When I was reading The Return of the King, the third book in the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien, I noticed that there was a theme of justice involved in it, and it can relate to the real world. I think the theme that includes justice is that justice can sometimes be cruel or violent, and not perfect.
In the book, "justice" would mean the destruction of Mordor, an evil power, and getting the ring of power destroyed as well. In this case, this would Mordor would be blocking justice from being served because it tries to prevent its destruction and the destruction of the ring. In the book, there is a circle of people and places blocking, protecting, or serving justice. Frodo, the main character who has to destroy the ring, is the person who brings justice, by destroying the ring, and therefore destroying Mordor as well. The Fellowship of the Ring, the people protecting Frodo, are protecting justice. They don't serve it, but they help block people trying to block justice. The kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan also are protectors of justice because they also try to stop Mordor from having an effect on Frodo. The theme relates to this because it was a very violent justice being served- the destruction of nations and many people. It doesn't just come easily and smoothly.
When reading the book, it appeared to me that the people had wants that made them on the side they were on. Mordor, on one hand, wanted power, so they were the antagonists, who would not want justice to be served upon them. Rohan, Gondor, and the Fellowship want to protect their land, so they end up protecting justice, to make sure it can be served. Frodo wants more than anything to get over the whole war and to live in peace, so he is an unlikely candidate to carry out the justice, but he ends up being the one to serve justice in the end- which changes his character. This shows that their wants influence their purpose when it comes to who serves justice, and who tries to block it. Also, because the antagonists are very successful, doing a lot of damage to many people, the justice being served is harsh in turn.
This scenario of justice can be seen in the real world too. In World War Two, the roles of the Axis and Allies are quite similar to those in The Return of the King. The Axis, like Mordor, look for power. They are the antagonists who started everything. They also do cruel things, so that's why justice is supposed to be served to them. The Allies have both the roles of protecting justice and serving it. They protect justice by fighting off the Axis powers from their lands, and serve it by finally attacking and winning the war. The main difference in this is that there is no "Ring", it is more of a collective effort. Obviously, the post-war effects of WWII were devastating to many people- with extreme casualties and the destruction of towns, cities, and economies. Even though it isn't a clone, this shows that in the real world, there are scenarios that show things close to this scheme of justice from The Return of the King.
Overall, there is a lot of justice at play. It is harsh, and not simply delivered. It also has many real-world scenarios that have similar roles of justice involved. This makes the book enjoyable- it isn't obvious and simple to understand, and it is very relate able.
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