J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
“One Ring to rule them all,
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all
and in the Darkness bind them”
(Tolkien, The Two Towers 233)
One of the masters of British Literature, J.R.R. Tolkien was able to create a fantasy world with an endless supply of parallelisms to reality. The fantasy world was found in the “Lord of the Rings.” Tolkien is able to create wonderful symbolism and meaning out of what would otherwise be considered nonsense. He creates symbolism and meaning by mastering his own world and his own language. To understand the symbolism of The Ruling Ring, or The One Ring, one must understand the events, which take place from the time of the ring’s creation until the time of it’s destruction. One must also develop an understanding of the characters and events that are important in the story. In this paper, we will learn the background of Tolkien’s life and the history of the One Ring. The history of the One Ring will include it’s creation, it’s effect on mortals, and it’s destruction. By learning the One Ring’s history, one can understand its symbolism.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, an English scholar and storyteller, became interested in language at an early age. During his schooling, Tolkien was mostly interested with the languages of Northern Europe. His interests included both ancient and modern languages. Tolkien’s interest in language leads to his profession and his own hobby. He invented languages.
The history of the One Ring starts before the “Lord of the Rings.” The ring is created in the book “The Silmarillion.” The creation of the One Ring is found in “The Silmarillion” after the fall of Morgoth. At the time, Sauron wants to control all of the people in Middle Earth. To gain control of the people, Sauron convinced them that he had good intentions. Eventually the people sided with Sauron, and created the Rings of Power. Sauron created the One Ring in secret so he would be able to control the other rings. This gave Sauron control of the people. The creation of the One Ring, and the essence of it’s power follows here. “And their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only as long as it too should last. And much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that One Ring; for the power of the Elven Rings was very great, and that which should g...
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It will be the contention of this paper that much of Tolkien's unique vision was directly shaped by recurring images in the Catholic culture which shaped JRRT, and which are not shared by non-Catholics generally. The expression of these images in Lord of the Rings will then concern us.
Peter Jackson’s film “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” revolves around a young hobbit by the name of Frodo Baggins and his unique group of companions. They go on a journey to destroy the One Ring of Sauron (the Dark Lord). In short, the One Ring has malevolent powers to whomever wears it.
Then Sauron, an old, undefeated enemy, began to arise once again and grow in power. Likewise, the multitudes of lands already under his rule began to grow increasingly in number. When Gandalf discovered that the mere trinket of a ring that was given to Frodo was the Ruling Ring, Frodo’s world fell into chaos. Worst...
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996. Print.
When Frodo’s journey is about to unfold, the ring that was given to Frodo by his uncle/cousin Bilbo turns out to be the One ring that holds the essence of the dark lord Sauron. Because of Gollum, the previous owner of the ring, Sauron becomes aware of the rings locations and sends out the Black Riders to collect his precious.are sent out to claim the ring (Tolkien). This conflict is foreshadowed on page 13 and 14 of the prologue. “ He returned to his home at Bag End on June the 22nd of the fifty-second year (S.R. 1342), and nothing very notable occurred in the Shire until Mr.Baggins began the preparations for the celebration of his hundred-and-eleventh birthday (S.R. 1401). At this point this history begins.” Tolkien is very subtle with most of his writing, besides imagery and personification, examples like foreshadowing and metaphors are very hard to pick up on. This event sets the story in motion, and gives the readers a glimpse of what challenges Frodo is to face in the future. Another very important conflict arises between Boromir, Captain of Gondor and Frodo Baggins. In chapter 10 of the second book when the Fellowship is at Amon Hen, Boromir follows Frodo into the woods,and insists that Frodo let him have the ring but Frodo says no. Boromir attacks Frodo for the ring due to the influence of the ring pulling him in, but Frodo slips on the ring becoming
Byers, Paula K. Ed. “J.R.R. Tolkien”. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gake Research, 1998. 259-260
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is the first book in the fantasy-based trilogy of the Lord of the Rings. The book begins with Bilbo Baggins celebrating his one hundred and eleventh birthday. After his party, he then decides to leave everything behind and join a Fellowship, which has a task of destroying the ruling ring, which will give supreme power to whoever has possession of it. Just before he leaves, Gandalf asks Bilbo for this ring. Due to the power in which the ring possesses while it is in his possession, he does not want to give it up. The novel ends with the destruction of the Fellowship due to the power in which the ring contains. One of the prime facts of the Middle Earth is power. Power is not neutral, but is always evil. It gives wicked the chance to dominate. The good is corrupting and inescapable. This is shown repeatedly throughout the novel, from when Bilbo gives up the ring, to when Boromir tries to take the ring, and finally, to seeing the control that the ring has over Frodo. One incident in the book, which corresponds with how power is evil, would be when Bilbo had to give up the Ring. The ring is very powerful. The power is so enticing that Bilbo is very weary to give up that ring. When Gandalf asks Bilbo if he wishes to give up the ring, Bilbo seems unsure saying yes and no. When it came to having to give it up he didn't like parting with it at all and didn't see why he should have to . Due to the power in which Bilbo feels that the ring had given him, he doesn't want to part with it. By no means does Bilbo want to use the power in an evil manner to dominate all. It is just the thought of power itself that causes this greed to come over him. Although Bilbo in general is a good character, the power of ring corrupts his ways, showing his thirst for power, which he deserves. Another incident, which portrays this corruption of goodness to evil, is when Boromir approaches Frodo and tries to take the ring from him. Boromir has authority, which is being heir to the throne of Gondor, but not the supreme power that he desires.
In Tolkien world, evil is the antithesis of creativity, and is dependent on destruction and ruin for its basis. Conversely, goodness is associated with the beauty of creation as well as the preservation of anything that is created. The symbolic nature of these two ideologies is represented in the Elven Rings, which symbolize goodness, and the One Ring, which is wholly evil. A main theme of "The Hobbit", then, is the struggle within our own free will between good will and evil. "Early in the (Lord of the Rings) narrative, Frodo recalls that his uncle Bilbo, especially during his later years, was fond of declaring that… there was only one Road; that it was lik...
J.R.R Tolkien’s work of fiction The Lord of the Rings, have with the advent of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation brought the series to newfound heights of fame. As with many works of it’s kind, The Lord of the Rings depicts a battle between good and evil, with the main characters in the books striving to thwart evil’s plan. In many other works, the author’s personal belief system or worldview drives the narrative, with the message being paramount and the characters the vehicles of conveyance for the point of the story. C.S Lewis, a friend and contemporary of Tolkien’s, is a prime example of this. Lewis’ popular series The Chronicles of Narnia is an allegorical work, teaching Christian principles through the use of fiction. While raised as a Catholic himself, Tolkien does not explicitly promote his religious background, nor does he engage in allegory. However, Tolkien’s views of morality can be found throughout the work, specifically in the way in which evil is portrayed, the use of power and moral freedom of choice. Randel Helms writes in his book, Tolkien’s World, “Tolkien’s particular myth parallels his Christianity, … positioning a malevolent and corrupting outside influence, spiritual and probably eternal, against which man is doomed to fight, but which he has no hope of conquering” (67).
One day the old wizard Gandalf comes to the Shire, and he tells Frodo of an evil named Sauron who wants to capture the Ring for himself. In ages long past Sauron stole the Ring from the Elves, to protect him from the Powers of Good; but the Ring was stolen from him by a creature named Gollum, and then stolen from Gollum by Bilbo, who finally gives it freely to Frodo. "Sauron has been searching for the Ring for years," Gandalf tells Frodo, "and now he has sent his nine Black Riders, to the Shire to look for it." Frodo and Sam consult with their loyal friends Merry and Pippin, and when the Black Riders appear, the hobbits trick them into going into a mushroom-patch, disorienting the Black Riders just long enough to escape the Shire.
...es of love present in The Lord of the Rings, and the Hobbit as well, are constantly being shown as the impetus behind all things that eventually lead to the demise of Sauron. These examples start off simple, a love for a friend, one’s homeland, a leader, but they result in saving Middle Earth and it’s people from the theft of their free will and the dominion of Sauron. Tolkien successfully demonstrates throughout the entire series that the most powerful force in existence is love.
J.R.R. Tolkien's concept of too much power is summed up by Lord Acton when he once said, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." In Tolkien's first book of his fantasy based trilogy, Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Rings tells a story of a quest to destroy a powerful ring throughout Tolkien's created "Middle Earth". This quest was headed by a "Hobbit" named Frodo Baggins who, in the end, becomes corrupted by power himself. This corruption begins when Frodo uses his ring to become invisible over and over again to escape certain situations. The quest to destroy the powerful "Ruling Ring" forms the basis for this story.
“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,” (55). The One Ring controls Gollum, Bilbo, Boromir, and Frodo in attempts to return to Sauron, Its Creator, the Lord of the Rings, and the utmost evil present in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. But the Ring never achieves Its goal because each character possesses a unique set of skills which resist the evil temptations of the Ring. Gollum is the first victim of the Ring, with no knowledge of Its powers or guidance away from Its control. Bilbo is the second ring bearer, with an almost complete knowledge of the Ring’s power still has difficulty resisting the Ring’s temptation. Gandalf guides Bilbo to constantly resist the evil of the Ring. Boromir never gets his hands on the Ring but craves Its power thinking he can use it for good, ignoring the guidance offered to him at the Council of Elrond. Frodo has the most knowledge and guidance of all the characters but also seems to have the strongest temptations. J.R.R. Tolkien uses characterization in the Fellowship of the Ring to prove that people without a longing for power resist temptation through knowledge, good habits, and guidance.
“The One Ring” is Frodo’s great and terrible boon. This artifact was created in hopes of controlling the other rings of power that ruled the land. The Ring has many powers, including turning any mortal invisible, destroying the minds of its holders, and the control of the Ring-Wraiths.
Urang, Gunnar. "J. R. R. Tolkien: Fantasy and the Phenomenology of Hope" Fantasy in the Writing of J. R. R. Tolkien. United Press, 1971