Anna Sibilia

David Steiling

The One Adventure to Rule them All

As far as fantasy goes, there has yet to be an author to outshine J.R.R. Tolkien in depth, fame, and overall influence of a genre. Throughout the course of his life, he redefined and hand-crafted many new tropes and that would soon lay down the new foundation for almost every author to come after him in the fantasy genre. His understanding of narrative, balancing of character tone and action, as well as creating a tremendous world that was so meticulously detailed it was almost tangible, created a platform that raised him high above many and designated him a permanent seat among many other famed authors and playwrights. 

The Lord of the Rings is the quintessential journey of the hero, sending a band of characters onto a quest that controls the very balance of the world and the fates of all of those whom live there. What’s more is that each character has their own journey to be completed and their own epiphany at the end of it. For instance, the four main hobbits all start in the Shire, though all of them from different backgrounds: Frodo had already become aware that the ring was evil and that he must find a way to be rid of it: Samwise had wanted to accompany his friend and employer, for he has a loyal (if not timid) heart; and Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) and Peregrin Took (Pippin) were perfect examples of childish innocence that the sheltered world of the Shire allowed them to be (it is possible to go further and explain the trials of the rest of the party, but let’s stick to these four).

As they leave the Shire and venture into the wilds, the naive state of their unexposed minds is slowly chipped away by the new surroundings and people. Frodo starts experiencing the weight of the Ring around his neck, and though it is subtle in the beginning, the power of the infernal creation slowly starts to seed his mind with doubt. Sam starts having his whole view deconstructed, no longer seeing the world full of rosy hues and glorious tales, but a new reality in which he and his companions might not survive. Merry and Pippin also portray the loss of innocence in that war has ways of turning children into adults whether they are ready for it to or not, though they still maintain their ability to create trouble and mischief. 

The characters also represent dualities of each other, as Frodo and Sam are representational halves of people torn between staying virtuous or giving into temptation, and this becomes so much more apparent once Gollum is introduced. He embodies Frodo’s corruption and personifies the twisting nature of the Ring, a prophetic tool meant to warn the hobbit lest he give into the dark forces that tempt him. Sam is the opposite, being reliable and caring even though he is afraid and ignorant of the troubles around him. even when he becomes aware of the perilous danger surrounding he and Frodo, he still refuses to leave and uses this as a reason to fight harder until the end. Though the is evil all around, he shall not fall though he may waver. 

This series is truly an epic, written in emulation of many classic biblical tales, and as such it carries almost as much symbolic force and righteousness.