J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

"Three Rings for the Eleven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his Dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie(Tolkien)." Master of storytelling J.R.R. Tolkien continues the lives of the fictitious creatures that he introduced in The Hobbit, in his modern classic The Fellowship of the Ring. He artfully illustrates the truths of the evil that plague the hearts of man. He tells a story of greed, destruction and how mortal men are enslaved by their delusions of grander and how they feast upon the misery of others to elevate their own pitiful egos, that prove to be their worst vices.

It is a struggle of good and evil that begins with a cursed gift of a powerful ring, the One Ring, that leads one wise hobbit on the most important journey of his life-time thus far, for he isn't only fighting for his own soul that is threatened to be claimed by the very ring he is given, but those of all of his people. The ring is sought after by its very creator Sauron the all powerful sorcerer, and Dark Lord of the middle-earth to aid in his evil deeds.

In his sin blackened hands the ring has the power to rob the creatures of middle-earth of their one fundamental right endowed by God himself; their precious freedom. The story follows Frodo on his journey to the Crack of Doom a fiery mountain in the layer of Mordor where the Dark Lord himself reigns with a swift hand. There and only there may he not only destroy the symbolic ring but put to rest the very demons that drove at his soul and threatened to over power him.

J.R.R. Tolkien was Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa on January 2, 1892 and died on September 3, 1973. (St. James 558) He delighted and titillated readers of all ages by first introducing them to the middle-earth in The Hobbit, a story of Frodo's cousin Bilbo. The story detailed his mythical journey in which he was accompanied by wizards and elves in search of rumored treasures. The One Ring that plays a major role in The Fellowship of the Ring was the fruit of Bilbo's struggles in The Hobbit. Although The Hobbit was a large success...

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...e the evil of so many?

I believe that Tolkien is a supreme storyteller. The very idea of creating a mythical land of middle-earth to allow so much versatility is ingenious alone. The characters are so real they seem to leap from the pages. They are the result of great thought. They have their own very developed vocabularies, eccentrics, and weaknesses yet each character draws an impeccable strength from one another. I believe that this work is a classic because of the very developed plot, characters, and its openness to each individuals interpretation. Whether the reader believes it is implying religious values, social values or telling a unique story unlike any others it is a must read for anyone who enjoys great literature.

Works Cited

Grotta~Kurska, Daniel. J.R.R. Tolkien Architect of Middle Earth. Philadelphia: Running PRess, 1976.

Miller, David M. “Narrative Pattern in The Fellowship of the Ring.”A Tolkien Compass. Ed. Jared Lobdell. La Salle Il.:The Open Court Publishing Company, 1975.

Pringle, David. Ed. St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers. New York: St. James Press, 1996.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Ballantine books, 1955