The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

 

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of the Lord of the Rings.

Mariner Books; 2005 (originally published in 1954),

ISBN: 0618574948.

Reader’s Annotation

Frodo and his companions set off on a dangerous quest to destroy the One Ring—the only way to defeat the evil Lord Sauron, and save all of Middle Earth.

Plot Summary

Sauron, the evil, dark power in Middle Earth long ago created rings of power—for men, dwarves, and elves—and one for himself—“one ring to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them.”  In a battle long ago, Sauron was defeated, and that very ring was taken from him.  The ring has a will of its own, however, and it now senses that Sauron is gaining strength, and is returning to power.  The ring wants to be found.  The only problem is that the ring is in the keeping of the most unlikely of heroes—a Hobbit of The Shire, Frodo Baggins.  Frodo inherited the ring from his Uncle Bilbo who found it on a long ago adventure (in The Hobbit).  But Sauron has discovered the whereabouts of the ring and is coming for it.  With the help of the wizard Gandalf, his servant/friend Sam, and an assortment of other companions, Frodo sets off on a quest to destroy the ring, which will destroy Sauron, which will save all of Middle Earth from Sauron’s evil control.  The key question is, will Frodo be able to destroy the ring before the ring destroys Frodo?

Critical Evaluation

When J.R.R. Tolkien set out to write his epic, The Lord of the Rings, one then he was certain of, was that he did not intend to write an allegory.  His background in linguistics enabled Tolkien to create a world with a level of detail and intricacy that is unparalleled.  Not only does Tolkien develop individual races, but he gives them their own language, culture and history.  The Fellowship of the Ring is probably the strongest stand-alone work of the trilogy (which Tolkien intended to be a single epic, but which the publisher insisted was too long).  Besides the extensive detail already mentioned, the character development in this book, sets the stage for the rest of the trilogy.  Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, Sam, Merry and Pippin, Gollum and the rest all truly come to life as the story unfolds.  The absence, or I should say scarcity of female characters is the only thing I find wanting in The Lord of the Rings.  While the stories seems to be beloved equally by men and women (from my perspective), the books are loaded with testosterone.  The book ends with a cliffhanger, but it also closes at a perfect break in the action. 

About the Author

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892, but grew up in England.  He was orphaned at the age of twelve, and the parish priest cared for young Ronald and his younger brother, seeing that they were taken in by a relative, and then overseeing their spiritual and academic growth.  Tolkien went on to excel in linguistics, especially old- and middle-English, and he served as a professor at Oxford.  After the success of the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien and his wife Edith had to move from their house and change their telephone number, due to the number of overzealous fans.  For more information, go to: http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/biography.html

Genre

Fantasy

Adventure

Curriculum Tie-ins

Language Arts (linguistics)

Booktalk  Ideas

1. If Frodo offered you the ring, would you take it?
2. What do you think the ring might symbolize?
3. Why do you think Boromir is so tempted by the Ring?

Reading level/Interest age

Ages 12+

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

No likely challenge issues.

Why I included this work

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of my absolute, all-time favorite works of literature.

Recommended for young adult fantasy at: http://www.nbfpl.org/docs/teendocs/TeenReadsFantasy.pdf

Great Quote from the Book:

“All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost.”