Contents
Title of the work and an explanation of the title
Author’s name and relative information
Literary background-information
Genre
Narrative technique
Theme
Setting
Short outline
The characters and their relationships
Personal view
Exercise
Title of the work and explanation of the title.
Lord of the Rings: Sauron is the Lord of the Rings, because he made the One Ring. He is the only one who has control over it.
The Two Towers: this title refers to the tower of Barad Dur (Saurons place) and the tower of Orthanc (where Saruman lives). There is an alliance between these towers. Together they try to take power over Middle Earth.
Author’s name and relative information
JRR Tolkien. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. His father died when he was 3 years old, while Ronald was in England visiting his grandparents with his mother and brother. His mother decided to stay in England. They moved to Sarehole, a small town near Birmingham. In 1900, the family moved to Birmingham so the children could go to school. Ronald had a flair for languages. His mother teaches him in Greek, Latin and French. He also thinked up his own languages and he was very fond of myths and fairy-tales. His mother died when he was twelve years old. It wasn’t rather a surprise when Tolkien, with his love for languages went to Oxford to study English. He has fought in the First World War and there, in the trenches he began to write a book: the Book of lost tales. He was married with his young love Edith Bratt and had three children. Two boys (John and Cristopher) and one girl (Priscilla). He was professor at Oxford, and he wrote many books. He died in 1973 because he had a gastric ulcer. He was 81 years old. He didn’t have the chance to finish his lifework, the Simarillion. His son Cristopher wrote the end of this book. Unfortunately, this book is so difficult and boring that hardly anybody reads it.
Literary background information
I have found an article about J.R.R. Tolkien on www.tolkiensociety.org.
Special lectures in Oxford University English department.
Dr Lee - J.R.R. Tolkien: Medievalist and Mythmaker Wednesdays at 11.00, Lecture Room 2, St Cross Building (wks 4-5)
These two special lectures are open to anyone interested in finding out more about the life and works of J. R. R. Tolkien. They will cover an introduction to his career, show how his work on medieval literature influenced his fiction, and consider the wider scheme Tolkien worked on linking his mythology to historical and other mythical events.
Dr Kean - Philip Pullman, John Milton and the Epic Tradition Wednesdays at 10.00, Lecture Room 2, St Cross Building (wks 1,2,4,5).
This course will both introduce Milton's Paradise Lost and explore the nature of Pullman's debt to Milton. It is therefore intended to be of practical use to those beginning work on Milton for Paper 5, as well as being of interest to those who have enjoyed reading Pullman's new 'epic', His Dark Materials. N.B. There will be no lecture in week 3.
· Week 1: The Hero
· Week 2: Innocence and Experience
· Week 4 (Feb 9): The descent to Hades
· Week 5 (Feb 16): Building the republic of heaven
Genre
Fantasy, because the story can’t be true. There are monsters, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards and small hairy-footed Hobbits in it.
Narrative technique
Third-person narrative, because it’s told by the writer; J.R.R. Tolkien. Here I have two examples.
Page 25: “Only Legolas still stepped as lightly as ever, his feet hardly seeming to press the grass, leaving no footprints as he passed; but in the waybread of the Elves he found all the sustenance that he needed, and he could sleep, if sleep it could be called by Men, resting his mind in the strange paths of elvish dreams, even as he walked open-eyed in the light of this world.”
Page 75: “Holding the Hobbits gently but firmly, one in the crook of each arm, Treebeard lifted up first one large foot and then the other, and moved them to the edge of the shelf.”
It also would be very difficult to tell the story in the First-person narrative, because there are several story-lines.
Theme
The story is about courage.
- Frodo’s courage to destroy the Ring.
- Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf have the courage to fight with Orcs, although they think it is hopeless.
-Théoden finds courage to ban Grima out of his life and fight.
These are just a few examples. Every character in this story has a different kind of courage.
Setting
The book doesn’t mention when the story took place. I found it on the internet. The story takes place in the third Era.
The story takes place in Middle-Earth: Frodo, Sam and Gollum are going to Mordor. The rest of the characters (Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Gandalf etc.) are most of the time in Rohan. Here I have two examples again.
Page 154: “The sun was already westering as they rode from Edoras, and the light of it was in their eyes, turning all the rolling fields of Rohan to a golden haze.”
Page 272: “Frodo looked straight into Gollum’s eyes which flinched and twisted away. ‘You know that, or you guess well enough, Sméagol,’ he said, quietly and sternly. ‘We are going to Mordor of course. And you know the way there, I believe.”
Short outline
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli decide to rescue Merry and Pippin. The Orcs are bringing Merry and Pippin to Saruman, because they believe that these Hobbits have the Ring. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are moving through Rohan. Then they meet the riders of Rohan. The riders tell them that they have defeated some Orcs and that they didn’t see any Hobbits. What they don’t know is that Merry and Pippin have escaped while the Orcs where fighting. They fled into the Fangorn Forest. In the forest they meet Treebeard (he is an Ent). An Ent is very much like a normal Tree, but he can walk and talk. Treebeard carries them to the Entmoot (a council of the Ents). The Ents are going to decide whether they are going to attack Saruman or not. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli have already found out that the Hobbits are in the forest. When they are in the forest to look for them, they see an old, hooded man with white clothes. At first they think it is Saruman, but then Legolas sees that it is Gandalf. This is rather a surprise, because they thought that Gandalf was dead. Gandalf has returned from his battle with the Balrog. Now he is Gandalf the White, head of the Wizard-order. They are going to visit Théoden, the king of Rohan. When they arrive in Edoras the find out that Théoden’s adviser, Grima Wormtongue, is in the service of Saruman. Grima is poisonong the kings mind. Gandalf sends Grima away. Gandalf decides to go to Isengard, that is the place where Saruman lives. Théoden, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are coming with him. In Isengard they meet Merry and Pippin again. The Ents have defeated Saruman and taken him prisoner. Gandalf takes the staff of Saruman and break it in two pieces. Saruman is no longer a Wizard. After that, the palantir (a round boll, with magical powers. Sauron can talk to Saruman through this stone) falls down. Pippin picks it up and give it to Gandalf. Gandalf doesn’t know that Pippin looked in it, and heard Sauron speaking. They turn back to Rohan. That night Gandalf catches Pippin, while he is looking in the Palantir. Gandalf is very shocked, but not angry. He explains what the Palantir is and how dangerous it is. Pippin must promise Gandalf that he won’t do it again. They travel further.
The Hobbits Frodo and Sam have decided to go to Mordor alone. The Hobbits are climbing over the hills. They find a place to rest. Suddenly they hear somebody coming. It is Gollum. He finally found them, and tries to take the Ring. But the Hobbits are much stronger. Gollum surrenders and makes a promise. He will lead them to Mordor and won’t steal the Ring. Gollum leads them to the Dead Marshes. They leave the Dead Marshes behind and move further. Frodo feels that the Ring is getting more heavier, because they are coming closer to Sauron.
He is afraid of Sauron. Gollum is getting more obsessed by the Ring. Sam notice that and is afraid that Gollum won’t hold his promise. Sam would love to kill Gollum, but Frodo is against that. So Sam waits patiently. Then they reach the black gates of Mordor. The gate is closed and there are Orcs everywhere. Then Gollum says that there is another way to go into Mordor. The Hobbits have little food left. When Gollum catch a few rabbits, Sam is very happy and makes everything ready to cook the rabbits. After the Hobbits have finished the dinner, they hear some voices. It is Faramir, captain of Gondor, and his men. Faramir was the brother of Boromir. Gollum is suddenly gone. Faramir takes the Hobbits captive, because he doesn’t know whether they are good or bad. He takes them to the capital of Gondor. They have long conversations with Faramir. Especially about Boromir. One night Faramir wakes Frodo. His man have found Gollum. Gollum is swimming in the Forbidden Pool. The Men kill everyone who enters this pool. Frodo bags Faramir not to shoot. Faramir listens to Frodo, but he takes Gollum captive. Now Gollum thinks that Frodo has betrayed him and that he can’t trust Frodo anymore. A few days later, Faramir sets Frodo, Sam and Gollum loose. Gollum has faith in Frodo again and he promise to lead them further. They climb up some stairways and walk into a tunnel. What Frodo and Sam don’t know is that Shelob (an enormous big spider) lives in that tunnel. Shelob is a friend of Gollum, but he doesn’t like other visitors. Suddenly Gollum is gone. Frodo and Sam walk further through the tunnel. Then they see the big spider. A fight follows, between the strong Shelob and the Hobbits. At last Sam kills Shelob. Frodo has passed out, but Sam thinks that he has passed away. A few hours later, he hear some Orcs say that they have taken a Hobbit captive. Then he understands that Frodo is not dead, but alive! Sam takes all his courage and goes to rescue Frodo.
The characters and their relationships
- Frodo: He is a Hobbit, friendly, young, naive, inexperienced, generous, nice, he is the hero but the Ring is slowly taking power over him, he has pity on Gollum.
- Sam: He is a Hobbit, very careful, kind, he is the best friend and gardener of Frodo, he tries to protect Frodo and the other Hobbits, he likes to eat and hates Gollum.
- Aragorn: He is a Mortal Men, a warrior, has travelled a lot, he is a little bit unsure of himself but he is very brave in a fight, he thinks that he has failed because the Fellowship split up, he could become a king but he thinks that he is to weak.
- Legolas: He is an Elf, He is the ears and the eyes of the Fellowship because he can hear and see very good, immortal (Elves can only die in a war or because of a broken heart), he prefers to fight with bow and arrow.
- Gimli: He is a dwarf, very proud, rude, he hates the fact that he is very small.
- Gandalf the White: He is a wizard, he is the head of the wizard-order (since a short time), wise, powerful, he is very tight-lipped.
- Saruman: He was the head of the wizard-order but he is fallen in the hands of Sauron, once he was a great man now he is angry and dangerous, you can fall under his spell if you listen to his voice.
- Sauron: he is pure evil, he wants the power over Middle Earth, he is the Lord of the Rings, he has made the One Ring, the Ring listens to Sauron alone. Sauron wants his Ring back, so he can cover all the lands in a second darkness.
- Merry (Meriadoc) Brandybuck: He is a Hobbit, very young, brave, likes adventures. His best friend is Pippin.
- Pippin (Peregrin) Took: He is the youngest Hobbit of the Fellowship, likes adventures, honest, curious, loyal, he sometimes is a fool, he is very much like a kid.
- Théoden: He is a Mortal Men, king of Rohan, he has fallen under the spell of Wormtongue (who works for Saruman), Now Saruman can do everything with Rohan what he wants, When Gandalf released him of this spell, he becomes a strong men who wants to protect his people.
- Gollum (also called Sméagol): He was a Hobbit once, before he found the Ring (he has lost it again, now he wants the Ring (‘My Precious’) back, the Ring has now become an obsession for him, he is very skinny, pitiful, a liar, a thief, and very schizophrenic.
Personal view
I find it a very fascinating and interesting story, because it goes about friendships, courage and the fight between good and wrong. I like all kind of historical stories, like King Arthur and Troy. But the Lord of the Rings is the best story of all. It’s a world where amazing races live and everything is perfect, except Sauron and Saruman. If I could, I would pack my bags and get there so soon as possible.
Exercise
If I could be someone, I would be Aragorn. He becomes the king of Gondor and he is not just a man, he is one of the dunedain. That are humans who live longer than normal humans. He also will married Arwen, a beautiful elf and the daugther of Elrond, the head of the elfs. Aragorn is very strong and he fights very well. Only for him is Sauron afraid. He has great friends and he always comes in peace. His most important purpose is to save the one he can and after the great war against Sauron, to serve his people as a king. He thinks everybody is equal to each other, and I do think the same way. An other reason to be him is that he fights with a sword, and I like swords very much. He also can fight with his bow and arrow. One thing I also like about him is that it wasn’t his intention to become a king. In the beginning he was just a doler, somebody who has no home and lives in the woods. He knows everything about species and plants. He is independent, and that is a thing I also want to be; live in the forest and forget everything. I won’t change anything, because I believe he is a perfect character to be. What would you change about somebody who is loved by all people and still stays the man who he is?
REACTIES
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