The Value of Friendship to Overcome Racial Differences and Discrimination Illustrated in J.R.R. Tolkien’s the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

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Friendship is an amazing opportunity to know another person. It is knowing another person’s likes and dislikes. Friendship is going on trips together. Friends have similar interests and enjoy spending time together. Friends have things in common. Friendship means being there when the trouble settles in and knowing someone has your back in any situation. Friends can have a disagreement but still respect each other and work through it in the long run. Friendship adds value to one’s life. A friend has strength to support another’s weakness. A friend is someone who provides encouragement to do what must be done. A friend adds enjoyment and opportunity to another’s life. Friendship improves the quality and outcome of a person’s activities. These are some examples of why friendships are made, kept and maintained. According to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a friendship is “the state of being friends” (Friendship). The same dictionary says that a friend is “one attached to another by affection or esteem” (Friends). Another definition is that a friend is “a favorite companion” (Friends). The MacMillan English Dictionary says that a friendship is “a relationship between people who are friends” (Friendship) and the same dictionary defines a friend as “someone that you know well and like that is not a member of your family” (Friend). These definitions are adequate but simply do not explain how others become a friend or how friendships are formed and maintained. What fosters friendship between individuals and, in particular, very different individuals? Is it possible, for example, for individuals to overcome issues like racial discrimination to form real friendship? Is it possible to disregard long-standing stereotypes based simply on race and to truly become friends? Where or how do we learn to overcome differences? Is it possible to learn

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