Saturday, April 17, 2010

Why The Lord Of The Rings- The Fellowship Of The Ring Continues To Be Such A Popular Story

By Manuela Owens

If you love epic sagas that pit good against evil, The Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of The Ring may be the book for you. It is the first book in a trilogy which was written by British author J. R. R. Tolkien. The book was first published in 1954. It continued the story that was begun in "The Hobbit", a book written as a bedtime story for Tolkien's children. Although it is a continuation of the story, the later trilogy is actually a separate story in and of itself.

This is mainly because of its well loved themes (that of good, fighting against evil) and because of the richness in detail that Tolkien added in each chapter. You feel that you can identify with the main characters because they are shows to have failings and make errors in judgment. This allows us to put ourselves in their place and be drawn into the story to see where it takes us. Tolkien wanted to return to the traditional forms of storytelling which had fallen by the wayside in the literature of the time, and so created a world of ancient power and mystery with its own rich history, racial diversity and incredibly detailed landscape descriptions.

The story in The Fellowship actually begins in its prequel. The book "The Hobbit" outlines the travels of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit. Hobbits are essentially small, furry-footed humanoids who love good living and great food. They love a quiet, rural existence surrounded by farms. Bilbo is cut from a different cloth, and wishes to travel Middle Earth, the realm in which the story is set. On his journeys with a Wizard named Gandalf and a number of dwarves, he comes across an ancient artifact of evil and unspeakable power. The "one ring" is a device used by an evil creature named Sauron to enslave the people of Middle Earth and crush them under his heel.

On his return home, he settles down to live an unnaturally long life in the Shire, a beautiful and unspoiled rural area populated by hobbits. These are small humanoids with furry feet that eat good food, drink great wine and ale, and love to smoke something known as pipe weed. After years and years of life with his nephew and heir, Frodo Baggins, Bilbo begins to feel unnaturally "thin and stretched" and wishes to leave the ring behind so he can live out the rest of his life among the elves.

It is discovered that Frodo possesses the One Ring and is urged by Gandalf, a wizard, to transport the ring to Mordor, one of the countries in Middle Earth, so that it can be cast into the heart of a volcano and destroyed, thereby destroying Sauron's power.

From the Shire, the hobbits travel to Rivendell, where they meet the other five members of the Fellowship of the Ring. After members of some of Middle Earth's other races agree to help rid the world of Sauron's evil, they leave Rivendell and begin the journey to Mordor in the East of Middle Earth, where Sauron's stronghold is located. It is also where the only force capable of destroying the ring is also located.

The term the Fellowship of the Ring refers to the nine companions that traveled with Frodo on his journey through Middle Earth. They are Gandalf, a wizard; Legolas, an elf; Aragorn and Boromir, two humans; Gimli, a dwarf, and four hobbits. The four hobbits are Frodo, Sam Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, all friends of Frodo's who also come from the Shire.

The books are extremely detailed and allow the reader to see Middle Earth in their mind. Many people were alarmed to hear that Peter Jackson intended to make the book into a movie because they feared that it would lack much of the detail that made the book so incredible. The original version of the Lord of the Rings was released in 1978 and was universally loathed by fans and critics alike. However, Peter Jackson's version of this movie and its sequels has met with acclaim instead of criticism. All three were filmed in New Zealand and were a massive undertaking in terms of props, sets, and special effects. It is truly a magical movie that brings to light the wonder and beauty of Tolkien's universe.

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