In Book 5, Chapter 6, and Chapter 7 of The Lord of the Rings, King Theoden is fatally wounded by the Nazgūl and dies on the field of battle (Ch 6, p 842). During these events, Denethor, who believes his son Faramir is dead, intends to burn his corpse. As the Battle of Pelennor Feild’s wages on the outside of the citadel, Denethor goes mad, because he feels all hope is lost. Gandalf and Pippin stop Denethor from burning Faramir alive. In a fit of blind rage, Denethor accidentally sets himself on fire and dies an unhonorable death. (Ch 7, p 854). Tolkien wrote these scenes to run parallel to each other in order to show the differences between King Theoden and Denethor. While Denethor hides inside of his Citadel, Theoden leads his men into battle. Both of these characters show both sides of man. Denethor had a Palantir in his possession which he was manipulated and corrupted by. On the other hand, Theoden broke free from Saruman’s curse and showed the loyalty of man. Regardless of the fact that Gondor did not come to Rohan’s aid at the Battle of Helms Deep King Theoden still came to the aid of Gondor.
Volume V, Chapters 1 and 2 of The Gulag Archipelago show the prisoners of the Gulag being moved to Germany and sent off to fight in the war (Ch 1, p 18). Many prisoners were given the opportunity to serve their country and fight in the war. Leaders such as Stalin and Hitler can be viewed similarly to Denethor. While their men fight for them, they stay behind in safety as opposed to joining them in battle. Although it is not as realistic to join in a world war as it is to join in a battle in a novel, President Eisenhower fought in World War II with his men.
The prisoners of the gulag being given the opportunity to fight for their country is similar to the army of the dead in Chapter 9 of The Lord of the Rings. The army of the dead is known as oathbreakers because they betrayed their fellow man and sided with the forces of Angmar. Due to their betrayal, the oathbreakers were cursed to live as wraiths. Aragorn gives them the opportunity to reclaim their honor by siding with man in the Battle of Pelennor Feilds. Aragorn tells the army of the dead that if they side with him, their curse shall be broken. Many prisoners who fought in WWII became war heroes for the Soviet Union. By siding with Aragorn and by taking the opportunity to fight in WWII, both the army of the dead and the prisoners of the Gulag were able to reclaim their honor.