The Literary Perspective

To some people, fiction is just that: fiction. But to others, fiction conceals, just beneath the surface of the plot and theme, symbolism alluding to the truths of the world, at least from the authors point of view. I must say that I am a staunch supporter of the second school of thought. No author just writes a story. Every word they put on paper has some kind of meaning to them. So, following that rationale, I sought to find a novel that would hold some kind of truth about what technology is. One classic story immediately came to mind: The Lord of the Rings. I'm not going to go into depth about the plot of the novels. Most everyone is probably familiar with it anyway, particularly since the release of the movies. However, I will state that in these timeless stories, Tolkien immortalizes his views on morality, warfare and even technology. Tolkien's view on technology is one that is barely considered in our tech-heavy society. Still, I believe it is worth mentioning for the sole purpose of painting a more complete picture of what technology is . Tolkien implies that technology is evil, corrupting and unnatural. His writing is filled with the theme that technology represents everything that is destroying Middle Earth. Indeed, the White Wizard's army of Uruk-hai is born of fire and industry. It is clear in The Lord of the Rings that the heroes fight for nature, purity, and preservation of the way things are. The villians, on the other hand, fight for technology, control, and the creation of a new order. Clearly this is an exaggerated view of the nature of technology, but is there some truth in it? Few can deny that more of the natural world is lost every day for the sake of technological progress. Are we under invasion even as we speak? Are we heading for a dark and evil end in our constant quest for advancement. Tolkien apparently thought so. Perhaps technology should be defined as an invasion. It is certainly changing our world, sometimes even without our consent. It is a common mentality with today's computerized populace that the world is changing and there is nothing that can be done about it. Everyone just assumes it is all for the sake of progress and everything will be all right in the end. Perhaps the only difference between the invasion of Middle Earth and our invasion by technology is that in Middle Earth, there was an external threat. We are up against a faceless adversary. But surely I'm being to cynical. Technology can't really be that bad, can it? I don't know. But it is definitely a possibility. The similarities are simply too numerous to ignore. Maybe in order to define technology I must look at it more a force in itself. Something with a set goal. Technology may be both the greatest ally and the greatest enemy mankind has ever faced.