The Lord Of The Rings

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After reading the first book of Lord of the Rings and viewing the movie I have come to many conclusions. Two of which are that the book is not as hard to read as I was informed and that I would suggest to anyone to read the book before watching the movie. But before I go into detail about these topics let me give you some history.

The first book of The Lord of the Rings, called The Fellowship of the Ring, begins in the Shire, which lies in Middle Earth, where the hobbits Bilbo Baggins, Frodo, Pippin, Sam, and Merry all live. These will be a few of the main characters throughout the story. But before I go into the real story I must explain the One Ring. Sauron is after the One Ring so that he can rule all of Middle Earth. Anyone who wears the Ring is taken over by the evil power that it possesses. Bilbo had found the Ring in a cave that he was lost in long ago but has come to understand the true power of it and knows that he must give it to someone who will be responsible with it.

Bilbo is celebrating his 111 birthday and everyone in the Shire is preparing for it. He had been planning to tell everyone he was leaving the Shire on the night of his party and decided to do it with a "bang". When he finished his farewell speech he slipped on the One Ring, which caused him to become invisible. Though Bilbo may not seem so honest in this part of the story he redeems himself by deciding that he should give his cousin Frodo the Ring to take care of. When he goes to leave he tries to take the ring with him, knowing its true power. It has already put a hold on him, just like it does to any of its holders. Gandalf the Grey, a great wizard whom is a large part of the story, finally convinces Bilbo to leave the Ring behind.

Frodo is now given the responsibility of making sure that the Ring does not end up in the hands of Sauron. He leaves the Shire with Sam, Merry, and Pippin in search of Mordor, which is the only place where they can destroy the Ring. Throughout the beginning of the journey Ringwraiths, which take that form of blackriders, are a major problem. These are servants of Sauron and are constantly trying to attack the hobbits to take the Ring.

Along the way the four hobbits run into a quite violent willow tree but are rescued by the jovial Tom Bombadil. He takes them back to his home where they meet his beautiful wife and have a feast. On the second day of their stay, Tom asks Frodo if he may see the Ring and surprisingly when he puts it on nothing happens. It seems that he is the only one that is not affected by the power of the Ring and as he goes to hand it back to Frodo he does a quick disappearing act with it. Frodo becomes worried even after Tom hands it back, having suspicions of whether or not it is the real Ring. So in order to determine if it is or not he puts it on, this being the first time that Frodo uses the Ring.

Next, the hobbits travel to Bree where they stay at a local inn. This is where the hobbits meet Aragorn who is also known as Strider. He seems very suspicious at first to the hobbits but they later discover that he is a friend of Gandalf's, and knows much about the story of the Ring. Also, Bree is where Frodo accidentally puts the Ring on making it the second time he has worn it. During the night they stay in Strider's room but awake the next morning to find that the Blackriders had destroyed the hobbit room they were going to stay in. Their travels are becoming more and more dangerous but they now have Strider to take along with them.

One of the nights that they are camped outside, the hobbits and Strider are attacked by a group of Blackriders. Frodo decides to put on the Ring hoping it will make him invisible and allow him to escape, but it only makes him more visible to the wraiths. He is stabbed by one of the wraith's swords, which carries a poison in it that turns whomever is cut by it into a wraith. The group must carry on but Frodo is becoming more and more weak as each day passes.

When the group gets closer to Rivendell they run into elf lord Glorfindel who had been sent to look for them. He gives Frodo his valiant white horse to ride, knowing that if they were attacked by Blackriders Frodo would be the one they were after and he was injured. Sure enough they are attacked and Frodo makes it over the river and as the riders try to cross they are swept away by a flood that Elrond created to save Frodo.

The group finally makes it to Rivendell and Frodo is healed by Elrond. He awakes a couple days later to find Gandalf sitting by his side. Gandalf was supposed to be traveling with the hobbits but had been missing since they left the Shire. It turns out that Saruman the White had captured Gandalf when he refused to go along with Saruman's plan to join Sauron. He had been rescued by the Giant Eagle and had come to Rivendell hoping to find Frodo. It is in Rivendell that a council is called to speak of all the things that have happened and what will happen. Frodo learns the full history of the Ring and he learns that he must take it to the Cracks of Doom in Mordor where it was created, in order to destroy it.

At the end of the meeting there are nine assigned to take the Ring to Mordor. Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, and Frodo of course; and then Gandalf, an elf named Legolas, a dwarf named Gimli, and Boromir who is a man from the south. The group heads south an when the reach the Mines of Moria they are attacked by Orcs. Frodo is stabbed yet again by the head Orc, but is saved by a coat of Mithril that Bilbo had given to him in Rivendell. They all survive the Orcs but when they get to the chasm of Khazad-dum, Gandalf is defeated by the Balrog and is taken into the fiery depths of the mines.

While coping with their grief for Gandalf the party keeps moving and reaches Lorien, a forest of elves. Here they meet the Lady Galadriel and after staying a few days depart but not without receiving gifts. It is here that Frodo tries to give Lady Galadriel the Ring but she realizes the harm she could do and refuses it. She explains to him how since she is a carrier of one of the three rings made my Sauron, if Frodo is defeated then Sauron will overpower her. If Frodo should destroy the Ring then the powers of the elves will eventually fade. Knowing that it is a lose-lose situation, it makes the quest even more difficult for Frodo.

Once the fellowship leaves Lorien they head down the Great River, Anduin. Gollum is spotted following them down the river, which should come as no surprise since he has been following since he had escaped. They finally reach a point where Frodo must decide whether to go east or west. After a couple hours and an attack from Boromir to get the Ring, he decides he should go west on his own and leaves the others behind to head home. He almost gets away but his