Three Rings for the Elven-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.

The author

The author of the trilogy of “Lord of the Rings” is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien or in brief J.R.R. Tolkien (Born: 3/01/1892, Died: 2/7/1973). Tolkien was an English author, poet, philologist and academic. He created the fantasy world of Arda (the Earth in the distant past), which included Middle Earth.

Middle Earth

Middle earth is the fictional setting of much of Tolkien’s legendarium. The term of Middle Earth is equivalent to the term Midgard of Norse Mythology, describing the human inhabited world.

Fan Facts

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel and it was written in stages between 1937 and 1949. Also it is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.

Story Background

Everything began when an evil lord/sorcerer(Sauron) tried to rule Middle Earth by forging 19 magic rings and distributing them to the leaders of the dominant races of Middle Earth(Men, Elves, Dwarves). These 19 magic rings were meant to enslave their wearers to the 20th ring that Sauron made for himself(the One ring). Of all the people that received the rings only Nine Kings of Men fell to his spell and became the Nasgul(eternal servants of Sauron). All the others allied and fought Sauron and in the end they overthrew him and he was believed to be dead. The One ring was lost butit had some characteristics. It corrupted his wearer(except Sauron) and made the wearer claim the ring for himself.If Sauron called the ring, the wearer was manipulated to deliver the ring to Sauron, but if the wearer was mentally strong,he could resist. The ring had these characteristics, since after the fall of Sauron his spirit survived through the ring. After a lot of adventures and years, the ring at last came to the hands of a Hobbit named Frodo Baggins. Hobbits are little people who enjoy peace, luxury and well-lawned gardens. This story presents the effort of the spirit of Sauron to retake the ring in order to regain his physical form and power and the attempts of the Free Peoples (some Men, Elves, Dwarves) to destroy the ring, which could only be destroyed in the place where it was forged, in Mount Doom, a volcano inside Sauron’s stronghold, and thus destroy Sauron once and for all.

The Books

The trilogy contains three major books:

1. “The Fellowship of the Ring”
2. “The Two Towers”

“The Return of the King”

The main characters

Frodo Baggins

Frodo Baggins is a Hobbit and he is not heroic, because he accepts the quest of destroying the ring only because it must be done. Also, he lacks qualifications for the trip, since he is neither powerful, nor valiant. Moreover, he is indecisive, because he delays his departure from his house even if he knows the urgency of the quest. Furthermore, he has common sense, since he knows that this quest might be his last. At the same time, he has a good heart, because he pities Gollum and offers him a chance to do good. To conclude, he is full of determination, because even if he knows that the hope for the quest to succeed is a fool’s hope, he is determined to see it through or die trying.

Samwise Gamgee

Samwise Gamgee is a Hobbit and Frodo Baggins’s gardener. He accompanies his master throughout the journey. Samwise or Sam in brief is loyal, because he never abandons his master. Also, Sam has a lot of humility, because he calls Frodo Baggins “Mr. Frodo” even if they pass together a lot of dangers. Furthermore, he is competent and contentious(he knows how to cook, how to tie knots etc). Moreover, he is quick to defend his master as he “attacks” anyone and anything, in order to save his master from any threat, real or not. To conclude, he gains confidence and authority through the story and he shows heroism and courage as he even saves his master from the hands of Sauron’s servants.

Gandalf (Mithrandir)

Gandalf is a wizard and probably the second most powerful individual in Middle Earth. His role is to coordinate the efforts of the Free Peoples against Sauron. He is an old man full of humourand he has a lot of wisdom.

Aragorn

Aragorn is a hero of song and legend, since he is the last descendant of the Kings of Men that defeated Sauron in the past and due to this fact he has inherited part of their power and wisdom. Also, he has a more human and accessible side, because he didn’t claim his throne and he preferred to live in the wilderness confronting Sauron. To conclude, he is a hero with doubts, because he doesn’t know if he has the qualifications to rule the realm, which is his rightful claim, but through the story he proves his worthiness for the throne of these two realms(realm of Arnor and realm of Gondor).

Gollum

Gollum is a Hobbit that had the One ring for so long that it corrupted him to such an extent that he became a liar, a thief, a murderer. Also, he is corrupt and vindictive. Even if he has all the above mentioned characteristics, he is tragic, because he is not beyond hope, since he has a spark of good in his heart and Frodo reaches deep in his heart and makes that spark a flame for a lot of days. In this way, he does a lot of good actions that help Frodo to continue his quest.

Main themes of the books

There are a lot of themes in the book. To begin with, there is the struggle between good and evil. Also, Frodo is presented as an image of Christ, because he bears the Ring to save all Middle Earth, as Christ bore people’s sin to save them all and open the way to paradise. Furthermore, Frodo walks his way to Mount Doom as Christ walked his Calvary and Frodo departs from the West, a place like paradise, with the Elves, just like Christ ascended to Heaven.

Moreover, another theme is friendship, due to the fact that a fellowship is formed by all races of the Free Peoples, setting aside their differences, to fight against Sauron. The reader also witnesses friendship because Frodo takes the Ring to save all the people and specifically his neighbors and friends. In addition, there is friendship, since Aragorn leads the armies of Gondor and Rohan(two realms of fair Men) to a suicidal bid, just to give Frodo and Sam a chance to succeed in the quest.

Another theme of the books is forgiveness, due to the fact that Frodo forgives and pities Gollum and gives him a second chance to do good. In addition, there is the theme of nature versus technology, because Tolkien presents the villains as having “a mind like metals and wheels” and also because Saruman, an evil wizard in the service of Sauron, destructs Fangorn forest and makes the Ents, tree-like creatures who can walk, talk, think, to act and defeat Saruman.

Furthermore, we have the theme of fate,since Gandalf explains to Frodo the fact that the ring didn’t come to his hands accidentally and because he also tells Frodo that Gollum might have a part to play in the story till the end, and this is confirmed. Moreover, there is loss and farewell, since from the beginning of time in Middle Earth a lot of beautiful things, such as men, realms, artifacts, are lost.

Also, there is death and immortality, because the Elves had two choices. First, they could choose either to remain in Middle Earth, or to go and live with the Gods in a place like paradise. The second choice is whether to remain immortal, i.e. to be killed only in the battle, or to live longer mortal lives. So, we have death and immortality, since during the events of “The Lord of the Rings” a lot of Elves abandoned Middle Earth and went to live with the Gods and also because Arwen, daughter of one of the strongest Elven lords and betrothed of Aragorn, chose to live a longer mortal live in order to be with the one she loved. Finally, there is growing up, because the Hobbits evolve their skills during the story and loyalty, since Sam never leaves the side of Frodo.

My opinion

In my opinion, Lord of the Rings is a trilogy that I will gladly read again in the future, since it is an excellent work of literature. It “enchants” its reader and inlets him in the beautiful world of Middle Earth.

Ιωάννης Φανίδης (Β4), Πρότυπο ΓΕΛ Ευαγγελικής Σχολής Σμύρνης