Throughout this week’s readings there were many parallels in Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. In the Gulag Archipelago, specifically these past chapters we read Solzhenitsyn describes the conditions in which these prisoners are transported. Every prisoner must travel in, “cages, the floors and bunks surrounded on all sides by metal grilles, looking at you pitifully , begging for something to eat and drink. Except for menageries they never crowd the wild animals in so tightly.” (151) Starved and crowded, these prisoners are treated like animals with little respect or acknowledgment to the fact that they are also human beings. Solzhenitsyn explains how these passengers are only to bring their memories along with them, with the hope of using those someday to “grow” and “sprout” (158) from these evils they are enduring. Solzhenitsyn reminds readers that these prisoners who are being tortured ultimately are innocent and have not committed any sort of crime at all. Similar to the Lord of the Rings, Frodo is seen as a criminal because he possesses the one ring. In the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien introduces the black riders, who are a group that seeks to please Sauron however they can. The black riders, “‘They come from Mordor,’ said Strider in a low voice. ‘From Mordor, Barliman, if that means anything to you.’‘Save us!’ cried Mr. Butterbur turning pale.” (224) This group is feared because of the horrors they inflict in the book, they have little care for things not related to Sauron, like a meaningless life. Because Frodo has the one ring and Sauron wants it, the black riders are quick to attack Frodo. Frodo must deal with traps like the monster spider, being captured, and other obstacles. Although Frodo does not have to deal with beheadings and gruesome torture like the prisoners of the Gulag, Frodo is a different kind of prisoner himself to the one ring. In both scenarios the people in power are feared because of the pain they inflict around them. The way both the leaders of the Gulag and the black riders harm others to gain access to information as well as reach their goals is through fear. This type of leadership style highlights the totalitarian mindset instilled in these people. Both are more concerned about their status, power, and high rankings to be worried about the well being of others around them.