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The Fellowship of the Ring's Thematic Analysis

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The Fellowship of the Ring's Thematic Analysis
British Literature Honors
Fellowship of the Ring Thematic Analysis In J.R.R Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring a young hobbit named Frodo Baggins is selected to go on a quest in which he and his company must take the Ring to Mount Doom in Mordor, the place where the Ring was forged. Frodo is accompanied by his best friend, Sam, and runs into many interesting characters along the way. Throughout the company’s journey the temptation of the ring lures many characters astray and puts the company in many dangerous situations. In the novel the reader sees how even the most powerful man can be corrupted by temptation. Tolkien’s novel also shares many similarities with The Holy Bible, prevalent examples include The Garden of Eden story found in Genesis and Jesus in the Desert in the book of Luke. Throughout Tolkien’s novel many different characters, such as Frodo, Bilbo, Sméagol, Gandalf and Boromir become tempted because of the Ring’s great power.
In the Prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring Tolkien makes it clear that hobbits are comparable to human beings “It is plain indeed that in spite of later estrangement Hobbits are relatives of ours.” (Tolkien Prologue). Tolkien then goes on to describe the typical lifestyle of the Hobbits and how then enjoy a quiet lifestyle filled without worries. The Hobbits are more worried about what they will have for dinner rather than what a distant leader is doing. While Tolkien makes the Hobbit out to seem unimportant "these little people seemed of very little importance" (Tolkien Prologue), the reader soon finds out their actions are far bigger than anyone suspects. Bilbo stumbles upon the Ring out of luck while trying to escape a cave. Bilbo did not want to find the Ring nor did he know about the power that it possess. Little does Bilbo know what he has just discovered and how it will change his life for good. Throughout the novel many of the Hobbits major decisions are based off luck, just like Bilbo’s acquiring



Cited: Challoner, Richard. The Holy Bible,. New York: Douay Bible House, 1941. Print. Nelson, Brent. "Cain-Leviathan Typology in Gollum and Grendel." Extrapolation (University of Texas at Brownsville) 49.3 (2008): 466-485. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. Palurfalas, Narfil. "Talk:Bilbo Baggins - Tolkien Gateway." Talk:Bilbo Baggins - Tolkien Gateway. N.p., 8 Feb. 2007. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. Reyes, Rob De Los. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Review."Frictionless Insight. N.p., 22 Oct. 2002. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. <http://www.frictionlessinsight.com/archives/2002/10/the-lord-of-the-1.html>. Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring:. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print. Williams, Stan. "20 Ways “The Lord of the Rings” Is Both Christian and Catholic." Catholic Education Resource Center. N.p., 2003. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. <http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/arts/al0160.html>.

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