The Fellowship of the Ring

Title: The Fellowship of the Ring

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

ISBN: 9780547928210

Publisher: Mariner Books; Reissue edition

Copyright: 2012 (1954)

Genre: Adventure/Action/Fantasy

Age Range: 15+

Reader’s Annotation: Frodo Baggins begins the journey of a lifetime through orc infested lands to destroy a magic ring.

Plot Summary: Bilbo Baggins celebrates his 111^th and Frodo Baggins celebrates his coming of age at 33. Using the party as a ruse, Bilbo escapes with a few belongings on a permanent holiday. There is much celebration during the party including fireworks from his old friend Gandalf. Bilbo leaves Frodo everything that’s not on his back, including the one ring. Gandalf warns Frodo before he leaves on other wizard business to keep the ring a secret. Over the next seventeen years Gandalf pops in to check on Frodo. On spring evening, Gandalf confirms that it was Sauron’s one ring that was cut off and kept by Isildur instead of destroying it in Mount Doom. In the Battle of the Gladden Fields, Isildur was killed and the rind lost to the Great River Anduin. A thousand years later, the ring was found by Déagol wherein he was killed by Sméagol who demanded it as a birthday present. The position of the ring kept him alive for centuries as he transformed into the Gollum. The ring was recovered by Bilbo as told in The Hobbit.

            Gandalf tells Frodo that the ring is no longer safe as the location has been

told to Sauron by Gollum’s torture. Gandalf charges Frodo the task of getting the ring to the elf-haven Rivendell for a decision on its fate. Samwise Gamgee overhears and is charged by Gandalf to protect Frodo. Frodo, Sam, Pippin, Merry, and Fatty plan Frodo’s exodus from the Shire. Gandalf never meets them on the date agreed upon, they set out anyway. Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, follow them and the band of Hobbits make a narrow escape leaving Fatty behind. They travel through the Old Forest and fall asleep. Awoken by roots trying to strangle them, the Hobbits are saved by Tom Bombadil, an ancient figure of middle earth. They make their way to Bree and meet the ranger Aragorn. Because he is a friend of Gandalf, he agrees to guide them to Rivendell.  At the hill of Weathertop, five of the Nazgûl attack them. Frodo is stabbed by the cursed blade of the Nazgûl king. Unless treated soon, Frodo will become a ringwraith. With the help of Glorfindel, an elf-lord from Rivendell, they reach and cross the River Bruinen. When the Nazgûl attempt to follow, they are washed down river by Elrond, the lord of Rivendell.

            Frodo wakes up in Rivendell with Bilbo at his side. Frodo and Bilbo exchange an odd moment about the ring. Frodo meets some of the dwarves of Bilbo’s journey and Legolas. Elrond convenes the Council of Elrond and they share information about the Nazgûl searching for the ring. Boromir and Faramir relate their dream to seek "the Sword That Was Broken" and "Isildur's Bane" in Rivendel. The ring is revealed to all. Infighting happens within the meeting about what is to be done with the ring. Gandalf relates the story of how Saruman, the chief of all wizards in Middle-earth, has turned against them. The council desides that the ring is to be thrown into Mount Doom and destroyed. Frodo volunteers for the journey along with Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gandalf, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo. They are called the Fellowship of the Ring.

            While trying to cross the Misty Mountains, the troop is forced to take the pass under the mountains by snow and a band of orc wargs through the mines of Moria. Gandalf is unsure of what they will find down there and even feels an ancient evil presence.

Critical Evaluation: The Lord of the Rings books have had mixed reviews throughout the decades. In 1957, it received the International Fantasy Award. As the years have gone forward, it has become apparent that this book has a large audience due to the steady sales and a high number people who constantly list it as one of their favorite books. It is a good book for teens to read because it is a saga and be truly called an epic. The characters are young and relatable. The story is about good and evil and does not verge farther into a philosophical debate on a specific subject. It also exposes teens to a new world of folklore and myths that they might not be exposed to otherwise. It is a story that is loved worldwide and been made into many different adaptations. A collection would not be complete without this modern classic.

Author Information: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was a major scholar of the English language, specializing in Old and Middle English. Twice Professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at the University of Oxford, he also wrote a number of stories, including most famously The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), which are set in a pre-historic era in an invented version of our world which he called by the Middle English name of Middle-earth. This was peopled by Men (and women), Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Orcs (or Goblins) and of course Hobbits. He has regularly been condemned by the Eng. Lit. establishment, with honorable exceptions, but loved by literally millions of readers worldwide. Source - http://www.tolkiensociety.org/author/biography/

Curriculum Ties: Mythology; Foreign Language; English; Creative Writing

Challenge Issues: Violence

Booktalk Ideas: Adventure – Describe an adventure that teens might go on, like the grocery store, but turn it into an epic leading into Frodo’s journey.