J.R.R Tolkien uses The Lord of The Rings to convey a message about the dangers and temptations of power and how hard it can be to combat it. In the beginning of book one in his series, Tolkien highlights the temptation of the ring, which represents immense power, therefore demonstrating how one can succumb to their own greed in search for power, becoming evil. The ring represents all the powers of Sauron, and can give its wearer the ability to conquer his or her enemies, making it seem like a useful tool in battle. However, the ring slowly corrupts its user, so much so that even the most innocent and good intentioned can turn evil. Tolkien highlights this early in the book, with Gandolf refusing to put on the ring in fear that he will become to powerful for his own good, and with Frodo having the “desire to get it[the ring] out from his pocket” as if he “slipped it on, he would be safe”. The temptation of this almost unlimited form of power is so overwhelming that nobody can refuse it. This idea is applicable to the real world with totalitarian powers such as Russia. These totalitarian states hold power as the most important part of its regime, refusing to do anything which may tarnish their power, and making decisions only in pursuit of more of it. In situations like that of Chernobyl, the Soviets refused to both acknowledge the meltdown or fix plants which have the same problems as that of the Chernobyl reactors, as both of these would tarnish their reputation and in turn hurt their image powerful which they have worked endlessly to build. Overall, Tolkien uses the ring as a symbol for how power can only corrupt and is one of the most dangerous things to pursue.