JRR Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings

Lord Acton once said, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." He was probably referring to the powerful kings and queens who held power over many people. But, we could see how power is something many of the characters in Tolkien's story are trying to have and hold onto in some form or another. In The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien tells us a story about Frodo Baggins who is ordered by Gandalf to destroy the powerful ring discovered accidentally by his older cousin, Bilbo. Like the rest of the hobbits, Frodo has lived quite peacefully and well, not having to worry about how dark and dreary the rest of Middle Earth was becoming under Sauron's growing power. Now, Frodo,

How can an author write a story which appeals to a present day audience? Richard H. Tyre published an article in 1978 that gives an answer to this very question. Tyre explains how most kids today choose to read books like the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings series, and even The Wizard of Oz. An existing theory that Tyre came up with explains that each of these books, along with many others, have one thing in common: 6 plot elements. Not only do these stories contain the same 6 elements but those elements are in the same order! Tyre states that “(1) those who hunt for treasure, (2) must go alone, (3) at night, (4) and when they find it, (5) they must leave some of their blood behind, (6) and the treasure is never what they expected.” (Tyre 2). J.R.R. Tolkien is the author of The Hobbit. The Hobbit revolves around one hobbit in particular named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo embarks on a journey with 14 others to recover a treasure that is guarded by a dragon. Along the way Bilbo faces many challenges that range from running into huge trolls, to taking part in fierce battles. Due to it’s main character hunting for treasure, facing most of the dangers alone, battling during the wee hours of the night, eventually finding the treasure, after sweating/crying/and enduring injuries, just to have the treasure revealed to him as not what he expected, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is undoubtedly a perfect example of Tyre’s 6 plot elements.

The Hobbit, written by J.R.R. Tolkien, tells of the hardships and struggles of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who lives in a hobbit hole named Bag End. Bilbo is “hired” by a party of dwarves to go on an adventure to get their stolen gold from the lonely mountain. The only catch is that the mountain is guarded by the dragon, Smaug.

The events associated with J.R.R Tolkien’s book The Hobbit resembles a hero’s quest journey, step by step until the final stage. Bilbo Baggins is the main character in this book and his life sonorously fits into in a typical hero quest journey. The three primary components of Bilbo’s quest are, the call to adventure, tests, allies and enemies, and the reward. In the book The Hobbit, Bilbo’s life is very plain and simple until he embarks on a marvelous journey with thirteen dwarfs and the wizard Gandalf, together they go on an obstacle filled journey to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the dragon. Throughout the story Bilbo and the Dwarfs are tested several times unit the get to the last stage. Therefore the Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is one of the classic hero quest stories because of the many affairs that resemble the hero quest cycle.

Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero ventures forth from the world of the common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from the mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” A hero is willing to take a journey to accomplish something through hard work and determination, no matter how difficult the challenges are. In the critically acclaimed novel, The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien, the protagonist, Bilbo Baggins is described as to be an unlikely hero. Bilbo is thrown into a situation in which he must choose between two different lifestyles and to overcome his fears to accomplish his quest. Throughout the story, Bilbo Baggins undergoes a transformation through the stages of The Hero’s Journey. He moves from safety of Bag End, to risk his life through the vulnerability of the outside world. He no longer has the relative control over his environment and surroundings, but he is still able to come to terms with his adventurous side through the unexpected events of his quest. From the beginning of the storyline to the end, Tolkien describes each stage of the Hero’s Journey and Bilbo’s identifies transformation within them including, The Separation from the Unknown, Challenges, the Transformations, and lastly the Return to the Known World.

The capability of beaming brightly and showing strength in the face of great pain, grief, or danger. To be seen in admiration by the people for one’s noble qualities and achievements. This defines the courageous behavior to that of a hero. During the progression of the novel, The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien, a clear resemblance of heroism has been shown by many characters throughout. However, when asked to define the term “hero,” the majority of people would describe a physically strong man, who’s tall and stands in the face of danger; people such as Beowulf, Sir Gawain, and King Arthur. In contrast to that common stereotype, Tolkien describes nothing but an undersized and feeble farmer named Bilbo Baggins, who lives in a well furbished hole in the ground, and how this man will embark on an unexpected journey to become a heroic figure. This reveals the fact that society doesn’t dictate the standards of a hero; only that individual can regulate their own future, and how they can be a conqueror too.

“The murder of Déagol haunted Gollum, and he had made up a defense, repeating it to his ‘precious’ over and over” (The Fellowship of the Ring 62). This quote gives a look into the strongest moment of shock that impacted young Sméagol’s life forever. Gollum is a fictional character unlike any other in The Lord of the Rings series, as he is portrayed as having undiagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. There are six recurring symptoms that must happen in conjunction with traumatic factors in order for someone to be diagnosed with PTSD, and unfortunately for Sméagol his actions and history sync perfectly into the diagnosis. Due to the fact that Gollum is a fictional character out of a book, it seems that the author, J.R.R. Tolkien, may have purposely given these attributes to Gollum to display PTSD. Though Tolkien may argue that his time in the war did not highly influence his books, subconsciously Tolkien, like many who were in the war, could have had undiagnosed PTSD or known someone who did. As a combat veteran, Tolkien and his friends were more likely to develop PTSD. This may have resulted in portraying these symptoms on to one specific character, Gollum. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder “is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event” (NIMH), just as Gollum had and continues to be put through. He has had a rough past of loss and exile, as well as continuously trudges through horrific events and torture in which he must

What would it be like to embark on a journey or do something unlike anything else one has ever done before? Some may seek thrill and adventure, but living in the same world as a hobbit, one might think twice about venturing out. The Hobbit is an allegorical novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. The story follows the protagonist, Bilbo Baggins as he sets out to undertake a long journey with a wizard named Gandalf and thirteen dwarves. In the beginning of the novel Bilbo doesn’t feel the need to set out on a journey, but once a group of dwarves arrive at his doorstep he begins to feel a desire toward the idea. From there on, Bilbo and the dwarves take on a journey of a lifetime to retrieve something that has once been taken. In the novel, there is a multitude of literary elements such as irony, symbolism and conflict. One of the main themes that ties to the novel is heroism. Tolkien used all these elements in his novel to complete his story and illustrate Bilbo’s transformation from an ordinary hobbit into an extraordinary hero.

"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

“How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand...there is no going back. There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold.” In The Lord of The Rings, Frodo’s journey is one of persistent sorrows. His mind is conflicted between his will to do the right thing and the Ring’s seductive call. Towards the end of his journey, his will breaks and he gives in to the Ring’s power. While he ends up succeeding on his quest, it is a pyrrhic victory. He returns home a shell of a person. The things he used to love he now scorns. The places where he found rest are now alien to him. In the aftermath of trauma, he no longer knows where

The Fellowship of the Ring begins with the passing on of a ring from Bilbo to Frodo, like a gold watch being passed down from generation to generation. For a while, it was just like it was that kind of gold watch until Gandalf finds it is much, much worse than the average family heirloom. Gandalf suspected the ring was one of the many twenty Rings of Power. He cast the ring into the fire to determine if his suspicion was right or wrong, and revealed that it was the One Ring and that plans must be set for the long toil to make the peace of Middle-Earth last. It took a long time to get to Rivendell, all the while being chased and pursued by the most skilled, cunning, and surely deadliest of all the Dark Lord’s minions.

A Fire-breathing dragon is tracing the edges of the mountain with flames spitting from his mouth, shouting “I am fire. I am death!””Bilbo is pacing himself to escape these angry flames as echoes of roars surround him. How did Bilbo Baggins get to such a place?In this novel The Hobbit,written by J.R.R Tolkien, a hobbit named Bilbo is enjoying a pipe on his front porch when he is confronted by an elder man that Bilbo recognizes as a wizard named Gandalf, though his suspicion continues to grow.Gandalf asks Bilbo to join him on a mission and Bilbo quickly declines this offer due to his lack of interest in adventure and invites Gandalf for some tea sometime, only to not seem rude. The next day Bilbo is shocked to hear a ring at his doorbell and is even more surprised to be bombarded with a trail of dwarfs crowding his comfortable little hobbit hole, Bilbo begins to grow confused and annoyed. The dwarfs eat nearly every piece of food in Bilbo 's pantry before they finally decide to settle down and talk business with Baggins. The company provides Bilbo with a greater and deeper understanding of this mission, after a lot of persuasion Baggin’s agrees to join the company of dwarfs on a mission to regain the treasures that Thorin’s grandfather mined and found at the mountain guarded by Smaug the dragon that they end up having to defeat and regain their stolen treasure.This changing Bilbo Baggin’s life forever.

The interaction of fate and free will in the primary world is a very complex, intertwined phenomenon. However, in Tolkien’s works The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, there is a recognizable pattern that is set. More specifically this pattern regarding fate is established cosmologically through his story of creation (the “Ainulindale”), and the precedent is set for how individual choice affects the events that follow. This pattern will be used to establish how Tolkien views the effect of determination on determinism throughout his other works.

According to Dictionary.com a leader is “a person who rules, guides or inspires others”. Often a leader is more than that. Leaders care about the group as a whole not just their individual part. They see the big picture and help everyone else to see it too. They are the one the group looks up to and depends on. If the leader is lost almost always a new unlikely leader is bound to emerge. Leaders often do not know who they are until they are put in a position where they must lead for the success of the group. Leaders play a huge role in the book The Hobbit. Jack Welch summarizes the leader’s role in this book perfectly. Bilbo before he is a leader, Bilbo when he is a leader and Gandalf’s actions all relate to the quote Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.--Jack Welch

A cultural product that inspires me is the film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, which was directed by Peter Jackson. This movie gave me inspiration because of how beautiful and well put together the film was. It made me want to be involved with the process of how great films are made. According to Wikipedia, “Jackson knew he wanted to bring the movie to the big screen, and was curious to why nobody decided to do so.” He wanted to take advantage of the new technology, and create a fantasy that was serious and felt real (Wikipedia, 2014). Peter Jackson demonstrates the art and business of the film in many ways, which is culturally inspiring.