The Lord Of The Rings: The fellowship of the Ring

A 3D model of the One Ring (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Title: The Lord Of Rings: The fellowship of the Ring

Author: J.R.R.Tolkein.

Main characters: Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Gandalf, Aragorn, Bilbo, Merry Barandybuck, Peregrin Took, Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, Elrond, Gimli, Boromir and Sauron  

Description of one of the main characters: Gandalf is a wizard. He was the one who sent Bilbo, a hobbit, on a journey of adventure with the dwarves to retrieve lost treasures from the great dragon,  Smaug. He is called ‘Gandalf the Grey’. He protects the Shire. He is very good at fireworks. Sam Gamgee, a hobbit, always sings about Gandalf’s fireworks:

The finest rockets ever seen:

They burst in stars of blue and green

Or after thunder golden showers

Came falling like a rain of flowers

Gandalf is a wise man. He knows all abut the rings of power. He dies in Khazad – Dom while leading Frodo and the company to Mordor.

Whom I like and why: I like Aragorn very much. He is a Ranger and son of Arathorn, a great king. He is called Strider by the people of Bree. There is a song referring to him made by Bilbo when they first met and Strider told about himself. This is the song by Bilbo on Aragorn:

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be the blade that was broken;

The crown-less shall be the king.

Aragorn’s sword’s blade is broken a foot below the hilt and it will be forged anew. Aragorn is the descendant of Elendil and Isildur (an old ring-bearer). He is very brave. He is a great friend of Gandalf.

Whom I dislike and why: I dislike Sauron, the dark Lord of Mordor. He took refuge in the Mirkwoods when Elendil and Isildur pulled him off the throne and took away the one ring of the dark lord. Sauron is the “Lord of the rings”. But Isildur takes the ring for himself and becomes the ring bearer. Sauron reforms himself in Mirkwood and takes power of Mordor. He tries to seek the friendship of the dwarves by promising them that he would give back their seven rings, which the dwarf-lords had possessed.

Setting/theme of the story: Bilbo Baggins and his heir celebrate Bilbo's eleventy-first (111^th) birthday and Frodo’s, Bilbo’s heir’s, thirty-third birthday by holding a party in the Shire and calling 144 people (111+33). Suddenly Bilbo vanishes and gives everyone a topic to talk about for the next 60 years. He wears the ring, which he won from Gollum, and which makes people who wear them invisible. He comes back into the Bag End, his house, and decides to go and stay at the House of Elrond, where the elves reside, for the rest of his life. He passes everything he has to Frodo and makes Frodo the master of Bag End. He also gives away the ring, on Gandalf’s advice, to Frodo even though it is his prized possession. He leaves telling goodbye only to Gandalf. Gandalf suddenly comes and tells Frodo that he has to leave Bag End and the Shire and embark on a dangerous quest. He tells Frodo that Frodo is the possessor of the one great ring that Sauron is searching for- that Frodo is the ring-bearer.

One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them. One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

It is only two lines of a verse long known in Elven-lore.

Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the dwarf-lords in their hall of stone,

Nine for the 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.

He explains to Frodo that the ring Frodo is having is the master-ring, the one ring to rule them all. He also explains to Frodo that this is the One Ring. When Sauron lost it  many ages ago in helped in the great weakening of his power. He also tells how much the Dark Lord desires it and that he must not get it for the good of the world. He tells  Frodo that Frodo has to leave Bag End and go to Rivendell, to the House of Elrond. Gandalf leaves Frodo to choose his companions to come along with him on the journey. Gandalf leaves Shire. Frodo chooses the faithful Sam Gamgee and his two friends Merry and Pippin. They travel through the woods after lying to the people of the shire that Mr.Frodo would be staying in Buckland forever. The stay in the house of Tom Bombadil and meet Goldberry, the daughter of River. They go to stay in The Prancing Pony, a lodge in a town called Bree. During their travel Frodo travels under the name of Mr. Underhill. They get a letter from Gandalf asking them to become friends with a man called Strider whom they fortunately meet at the Prancing Pony. They all set out to Rivendell. On their way they meet black riders, men from Mordor in search of Frodo. When they almost reach Rivendell, two black riders catch the company. But then, the river rises and they go away. Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Sam and Aragorn are welcomed by the elves of Rivendell. Frodo meets Bilbo in Rivendell. After staying there for sometime everybody hears how the possession of the ring came to Frodo: 

Isildur took it from the Dark Lord and after sometime, the ring fell into a river called Anduin, and vanished. It went to the hands of a quiet-footed little man called Deagol but his friend Smeagol killed his friend and took the ring. Smeagol is none other than Gollum fom whom Bilbo won the ring and it got passed on to Frodo.

 Frodo, Gandalf, Boromir, Aaragorn, Gimli, Merry, Pippin and Sam start journeying towards Mordor. On the way, in Moria, Gandalf dies trying to protect the others from Orcs. The others escape. Gollum follows them. They go to Lady Galadriel and her elves and tell them about the death of Gandalf. Then they continue their journey and come to a stop very near Mordor. Frodo gets threatened by Boromir who suddenly wants to steal the ring from him. He doesn’t want to risk his friends' lives to protect him as he is the ring-bearer. So, he decides to go away from them and complete the quest by himself. But Sam Gamgee, his faithful servant finds out his plan and accompanies Frodo in the last stage of the quest. They cross the river and search for a path that will lead them into the land of shadows.
The Fellowship Of The Ring, the first part of the Lord Of The Rings, ends here.

Part I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the part when Frodo sings a song about Gandalf to the Elves. Here is a part of the song:

When evening in the shire was grey

His footsteps on the Hill were heard;

Before the dawn he went away

On journey long without a word.

From wilderland to western shore

From northern waste to southern hill

Through dragon-liar and hidden door

And darkling woods he walked at will.

The song explains how Gandalf moves in and out of the shire secretly and how he has travelled to many unknown parts and how he mingles with everyone. I enjoyed all the songs in the Lord of the Rings very much. One more song I liked very much is Bilbo’s:

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began

Now far ahead the road has gone

And I must follow, if I can.

Pursuing I with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way,

Where many paths and errands meet.

And wither then? I cannot say.

Bilbo is very good at creating songs.