Todorov's narrative structure: The Lord of the rings
Todorov's narrative structure: The Lord of the rings
Todorov's narrative structure is the theory that most stories follow the same narrative structure which consists of five parts: equilibrium, disruption, recognition, repair and finally a new equilibrium. He proposed that this was to keep the reader intrigued so that they keep reading or watching.
In this essay i will be using J.R.R Tolkiens series of books/films 'The Lord of the rings' to analyse how Todorov's narrative structure is presented.
EQUILIBRIUM:
During the equilibrium stage of the film we see Bilbo Baggins hand down the main prop in the film which is the 'one ring' to Frodo, that as far as we know is rightfully the creature, Gollum's property as it was stolen from his cave after he stole it from Sauron during the ancient battle for middle earth. After Frodo accepts the ring the wizard Gandalf is introduces him to the quest that comes with it. This is intriguing to the audience as although everything is normal at this point it is clear that Frodo's quest will bring challenges and danger.
DISRUPTION:
The next step in the films structure is the disruption which moves the narrative forward, this comes when Frodo begins his quest alongside his friends, Sam, Merri and Pippin whilst none of them are aware of the great danger that lies ahead. At the same point we get to see that the villain Sauron has sent out nine 'ringwraiths' to search for the ring that Frodo has. This causes tension and interest to rise amongst the audience due to the fact that we know that there is going to be a battle yet there is still some mystery regarding why the ring is so important, this encourages the audience to continue watching and makes the quest seem even more thrilling as it has now turned into a chase and has broken away from the 'normal ' scenes that we were initially introduced to.
RECOGNITION:
We see that the people of Rohan (a village in middle earth) as well as Frodo and his friends recognise the danger of the war that is about to occur due to the one ring resurfacing, so they begin to move to Helms deep just as the orcs attack on Saurons command in search of the ring.
Now that such intense action has begun the audience are likely to be immensely engaged by what will happen next and will be waiting for the next step in the structure of the movie, which, according to Todorov's structure is the repair, therefore continuing to move the storyline along and develop the plot for the viewers.
REPAIR:
Finally, Gandalf, Legolas and Aragorn have devised a plan to battle Sauron's army of orcs and ringwraiths so that Frodo is able to reach mount doom and destroy the ring in the volcano and restore peace to middle earth. The fact that this is the only way to bring peace back to Middle earth has the audience sitting on the edge of their seats, hoping that their plan goes smoothly and the ring is destroyed, this is the height of the viewers suspense and excitement as they get to see what will happen at the end of the plot.
NEW EQUILIBRIUM:
This is at the end of the film, Frodo manages to reach the peak of Mount Doom and destroys the ring and therefore destroys Sauron, overall restoring peace to Middle Earth. There is also a happy ending for Aragorn who marries Arwen and becomes the king of Rohan whilst Gandalf and Frodo set sail for the land of the demi gods, as the final part of Todorov's structure, the ending restores a 'new normal' and satisfies the audience as well as leaving the film open-ended, perhaps hinting that there would be a sequel.
In this essay i will be using J.R.R Tolkiens series of books/films 'The Lord of the rings' to analyse how Todorov's narrative structure is presented.
EQUILIBRIUM:
During the equilibrium stage of the film we see Bilbo Baggins hand down the main prop in the film which is the 'one ring' to Frodo, that as far as we know is rightfully the creature, Gollum's property as it was stolen from his cave after he stole it from Sauron during the ancient battle for middle earth. After Frodo accepts the ring the wizard Gandalf is introduces him to the quest that comes with it. This is intriguing to the audience as although everything is normal at this point it is clear that Frodo's quest will bring challenges and danger.DISRUPTION:
The next step in the films structure is the disruption which moves the narrative forward, this comes when Frodo begins his quest alongside his friends, Sam, Merri and Pippin whilst none of them are aware of the great danger that lies ahead. At the same point we get to see that the villain Sauron has sent out nine 'ringwraiths' to search for the ring that Frodo has. This causes tension and interest to rise amongst the audience due to the fact that we know that there is going to be a battle yet there is still some mystery regarding why the ring is so important, this encourages the audience to continue watching and makes the quest seem even more thrilling as it has now turned into a chase and has broken away from the 'normal ' scenes that we were initially introduced to.
RECOGNITION:
We see that the people of Rohan (a village in middle earth) as well as Frodo and his friends recognise the danger of the war that is about to occur due to the one ring resurfacing, so they begin to move to Helms deep just as the orcs attack on Saurons command in search of the ring.
REPAIR:
Finally, Gandalf, Legolas and Aragorn have devised a plan to battle Sauron's army of orcs and ringwraiths so that Frodo is able to reach mount doom and destroy the ring in the volcano and restore peace to middle earth. The fact that this is the only way to bring peace back to Middle earth has the audience sitting on the edge of their seats, hoping that their plan goes smoothly and the ring is destroyed, this is the height of the viewers suspense and excitement as they get to see what will happen at the end of the plot.NEW EQUILIBRIUM:
This is at the end of the film, Frodo manages to reach the peak of Mount Doom and destroys the ring and therefore destroys Sauron, overall restoring peace to Middle Earth. There is also a happy ending for Aragorn who marries Arwen and becomes the king of Rohan whilst Gandalf and Frodo set sail for the land of the demi gods, as the final part of Todorov's structure, the ending restores a 'new normal' and satisfies the audience as well as leaving the film open-ended, perhaps hinting that there would be a sequel.
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