Rope

"Rope!" cried Sam, talking wildly to himself in his excitement and relief. "Well, if I don't deserve to be hung on the end of one as a warning to numbskulls! You're nowt but a ninnyhammer, Sam Gamgee: that's what the Gaffer said to me often enough, it being a word of his. Rope!" -Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The rope is about twenty feet long, blue and white candy cane striped. Heavy-duty enough for any job I will ever use it for and then some, it now hangs from a shelf bracket in my room. I looks rather out of place and forlorn in my bedroom. Somehow the rope doesn't seem quite right with the rest of my room. Filled with piles of books, pictures of proms and friends, my laptop computer, and art supplies, my room seems to rebell against the rope hanging in it.

I received the length of rope as a graduation present along with the previous quote from a friend of mine. The quote, handwritten by my friend, hangs in my room, ready to be shown to those that are baffled by the rope. I don't really say much. I show them the quote, explaining that it was a graduation present. Somehow the rope's meaning to me can't be described in words. How does one go about explaining something they only feel? I usually receive a weird smile or grin, as we quickly move on to something else.

It was the most creative graduation present I recieved. Simple and practical, it also holds a lot of meaning. It is a constant reminder of his friendship and a link to our shared joy of Tolkien. I also see it as a symbol that all my friends, him include, are there when I need them, ready to toss me that length of 'rope' and pull me out of the whirlpools of life. The rope looking so out of place in my room, also represents all those times that I too have felt out of place and will again feel out of place in life. We will not all end up doing what we plan on doing with our lives. The rope did not choose it's location, just as I didn't choose it, but here we are, together for life. Life is full of examples of chance, luck, and fate.

We can not all be lengths of rope used to tie up a boat. Some of use must be the ropes that sit in the trunk of a car for years, just incase the car ends up in the ditch on an icy day. Some of us must be that rope that is hung on a nail in the garage, waiting for the various and sundry tasks it will preform. Other will used to hang a tire swing in an old oak tree. Some of use will be that rope used year after year as a family moves time and time again. Others worse off, will end up as the length of rope used to hang a person in an act of hatred. Life is not always pretty. Life is not always what we expect. We do not always get to choose what becomes of the circumstances surrounding our life. It is our job in life to be the best piece of rope we can be. Whatever our path in life, we must make sure to never come unravelled, unwound. We must make the best of whatever our job in life may be.

I'm not really sure if I see the rope the same way my friend saw it to me when he gave it to me. Perhaps he just thought of the practical uses for a rope, or saw it as an interesting gift. But maybe that is the beauty of the gift, that it can mean so many different things to so many different people.

As I leave for college in the fall, the rope will find its way to a box and move with me. It will again hang in a location not typical of rope and will again bring strange looks and questions. The rope is not for other people, though. It is for me, a constant reminder of all the rope means to me.

If anyone can give me a page number, etc. for the quote above I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Rope has been made since the early Stone Age, from whatever materials were available. For European hunter-gatherers, ten thousand years ago, that would be flax, grown specifically to make rope. For the Persians or Egyptians, papyrus was also used. Nowadays, both vegetable fibres and synthetic materials are used to produce rope, though synthetics enjoy a greater level of popularity.

It is no surprise that humanity has developed rope-making in such a way, and it is unthinkable that there will ever come a time when the common, simple rope will become obsolete. Rope provides us with the means to delve into the deepest cave, to seek out fuel or food in remote places, to move over rugged terrain with everything securely held on pack animals or vehicles. It joins things together, and in doing so keeps things safe. Rope was essential for the block and tackle construction techniques of the medieval stone masons, and the vital tool of the Egyptian labour forces. Thick, strong cord keeps mountain climbers off the ground, and (for the rest of us) those thin, black cords keep our shoes on our feet. And of course, it's only when your pockets are completely rope-free that you realise how useful a length of cord could be...

Vegetable Fibre Cordage

Until this century, rope was made from shredded, combed and graded fibres of plant stems; maybe flax or jute. Alternately, the leaves of sisal or hemp provided a tough, suitable fibre. Fibres attached to seeds, such as cotton, or the fibrous husk of coconut shells (coir) were also suitable.

If plants weren't available, horse, camel or even human hair were just as usable, though vegetable fibres were far more common. For obvious reasons, such ropes are referred to as natural fibre. These fibres were spun clockwise to create long yarns. Several yarns would be twisted anticlockwise to form strands. Finally, three strands would be laid together and spun clockwise to create a typical rope.

The resulting cord was relatively strong, but prone to abrasion, and, in many cases, the natural fibres could become prey to mildew, rot, vermin or insects. It might swell when damp, and in icy conditions could easily freeze and simply break. Nevertheless, in their time, natural fibre rope was an incredibly useful tool, and an important aspect of humanity's historical development.

Some natural fibre rope remains in use. Those thick ropes in the gym are commonly made of high-quality hemp cordage, and coir ropes grace more than one boat fender. On a less practical note, the interior decor of your everyday nautically-inclined theme pub would be far less authentic without their multiple yards of natural fibre rope. (Decide for yourself whether the eradication of nautically-themed pubs would be adequate reason to ban natural fibre ropes...)

Synthetic Cordage

As technology improved, so did rope-making. In the 1930s the basic elements for synthetic cordage were discovered and developed. Fine, continuous clusters of multifilaments, less than 50 microns in diameter became a real possibility. The production of coarser monofilaments was perfected, and flat, narrow strings could be produced through careful extrusion of synthetic chemicals.

Such synthetic materials are stronger and lighter than their vegetable counterparts. A three-strand nylon rope is more than twice as strong as a manila one, yet weighs half as much and can last four times longer. They do not lose strength from being wet, have high breaking strength and can withstand sudden shock loading.

This is not to say that synthetic ropes do not have their own shortcomings. They are susceptible to heat, and thus friction can easily cause softening, melting or, most disastrously, parting. That said, polyamide produces the strongest man-made cordage, and Polyester, Terylene, Dacron and polypropylene offer common alternatives. In situations where strength is required and friction can be minimised, synthetic cordage is an unparalleled choice.

Sources: Hutchinson's Encyclopaedia, Google, Knots and Ropework (Geoffrey Budworth).

Rope (?), n. [AS. rap; akin to D. reep, G. reif ring hoop, Icel. reip rope, Sw. rep, Dan. reb, reeb Goth. skaudaraip latchet.]

1.

A large, stout cord, usually one not less than an inch in circumference, made of strands twisted or braided together. It differs from cord, line, and string, only in its size. See Cordage.

2.

A row or string consisting of a number of things united, as by braiding, twining, etc.; as, a rope of onions.

3. pl.

The small intestines; as, the ropes of birds.

Rope ladder, a ladder made of ropes. -- Rope mat., a mat made of cordage, or strands of old rope. -- Rope of sand, something of no cohession or fiber; a feeble union or tie; something not to be relied upon. -- Rope pump, a pump in which a rapidly running endless rope raises water by the momentum communicated to the water by its adhesion to the rope. -- Rope transmission Mach., a method of transmitting power, as between distant places, by means of endless ropes running over grooved pulleys. -- Rope's end, a piece of rope; especially, one used as a lash in inflicting punishment. -- To give one rope, to give one liberty or license; to let one go at will uncheked.

© Webster 1913.

Rope (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Roped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Roping.]

To be formed into rope; to draw out or extend into a filament or thread, as by means of any glutinous or adhesive quality.

Let us not hang like ropingicicles Upon our houses' thatch. Shak.

© Webster 1913.

Rope, v. t.

1.

To bind, fasten, or tie with a rope or cord; as, to rope a bale of goods.

2.

To connect or fasten together, as a party of mountain climbers, with a rope.

3.

To partition, separate, or divide off, by means of a rope, so as to include or exclude something; as, to rope in, or rope off, a plot of ground; to rope out a crowd.

4.

To lasso (a steer, horse).

5.

To draw, as with a rope; to entice; to inveigle; to decoy; as, to rope in customers or voters.

6.

To prevent from winning (as a horse), by pulling or curbing.

© Webster 1913.