There is a beautiful moment in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Return of the King” that emphasizes a key, reoccurring motif throughout the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy: In the deepest, darkest depths of despair, hope can still be found. After rescuing Frodo from the clutches of orcs in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, Samwise begins the slow trek up Mount Doom to help destroy the Ring of Power. Frodo, having lost his physical and mental fortitude to continue the trek, collapses. In this moment, Sam looks skyward and witnesses the clouds parting to reveal one bright star: “The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its …