Freedom in Braveheart and the Lord of the Rings :: Braveheart Lord of the Rings Essays

The Power of Freedom in Braveheart and the Lord of the Rings How far would you go to defend freedom? Would you overcome impossible odds? In the films â€Å"Braveheart† and â€Å"The Lord of the Rings,† the main characters, Mel Gibson and Elijah Wood, go to the ends of the earth to achieve their goals and bring freedom to the people within their society. The two main plots emphasize the concept that no matter what nation you live under, any man or woman will fight to defend their right to freedom. In â€Å"Braveheart†, Mel Gibson, plays William Wallace. In the movie his wife is brutally killed by one of the English kings. Before the death of his wife, Wallace also experiences the death of his brother and father by the hands of the same aggressor when he was a child. After this he decides that any aggressive action against those he holds dear will not be left unavenged. The day of his wife’s death, William waited for his wife at a secret hiding place and when he finds out she isn’t coming because she was killed, he takes the ways of the law into his own hands. When William becomes a revolutionary he leads the Scottish people to an uprising against the English government. William then begins to de-thrown all the kings in the English region. He loses all sense of inhibition while pursuing his desire to avenge his loved ones’ death and brings freedom to his people. â€Å"The Lord of the Rings† is a movie about the plight of mankind while defending itself against a great evil of a supernatural kind. In this movie, the main character, Frodo Baggins, played by Elijah Woods, must protect the ring of power on an arduous journey across the country in an attempt to destroy the ring. If he fails, all of mankind will be destroyed and ruled by sorcerers and unseen forces of evil. Although he faces many grueling obstacles during his journey, his determination and knowledge of the possible disintegration of the human race fuels him and gives him the strength to complete his journey. In the end, after many trials and near death experiences-not to mention the loss of close friends and his own personal struggles centered around the power the ring has over him-he accomplishes his goal and successfully destroys the ring and brings freedom to mankind.