The story of The Fellowship of the Ring takes places in the world of Middle-earth, a vast mysterious land containing many different groups of creatures and men. The book begins by announcing that Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a grand party in Hobbiton. Bilbo was very rich from his past journeys to distant lands in Middle-earth. Long ago, he had stumbled upon a ring while trying to escape a cave in which he was lost. He decided to take the ring back to the Shire, where the Hobbits dwell. Bilbo is quite aware that when he slips the gold ring on, he becomes invisible to others. Therefore, he decides to keep the ring to himself and not tell others, other than Frodo Baggins, his cousin, and Gandalf the Grey, a great Wizard. Bilbo Baggins had planned to go on holiday away from the Shire for good on his birthday, so he is to leave the ring to his heir, Frodo. When it became time for him to do this, Bilbo’s behavior changes into something quite peculiar. He acts reluctant into giving up the ring, though, Gandalf urged him to and succeeded. Gandalf, Bilbo’s good friend, suspects that the ring is possibly the One Ring of the legend. He encourages Frodo to leave the Shire with the ring because it may bring danger to the area. He explains to him that Sauron’s power is beginning to grow stronger. Frodo and his friends: Sam, Merry, and Pippin are sent out and make it to the town of Bree. Though, on their way they were being chased by nine Ringwraiths, servants of Sauron who are searching ruthlessly for the Ring of Power, which is what Frodo carries with him. Finally, when the hobbits make it to Bree, they were met by Aragorn, a Ranger, also known as “Strider. ” Aragorn is heir of the Kings of the ancient Men of Westernesse. He advises that the hobbits should sleep in a different room than they were planning to stay in. By doing this, he saves their lives as the Ringwraiths try to assassinate the hobbits in their initial room. The hobbits receive a letter from Gandalf advising them to leave for Rivendell, a realm of the Elves. Later, Frodo becomes wounded by a weapon of a servant of Sauron. When they reach Rivendell, Elrond, the master of Rivendell, heals Frodo and holds a meeting to find a solution about the Ring. The conclusion of the Council was to destroy the Ring of Power in the place where it was forged, the mountain of Orodruin, in Sauron’s realm of Mordor. The Council creates the Fellowship to help escort Frodo on his journey: Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir. The Fellowship passes through the Mines of Moria, unfortunately, Gandalf falls into Khazad-dum while fighting the Balrog of Moria.
The group continues onto Lorien, the forest of the Galadhrim Elves, which is where Lady Galadriel dwells. She strengthens the group and gives them gifts to help them on their journey. The Fellowship then travels down the Anduin River and camp on the shore. During the night, they saw Gollum, a creature that used to have the Ring in his possession. He had lost it to Bilbo Baggins a long time ago. The Fellowship arrive at the Falls of Rauros and have to decide either to head toward Mordor or to Minas Tirith, which is a safer route. Frodo is quite aware that the Ring he possesses may corrupt his friends, so he decides to leave secretly in the night and continue the journey alone. Though, Samwise Gamgee decides to sneak out with him because he is worried that Frodo going alone would be too dangerous. There are so many important characters in The Fellowship of the Ring that it is difficult to choose a favorite. However, one of my personal favorites is Gandalf the Grey. Gandalf is a Wizard of exceptional power and wisdom. He one of the five great Wizards of Middle-earth and is second in the order of authority among the them. His superior is Saruman the White, though, Gandalf has a much stronger foundation in the doing of good rather than evil. He would make visits to the Shire to see Bilbo Baggins once in a while. In reality, most Hobbits view Gandalf as a creator of great fireworks. Gandalf is one of my favorites because he always means well in everything he does.
Throughout the story, Gandalf remains motivated even in the most undesirable of situations. Gandalf is ambitious to bring peace to Middle-earth amongst the great evil power that is growing and causing disturbance across the land. He puts forth his best effort in everything he does. If he can’t solve a problem, then he will continue to try to solve it, despite others lack of motivation. For example, when Gandalf and the Fellowship were at the secret entrance of Moria, it was a challenge to figure out the password to make the door open. Gandalf sat there thinking deeply of what the password was, and he didn’t give up.
Another instance is when the Balrog of Moria puts the whole Fellowship in danger. Gandalf tells the others to go on without him because he was going to battle this creature to protect the Fellowship. One of Gandalf’s greatest strengths is wisdom. He always has a plan for the Fellowship even when things are going badly. Since he is also a great Wizard, he is very powerful in the field of magic, which comes in handy throughout this story. The only weakness that Gandalf shows in this story is a short temper, which is not necessarily a negative character trait. He is able keep the Fellowship in line when things get out of order or when one of the hobbits make a mistake. For example, he calls Pippin “a fool of a Took” when he backs into a skeleton in the Mines of Moria causing a loud echoing noise through the chambers. This gives away the position of the Fellowship, and they are discovered by the orcs. I personally think that Gandalf is a somewhat relatable character because he strives to do the right thing. Likewise, I try to do my best, though, I am not a wizard. He has quite an advantage. Gandalf’s background, motivation, strengths, and weaknesses affect the story greatly in many ways. Another one of my favorite characters is from the great race of Men. Aragorn, the rightful heir of Isildur, is a Ranger in the North and protects the Shire from evil. He is known locally by the name of “Strider. ” He has considerably similar qualities to Gandalf. He is a man of many strengths and little weaknesses. Aragorn’s strengths would include bravery, kindness, wisdom, skillfulness, powerfulness, and humbleness. He shows this in many occasions of the story. For example, Aragorn saves the lives of Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry on the hill Weathertop when the five Ringwraiths, or Nazgul, attempt to take the One Ring and kill Frodo. He fights them off with flame and they fled off the hilltop into the night.
Another example is when Aragorn advises the hobbits to sleep in a different room than they were planning to stay in at The Prancing Pony. Because of this wise decision, the four hobbits were saved from being assassinated in their sleep by Ringwraiths. The only weakness of Aragorn is his vulnerability of his identity. He doesn’t prefer to share with others that he is the heir to the throne of Men. Aragorn plays a big role in the Fellowship, escorting Frodo to destroy the Ring. He is a relatable character because he strives to help restore order to Middle-earth. Likewise, I would like to help restore peace in the world today. Aragorn is a strong leader who gradually becomes more kinglike throughout his journeys.
This story is full of many inspiring and well-known quotes. One of my absolute favorites is this: “I wish it need not have happened in my time. ” said Frodo. “So do I, ” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. ” This quote is significant because in the story, Gandalf had just told Frodo the story behind the Ring. Frodo becomes frightened and wishes that he had never received the Ring from Bilbo because of the trouble it would bring. This quote is my favorite because it inspires me to be thankful and make use of the life that God has given to me. We live in a fallen world of sin, just like Frodo’s realm, but there is hope. Another one of my favorite quotes is this: “All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost. ” This quote is significant because in the story, Gandalf had written a letter to Frodo helping to confirm that this “Strider” was actually Aragorn. Aragorn was a mysterious ranger who did not look like someone of trust, but in reality he was. I really like this quote because it sends a message that good people aren’t always going to be the ones dazzled in gold and fine clothes. It may be the ones who look rattier than most. There are these and many other quotes that are worth noting in The Fellowship of the Ring.
I would highly recommend that everyone should read The Fellowship of the Ring at some point in their life. The author J. R. R. Tolkien is one of a kind and writes like no other. His writing style attracts the reader to want to read more and more of the story. I think that people who have not read this book are missing out on an exquisite piece of modern literature. This story is the ultimate quest to bring order and peace to a world that is falling under the shadow of evil.
