The Fellowship of the Ring is a novel written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Released in 1954, it is the first book in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy and tells of the beginning of the quest to destroy Sauron.
Characters[]
- Frodo Baggins
- Sam
- Gandalf
- Sauron
- Tom Bombadil
rest to be added
Publisher's summary[]
Begin your journey into Middle-earth...
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power—the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring—the ring that rules them all—which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.
In a happy village called The Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
Summary[]
The book begins with a summary of the prehistory of the ring of power. Long ago, twenty rings existed: three for elves, seven for dwarves, nine for men, and one made by the Dark Lord Sauron, in Mordor, which would rule all the others. Sauron poured all his evil and his will to dominate into this ring. An alliance of elves and humans resisted Sauron’s ring and fought against Mordor. They won the battle and the ring fell to Isildur, the son of the king of Gondor, but just as he was about to destroy the ring in Mount Doom, he changed his mind and held on to it for himself. Later he was killed, and the ring fell to the bottom of the sea. The creature Gollum discovered it and brought it to his cave. Then he lost it to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, during the events of The Hobbit.
After the prologue, the beginning chapter of the book takes place in the hobbits’ peaceful Shire years later, where the wizard Gandalf has come to celebrate Bilbo’s 111th birthday. The party is an extravagant occasion with fireworks and revelry, and Bilbo entertains children with tales of his adventures. In the middle of a rambling speech, however, he puts on the ring, which makes him invisible, and runs to his house to pack his things and leave the Shire. Gandalf meets Bilbo back in his house and tells him he must give up the ring. Eventually Bilbo agrees to entrust it to his nephew Frodo. Gandalf senses that the ring is gaining power over Bilbo. We see a flash of Mordor, and hooded horsemen, the ringwraiths, leave its gates.
The scene shifts to Gandalf, who rushes to a library to sift through ancient scrolls. As the ringwraiths begin to close in on Bilbo’s house, Gandalf returns to Frodo and throws the ring into Bilbo’s hearth. Mysterious letters appear on the ring’s surface. Only then does Gandalf realize that this ring is actually Sauron’s ring. Gandalf explains to Frodo that the ring and Sauron are one. He longs to find it, and it longs to find him.
Gandalf has learned that Sauron has kidnapped Gollum and that Gollum has revealed that Bilbo has the ring. The ring must leave the Shire or it will endanger all the hobbits. Gandalf cannot take it himself, since as a wizard he will wield too much power with the ring. He determines that Frodo must take it. Gandalf explains that if Frodo puts on the ring, it will draw Sauron’s agents to it. Suddenly, Gandalf discovers that Frodo’s friend Sam has been hiding outside and listening to Gandalf and Frodo. At first, Gandalf is furious at Sam’s eavesdropping, but then he recruits Sam to be Frodo’s travel partner and protector, for secrecy is key to Frodo (and Sam) staying alive.
Sam and Frodo leave Bilbo’s house, and in very little time they have ventured further from the Shire than ever before. Merry and Pippin, two mischievous hobbits who are fleeing a farmer from whom they’ve stolen, encounter Sam and Bilbo and join their party. The ringwraiths ride by, and the hobbits narrowly escape detection. Frodo is tempted to put on the ring, but Sam stops him. This urge is Frodo’s first insight into the power and temptation of the ring.
The hobbits arrive at the town of Bree and enter the inn known as the Prancing Pony, where they are supposed to meet Gandalf, but the wizard isn’t there. The ring accidentally slips onto Frodo’s finger, alerting the ringwraiths to his whereabouts. A ranger named Strider introduces himself to the group of hobbits and urges them to be more careful. The wraiths arrive at the hotel, but the hobbits, thanks to Strider, are well hidden. Strider explains to them that the wraiths were formerly the nine human kings who had the nine human rings. They are hunting the ring because finding it is the only way they can come back to life.
Meanwhile, Gandalf has approached another wizard, Saruman, for counsel. Saruman already knows about the ring and Sauron’s attempts to regain power. He declares that Mordor cannot be defeated and that the two wizards must join with Sauron. Gandalf protests, and the wizards battle. Saruman wins and imprisons Gandalf atop Saruman’s giant tower in Isengard, called Orthanc. At his tower, Saruman is constructing a terrifying army with the intention of waging war on Middle-earth. A butterfly rouses Gandalf and takes a message from him, and a giant eagle comes and saves him.
Strider and the hobbits head for Rivendell, home of the elves. They stop at a hill called Weathertop, where Strider hands the hobbits weapons and suggests they make camp for the night. The hobbits foolishly light a fire at their campsite, and the ringwraiths spot them. The ringwraiths stab Frodo, but Strider fights them off and saves Frodo’s life. Arwen, an elf princess, finds the party and hurries to Rivendell with Frodo, barely evading the wraiths. Frodo is cured and wakes up to discover Gandalf by his side. Bilbo, who has aged significantly, is also at Rivendell, having just completed the book of his adventures, There and Back Again: A Hobbit’s Tale. Elrond, the king of the elves and Arwen’s father, tells Gandalf that the ring cannot stay in Rivendell but must go further. Pessimistic about the future of Middle-earth, Elrond claims that the time of the elves is over, the dwarves are too selfish to help, and men are weak. The ring survives because of Isildur’s weakness. Moreover, the line of human kings is broken, though the heir of Gondor, who has chosen exile, can reunite them.
Shortly after this declaration, we learn that Strider’s true name is Aragorn and that he is the heir of Gondor. We also learn that Aragorn and Arwen are in love and have been for many years. However, this love requires that Arwen sacrifice her immortality, one of the chief attributes of elves.
Elrond convenes a meeting and announces that the races must come together to defeat Mordor. Frodo presents the ring, and Elrond insists that it must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, where it was made. There is some disagreement as to who will undertake this arduous task, and eventually Frodo emerges. Others step forward to accompany Frodo, forming a fellowship of the ring. The fellowship includes the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin; one elf, Legolas; one dwarf, Gimli; one wizard, Gandalf; and two humans, Aragorn and Boromir. Boromir is the son of the steward of Gondor, who has ruled the kingdom in the absence of the rightful king.
The fellowship sets forth from Rivendell. Saruman causes an avalanche of snow to block the group’s attempt to cross the pass of Caradhras, and they decide to enter the realm of the dwarves, the mines of Moria. Inside Moria, the party discovers that all the dwarves have been killed, and soon the fellowship is surrounded by an army of orcs, inhuman creatures that are also brutal, ruthless warriors. The orcs disperse, however, at the approach of a Balrog, a demonic creature from the underworld. The fellowship flees this creature as the mines collapse. Gandalf stays behind to battle the Balrog, which he sends collapsing to the depths of the mines. However, as the Balrog falls, it grabs hold of Gandalf’s legs and drags the wizard down with it. The fellowship emerges from the mines saddened by the loss of Gandalf, but Aragorn insists they have no time to mourn and must press on.
Coming to a forest, the Sylvan elves, led by Galadriel, the Lady of Woods, meet the fellowship. That evening, the Lady and Frodo speak in private. She asks him to look into a mirror, which is a basin of water, and tell her what he sees. He sees visions of the Shire destroyed, of his companions surrounded by orcs, and of the huge, fiery eye of Sauron. The Lady tells him he has seen visions of what will happen if his mission fails. She warns him that the fellowship is breaking and that one by one the ring will destroy them all. Frodo doubts his ability to accomplish his task on his own, but she says that as the ring-bearer, he is already alone. If he does not accomplish the task, no one will. The Lady encourages Frodo and gives him a parting gift, a star of light that will illuminate his path when all other lights go out. The next day, the fellowship departs in boats down the river. Meanwhile, Saruman has dispatched Uruk-hai, unusually large and powerful creatures whose sole mission is to destroy the world of men, after the party, with the instructions to kill everyone but bring the hobbits back alive.
After docking on dry land, Frodo wanders off, and Boromir follows. Frodo is determined to go off alone, but Boromir wants the ring. He is about to attack Frodo for it when Frodo puts on the ring and disappears. This is the longest period of time that Frodo has ever worn the ring, and he has his longest look yet at the fiery eye of Sauron. When Frodo takes the ring off, Aragorn is beside him. Frodo distrusts him, too, but Aragorn passes the test that Boromir failed. He tells Frodo to run off and turns to face the approaching army of Uruk-hai. Boromir also fights valiantly but is badly wounded. The Uruk-hai capture Pippin and Merry. Aragorn wins an epic battle with an Uruk-hai, then rushes to the fallen Boromir, who confesses that he tried to steal the ring from Frodo.
Boromir says he has failed the group, but Aragorn tells Boromir he has fought bravely. Boromir swears allegiance to Aragorn, his rightful king, as he dies. Back at the river, Frodo regrets having the ring but remembers Gandalf’s words about his destiny. He departs in a boat, but Sam insists on coming along. Though he can’t swim, Sam jumps in the water, and Frodo is forced to rescue his flailing friend and pull him aboard. Once safe, Sam reminds Frodo that he made a promise never to leave him. On the water’s opposite side, Sam and Frodo climb a mountain and spot Mordor in the distance.