Gandalf’s quote and Allison’s thesis both share the idea that everyone must do little things to prevent the rise of darkness. Gandalf’s quote is supported by Allison’s Essay in many ways. Gandalf mentions that he does not believe that it is great power that holds evil in check and Allison confirms this. She states that even 10 years after Apartheid there is still institutionalized racism. Even though the racist government is gone and South Africa has a non-racist government(the great power) the people can not withhold the racist attitudes implanted into their minds. Gandalf then finishes his quote “it is the small deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay.”This point is also justified in Allison’s essay when she says “I believe it matters in some infinitesimal way that people… who may walk alongside me on any given day, know that I’m there.” Allison knows that walking in the rain may not seem like a huge act; but, she does know that in some tiny way it matters to the people of Africa who are discriminated by the institutionalized racism. Gandalf’s quotes can also be applied to modern day events like Global Warming. The Governments(Great Power) can try their best by setting up laws and making the citizens more aware of the problem. Yet, most middle and low class citizens have a conventional attitude towards some of the ideas the government establishes. One example could be composting: Composting was not a huge deal during our childhoods; therefore, we still hold this idea that composting isn’t important and rather than sorting our compost, recycling and garbage, we throw it all into the garbage because that attitude is stuck in our minds. To make a change it takes the efforts of the ordinary folk and their small acts of kindness to our environment. Even though it might not seem to make a huge difference. Taking a minute to sort your garbage is a small change that can make a huge difference in the world.