An Interesting Take on the idea of the Writer In Fictional Works

legit cackled writing this

EXT. THE ASHEN WASTES OF MORDOR – DAY

(Frodo and Sam stagger across the desolate, cracked earth of Mordor. The looming, smoky shadow of Mount Doom dominates the horizon. Their faces are drawn with exhaustion, but they trudge on, ever forward. The oppressive heat and evil of the land presses down on them. As they walk, a conversation stirs, breaking the silence.)

SAM -- (breathing heavily)
You know, Mr. Frodo, I don’t mean to sound dim, but I can’t help thinking... all this talk about struggle leading to something greater? It’s starting to sound like that’s all there is—struggle. Like the whole world’s just built to be one long, miserable battle, and no matter what we do, we’re stuck in it. Doesn’t matter if it’s orcs or Gollum or the blasted Ring itself—we just keep on fighting. And for what?

FRODO -- (quietly, but firm)
It’s not just struggle for struggle’s sake, Sam. It’s... progress. Hegel says the world moves through contradiction and conflict because that’s how it evolves. Two opposing forces come together, clash, and out of that struggle, something new—something better—emerges. It’s a synthesis.

SAM -- (skeptical)
Better? Better for who? Can’t say I see much of that coming out of Mordor. Looks to me like all this clashing and contradicting just makes things worse. More suffering, more pain. You call that progress? Seems more like a lot of talk from someone who’s never had to carry the blasted Ring.

FRODO -- (with conviction, though clearly fatigued)
I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m saying that the struggle itself has meaning. Hegel believed that the spirit of history—what he called Geist—moves forward because of the conflict. Every age has its battles, and through them, the world becomes something new. Think of Karl, the dwarven philosopher. He told the dwarves that their greed, their obsession with mining deeper and deeper into the earth, would destroy them. And it did. But out of that collapse came something new—new ideas about how to live, about fairness and equality.

SAM -- (bitterly)
Aye, and all it took was a Balrog and a ruined kingdom. Great progress, that.

(Sam wipes sweat from his brow, wincing as he shifts the weight of the pack on his shoulders.)
SAM -- Look, Mr. Frodo, I’m not saying there’s no point to all this. But you make it sound like everything that happens—good or bad—has to be part of some grand design, like the world’s always working toward some perfect end. Well, I don’t see it. To me, it’s just people trying to get by, trying to make the best of what they’ve got. Ain’t no need to make it more complicated than that.

FRODO -- (slightly defensive)
But that’s the thing, Sam. It is complicated. The world isn’t just about getting by. It’s about change. Growth. Hegel called it the dialectic—thesis, antithesis, and then synthesis. It’s like how we’re drawn to the Ring’s power—that’s the thesis. But we resist it—that’s the antithesis. And out of that conflict, we create something new. Maybe it’s a world where the Ring doesn’t hold sway over anyone anymore. A world where people are free.

SAM -- (raising an eyebrow)
And what about the people who don’t make it through the struggle, eh? What about them? I reckon they’re not so worried about fancy words like ‘thesis’ and ‘synthesis.’ They’re just trying to survive, Mr. Frodo. Look at Boromir. He didn’t get a chance to ‘synthesize.’ He didn’t get some happy ending out of his conflict with the Ring.

FRODO -- (somber, reflecting)
I know, Sam. Believe me, I know. Boromir... he couldn’t break free from the Ring’s power. But that doesn’t mean his struggle didn’t matter. In a way, Boromir was part of the process too. He showed us what the Ring does—how it corrupts. And in that, there’s a kind of... lesson. Something we can carry with us.

SAM -- (snapping back)
But that’s just it, isn’t it? You talk like there’s always some grand meaning to be found in everything. Maybe there isn’t. Maybe some things are just... bad. Evil. Maybe we’re not meant to learn from them. Maybe we just have to get through them.

(Sam stops walking for a moment, looking out at the barren wasteland around them.)
SAM
I don’t need a dialectic to tell me that this land—Mordor—it’s just plain wrong. The orcs, the Ring, all of it. Ain’t no progress in this place, Mr. Frodo. Just darkness. We don’t need to “synthesize” anything from it—we just need to finish what we started and be done with it.

FRODO -- (tired but resolute)
Maybe you’re right, Sam. Maybe Mordor is just... wrong. But the world beyond it, the world we can build once this is over—that’s what matters. We carry the weight of the Ring, yes, but we also carry the hope of something better. And maybe that’s what the dialectic really is—our fight against the worst parts of the world, so that one day, we can live in a better one.
(Sam looks at Frodo for a moment, weighing his words. Then, with a sigh, he adjusts his pack and starts walking again.)

SAM -- You’ve been spending too much time with Gandalf. Always talkin’ like there’s some grand purpose behind all the trouble. Well, I’ll tell you this much, Mr. Frodo. I won’t be thinkin’ about any dialectics once we’re back in the Shire. I’ll be thinkin’ about a warm hearth, a hot meal, and Rosie Cotton’s smile. And I reckon that’ll be progress enough for me.

(Frodo smiles weakly, his hand unconsciously drifting to the chain around his neck, the weight of the Ring ever-present.)

FRODO
Maybe that’s the real synthesis, Sam. The Shire. Peace. Something simple and good, born from all this darkness. A world where we don’t need power to be happy.

SAM -- (grinning)
Now that’s a dialectic I can get behind. But first, we’ve got to finish this. And that means gettin’ to Mount Doom, whatever debates we’re having along the way.

PAN UP TO MT. DOOM. FADE
 

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