The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.
A. Description

Primary information:

Information about the author:

Significant Dates
3 Jan 1892 Born in Bloemfontein, South Africa
15 Feb 1896 Family returned to England; father died; childhood spent at Sarehole Warwickshire
1900 Mother becomes Catholic; starts school; move to Birmingham
1904 Mother died
1908 Met Edith (future wife)
1911 Student at Oxford
1913 Resumed relationship with Edith
1914 World War I
1915 Graduated from Oxford
22 Mar 1916 Married Edith; sent to France
1918 Returned to England; end of War; became lexicographer
1920 Obtained post at Leeds University
1925 Obtained post at Oxford
1937 Hobbit published
1954-55 Lord of Rings published
1969 Retired; moved to Bournemouth
22 Nov 1971 Edith died
2 Sep 1973 Tolkien died
[plaatje0]

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa on January 3rd, 1892 and moved to England in his childhood years. It is the classic story of a child who experienced the passing of his parents and the subsequent retreat into his own inner sanctum of magic and wonder. He was brought up by his mother's priest in the West Midlands of England. As a young man he went to World War I and afterwards began working as an assistant lexicographer on what became the Oxford English Dictionary. Always a student of languages he studied and became a professor of Anglo-Saxon and Old English at Oxford and continued to develop his own language and mythical world called 'Middle-Earth', which he had started as a child.
Many polls consistently vote 'The Lord of the Rings' as the greatest book of the 20th century but it all started in suburban Oxford in 1930. During the marking of exam papers, Ronald (as he was called) scribbled on a blank page the words: "In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit." In 1937 his first work was published, 'The Hobbit', which went on to become the biggest selling work of children's fiction ever written. All the characters of 'Middle-Earth' that we are now familiar with were created for this book but they would return years later in a sequel.
Tolkien had continued to develop the world of 'Middle-Earth' and its language, to the continued amazement today of The Tolkien Society who still study and marvel at this language. It all came together in a much darker three part sequel, called 'The Lord Of The Rings' which was published in 1954 (Volume I: 'The Lord Of The Rings') and in 1955 (Volume II: 'The Two Towers' and Volume III: 'The Return Of The King'). It sold well in the 1960s but when a pirate version was released in the States in 1965, with all three parts combined into 1000 pages of myth and magic, the hippie generation sent sales through the roof and a cult was born. At one stage The Beatles indicated that they would like to produce and appear in a film version but the rights were sold before they could find a director.
J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973 leaving four children and a legion of fans plus some unfinished and unpublished work. His son Christopher edited and released what was a major work that took Tolkien years to develop. Four years after his passing J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Silmarillion' was published and was followed by twelve volumes of material known as 'The History of Middle-Earth' - he had always wanted to give England her own mythical era!

Writings:

Primary works:
• The Hobbit
• The Lord of the Rings
• The Silmarillion

Secondary works:
I don’t like to use the term 'secondary' as it implies that these are in some way of lesser value than the 'primary' works. It's simply that these works may not be as familiar to the casual Tolkien reader.

• The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
• Farmer Giles of Ham
• Finn and Hengest: The Fragment and the Episode, Edited by Alan Joseph Bliss
• The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth
• Leaf by Niggle
• Mr. Bliss
• The Road Goes Ever On (with Donald Swaan),
• Roverandom, Edited by Christina Scull & Wayne G Hammond.
• Smith of Wootten Major
• Tales from the Perilous Realm
• Tree and Leaf

Works edited by others:

History of Middle Earth series, edited by Christopher Tolkien
• The Book of Lost Tales, Part One (Volume I)
• The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two (Volume II)
• The Lays of Beleriand (Volume III)
• The Shaping of Middle-earth (Volume IV)
• The Lost Road and Other Writings (Volume V)
• The Return of the Shadow (Volume VI)
• The Treason of Isengard (Volume VII)
• The War of the Ring (Volume VIII)
• Sauron Defeated (Volume IX)
• Morgoth's Ring (Volume X)
• The War of the Jewels (Volume XI)
• The Peoples of Middle-earth (Volume XII)

Information about the book:

Title: Lord of the Rings
Subtitle: Fellowship of the Ring
Published in: 1954-55 (I read the Hardcover (Leatherette Collector's Edition) from 1974
Publisher: George Allen and Unwin
Pages: 634

Title description:

The Lord of the Rings:

Sauron the Dark Lord made the one ring (*the ruling ring) to find the rings of power and to rule them what would make him indefeatable. At the beginning of The Lord of the Rings he possesses the nine rings of the men that are worn by the Nâzgul, he has the seven rings of the dwarves of which some have been destroyed, but he lacks his own ring and the three elven rings. Sauron is the lord of the rings.
Frodo on who lies the burden of destroying the one ring is the bearer of this ring which makes him see the three hidden elven rings. By destroying this ring all the others lose their power.
Frodo is the Lord of the Rings too.

Summary:

Book I

Bilbo Baggins, the main character of The Hobbit, still lives at Bag End in the Shire. He and his nephew Frodo are celebrating their birthdays, so they are having a big party. Bilbo decides to uses his Ring, which makes him invisible. He vanishes before the eyes of the guests. After protests, the Ring has already taken his mind, Bilbo gives the Ring to Frodo.
Gandalf, the grey magician, is worried about the Ring because he suspects that it is the One Evil Ring made by the wicked lord Sauron long ago. Gandalf's worries are not unfounded, for Middle Earth has fallen on dark times and ominous things are happening. The mighty forest Greenwood is haunted by evil powers and now goes by the name of Mirkwood. Driven out of Mirkwood by the White Council of Elves, the forces of darkness assemble in Mordor, the "home" of Sauron.
Gandalf tests the Ring and sees that this is indeed the One. He tells the brief history of the Ring: The Ring was made by Sauron. Elendil overthrew Sauron, but he died. This is the end of the Second Age. His son Isildur took the Ring. The Ring fell into the Anduin, the Great River. It was there until Deagol found it when he was fishing. His friend Smeagol, a hobbit, killed him for the Ring. He had the Ring until his "riddle quest" with Bilbo, which is told in The Hobbit.
Sauron now knows that the Ring isn't destroyed and he wants is back, which would mean the end of Middle Earth. The only way to destroy it is to cast it into Mount Doom, where Sauron made the Ring. Sam, who lives in Bag End also, heard a lot.
ñ20 years later Frodo decides to sell Bag End to his neighbours, who have always wanted the hole. He has bought a new home. Pippin and Sam accompany him to his new home. Gandalf should accompany them but he hasn't showed up. They are walking on the Road, when the Black Riders pass by. They hide in the bushes. The horses are sniffling to detect Frodo and Frodo has a strong desire to put on the Ring but he doesn't do it. After that they meet Elves. After Gildor, the "main"Elf, heard what happened they decide that they must travel together. Frodo asks all about the Black Riders, but gets little response.
Frodo decides to take a short cut, but they get lost. They enter the land of farmer Maggot, who still remembers Frodo for the stealing of mushrooms years ago. Maggot tells that a Rider has passed by, seeking for Baggins. Maggot brings them to the Ferry. Frodo, Sam and Pippen go to Frodo's new home where they meet Merry. Frodo hears that his 3 companions now quite a lot of the Ring, thanks to Sam.
Their voyage continues through the Old Forest where Merry is caught by a tree. Tom Bombadil, as old as the world and master of the Old Forest, passes by and tells the tree to release Merry. They follow Tom to his house. There they rest and learn that Tom doesn't become invisible when he puts the Ring on. They leave Tom's house and short after that, Frodo is caught by a wight in the fog. Tom helps them again and puts them back on the Road. They go to The Prancing Pony an inn in Bree, a little town. Frodo=Mr. Underhill. Frodo dances on the tables and falls. He is ashamed and puts the Ring on. He goes to a corner where Strider, a Ranger, is sitting. Now everybody knows that Mr. Underhill is special. Strider warns him for that. Strider wants to go with them but Frodo doesn't trust him. Frodo sees a letter of Gandalf, which Mr. Butterbur, the innkeeper, ought to send him, in which he reads that Strider is a friend of Gandalf. He knows that Strider is the real Strider since Strider says his real name and a poem, which is also written in the letter.
Black Riders have entered Bree, so Strider wants to make for Weatherthop the next day. He hopes to meet Gandalf there. Nobody has heard of Gandalf and they fear the worst.
Merry's ponies are stolen so the buy a pony of Bill Ferny, a brute. They leave for Weathertop and pass through a swamp. They reach Weathertop, where the meet Black Riders. Frodo is afraid and puts on the Ring. Now he is visible for the Riders and is attacked by a knife in his shoulder. Frodo is badly wounded and can only be healed by Elrond. They meet Glorfindel, a friend of Elrond. Black Riders are coming so Frodo leaves on Glorfindels's horse. He passes a ford, where the Black Riders are overwhelmed by the sudden water.

Book II

Frodo is in Rivendell, the house of Elrond. His wound is cured by Elrond. There is a Council: Many delegates from Elves and Dwarves are gathered and Frodo learns a lot more about the war of the Ring. Boromir, who came from Gondor, tells that Gondor is still holding out against the rising power of Mordor, nut is badly in need of help. Aragorn (=Strider) tells that he is the rightful king of Gondor. Gandalf tells that Saruman, his chief, has turned traitor. Saruman wants to have the Ring for his own. He has locked Gandalf up in Orthanc, his "home". Gandalf managed to escape with help of the Eagles. He went to Rohan as a beggar and returned with Shadowfax, a horse, which Theoden, the king of Rohan, had "given" him ( take anything, but leave). The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed in Mount Doom. Frodo is the only volunteer. A Fellowship is formed to help him on his travel. Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, Sam, Merry, Pippin and the Bill Ferny's pony Bill go with him.
They are watched while they pass the heavy snowed mountain Caradhas. After that they enter the Mines of Moria through a secret entrance. In Moria mithril is found, of which Frodo has a coat, given to him by Bilbo. Bill stays behind and is sent back for Rivendell. They see the grave of Balin. They are attacked by Orcs but Gandalf withstands them. Frodo is hit by an arrow, but the mithril coat saves him. A Balrog, the most fearful opponent of all, attacks them. Gandalf and the Balrog fight on the bridge of Khazad- d–m. They both fall down and vanish.
Aragorn becomes the leader of the Fellowship. They go to Lothlorien, a forest where Elves live. Gimli the Dwarf must enter blindfolded but doesn't want to, so everyone enters blindfolded. After that Hadldir, the Elf who accompanied them got a message from Lady Galadriel, they may all see.
They meet Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. Frodo looks into the mirror of Galadriel, a magic mirror, in which he sees a searching Eye. Frodo, frightened, turns back. Frodo sees that Galadriel is also a Ring-bearer. The others can't see her Ring. Galadriel advises them to use the Anduin, so she gives them boats. She also gives them lembas, a sort of food. She gives Aragorn an Elfstone, Sam a box for his garden and Frodo a vial which gives light when all other lights are gone.
They continue their travel by boat. They suspect that Gollum (=Smeagol) is behind them. Frodo has to decide which way to go, to Minas Tirith, as is the strong wish of Boromir, or to Mordor. Boromir tries to take the Ring by force. Frodo puts on the Ring and leaves them by boat. Sam goes with him. The others remain seeking for Frodo. They split up.

Deepening:

Characters:

Main characters and their relation to each other:

The story is about a group of travelers who set out to destroy the ring. The main character is Frodo, he is the ring-bearer, there is his best friend Sam and his other friends Merry and Pippin, they are all hobbits. There is the great wizard Gandalf, the mighty man Aragorn, or Strider as he is introduced to the hobbits. Then there is another man, called Boromir, an Elf called Legolas and a dwarf whose name is Gimli. These travelers set out against the evil Sauron, ruler of the Ring and lord of many evil things. On their way they also come up against Saruman, a mighty wizard who once was a good wizard, but now has turned evil. They are also followed by a creature called Gollum who once possessed the Ring and now wants it back.

Main characters in detail:

As said, the most important person in the story is Frodo, because he has to carry the Ring and take it into the land of lord Sauron to the only place where it can be destroyed. At the beginning of the story he is an ordinary hobbit fond of and used to a lot of comfort and extensive meals. Although he is more of an adventurer than most of his kind, he would have never taken part in this adventure, had he known what it entailed. He is of a wealthy and respectable family, the Baginses. As the story proceeds he becomes more and more a brave little hobbit. He is of gentle character and very loyal to his friends. Gandalf the Wizard is also a very important character, his full name is Gandalf the Grey, or as the elves call him: Mithrandir. He is an old and wise man but also very mysterious and closed to others. He tends to speak in riddles and he is a solemn character, who will not soon indulge in small talk like the hobbits do, but he has humour and he is very fond of the hobbits and their particular ways. The others all have the deepest respect for him and he is the leader of the company. Sam, as well as Merry and Pippin kind of follow Frodo in his experiences and they too grow more and more adventurous as the story goes on. Legolas remains almost the same person he is the entire book, he is smart, light on his feet and never jumps to conclusions, though his opinion about dwarfs changes a bit. Gimli is the opposite of Legolas, he is a dwarf, very short tempered and he too remains that way, it's only his opinion of elves that changes.

Time and space:

The story goes from April 3018 to September 3021, Middle earth era. In the story there are many moments where the characters tell or hear about earlier events in the history of Middle-earth. The story is not chronological. It takes place in Middle-earth, a non-existing world. The book includes a map of this Middle-earth.

Themes:

The Lord of the rings has two main themes: The war between good and bad, and The quest of a company of heroes-the fellowship of the ring. These themes are related, because the company of heroes is the good. The book deals also with basic human values, like greed, envy and selfishness against charity, humility, integrity and nobility. The writer does not force the reader a moral lesson, but leaves him free to draw his own conclusions.

Perspective:

The story is told as if it were history and through the eyes of several characters.

What sort of literary text is it?

The book is clearly fiction. Tolkien made up his own world and called it ‘Middle-Earth’. The place where the story is about in most of it books, including Lord of the Rings.

Use of language:

The book uses quite difficult English, there are certain parts I had to read multiple times in order to understand them. The story has a lot of dialogues in it, but not very long ones. Some parts of the language was humorous, other parts were thrilling, frightening or sometimes even boring.

“A notice appeared on the gate at Bag End: NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS. Even those who had, or pretended to have Party Business were seldom allowed inside.”

Critics:

I have read several articles reviewing the first book of Lord of the Rings and all of them were very positive about the book. They found it extra extraordinary that Tolkien wrote a lot of books which completely different stories but in the same world ‘Middle-Earth’.

Opinion:

There wasn’t a character which I could identify myself with, though I can see why Sam was willing to give everything up for his friend Frodo. I believe, that if I was in the same situation, I would have done the same.

The part that I remember best was the part that Frodo wakes up in a bed at the Elves land where is going to meet his ‘fellowship of the ring’.

“Frodo woke and found himself lying in bed. At first he thought that he had slept late, after a long unpleasant dream that still hovered on the edge of memory. Or perhaps he had been ill? But the ceiling looked strange; it was flat, and it had dark beams richly carved. He lay a little while longer
looking at patches of sunlight on the wall, and listening to the sound of a waterfall.’

I chose this part, because to my opinion, this is were the story took a whole different road. Instead of 4 ‘weak’ boys who were afraid of everything outside their homeland they were now a fellowship of multiple strong men, including a wizard, 2 humans and a strong dwarf.

I think The Lord of the Rings is the best book ever written. The story has a huge background and is written in a way you want to know more about the world where it takes place. Tolkien was a genius, he created a novel that contains so many characters, places and events that it would take years of study to know them all.
I was very fond of Sam, the gardener of Frodo. His love and will to die for Frodo was so touching. Sam is only a gardener but at several passages in the book he seems so wise.
One of the best things about the book is, the discussions afterwards like: Is Sauron material or not? Or: What happened exactly to Gandalf after he died in the battle with the balrog?

21. Poetry from Lord of the Rings:

Upon the hearth the fire is red,
Beneath the roof there is a bed;
But not yet weary are our feet,
Still round the corner we may meet
A sudden tree or standing stone
That none have seen but we alone.

Tree and flower and leaf and grass,
Let them pass! Let them pass!
Hill and water under sky,
Pass them by! Pass them by!

Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate,
And though we pass them by today,
Tomorrow we may come this way
And take the hidden paths that run
Towards the Moon or to the Sun.

Apple, thorn, and nut and sloe,
Let them go! Let them go!
Sand and stone and pool and dell,
Fare you well! Fare you well!

Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead,
We'll wander back to home and bed.

Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
Fire and lamp, and meat and bread,
And then to bed! And then to bed!

The four hobbits are walking and walking towards a still unknown destiny, but despite that they remain confident that they will find something and eventually will return safely.

13. Comparing the book with the movie.

It is obvious that the movie could never be as great as the book, or it would be a movie of 40 hours. I saw the movie four times and the most interesting part, for me, was to see the characters. To see if they really looked like I always imagined. Well, they did. Mostly Gandalf, the wizard, and the hobbits were very look-a-like with the appearances I had in mind.

The special effect in the movie were great, but they can never meet up with the ‘special effect’ you imagine while reading the book. After seeing the movie I had less pleasure in reading the book cause it isn’t leaving anything open to your own imagination. You now know what something looks like and can’t change it anymore.

However, I am happy that I saw the movie and intend to see the other two movies, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, as well.