others, he joins the brain
drain across the Western ocean to the new land beyond.