The Lord of the Rings
- Title: Part One – The Fellowship of the Ring
- Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Published: 1954
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- ISBN: 0-00-712970-X
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Ring-verse from the book
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
“The Lord of the Rings” is the book that defines the genre of fantasy novels. No fantasy author is free from the world of J. R. R. Tolkien – dragons, elves, dwarves, wizards, orcs, and of course, hobbits.
The whole story is technically a single volume, consisting of six books. However, in general, it is published in 3 volumes – three parts, two books per part. It is not very clear, honestly.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them,
“The Fellowship of the Ring” is the first part of the story. It deals with the background of the whole theme – how the rings were forged, how the Master Ring was lost and found, how Bilbo and Frodo are connected to the Ring, and how to destroy or use the Ring. At the council of Elrond, the companions of the Ring were chosen. The fellowship represents each group or race, Aragorn and Boromir for men, Legolas for elves, Gimli for dwarves, Gandalf for wizard, and Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin for hobbits.
Even though “The Lord of the Rings” follows the general pattern of an adventure novel, there are many distinct points that attract readers and give them something to think over. The mission is not to fight against the main villain or conquer the world with the legendary gifts from the past. It is the opposite. The mission is to destroy the most powerful weapon. The strong heroes cannot overcome the lure of the Ring and will submit to its evil power. Only seemingly unimportant hobbits, who are not warriors, magicians, or kings with powers, might hold the key to do the impossible mission.
“The Fellowship of the Ring” highlights the formation of the fellowship and its immediate breakup. It is strange and uncomfortable to see that the mighty fellowship is breaking down so quickly. But it might be the only way to move the plot till the end without losing the theme – destruction, not conquest. It is the lonely journey of Frodo and his only companion, Sam. Other heroes will make heroic history with great battles and adventures, but the main path to fighting evil is narrow and hidden.
The whole story is magically interwoven with the description of “Middle Earth,” a world where many intellectual races (?) coexist. It is interesting to see how Tolkien portrayed his nostalgic utopia through the world of hobbits. The hobbits’ world is based on an old – maybe never existed – nostalgic memory of small British countryside towns. Each town consists of a landlord (gentry class) and ordinary working-class people. Kings and aristocrats do not exist, but the social classes do. That is why Sam calls Frodo “Mr. Frodo” or “Sir.”
The portraits of classes and races in the book are quite debatable, and I will address this in the reviews of parts two and three. Also, check the world of patriarchy. Everyone is referred to as “son of [the name of the father] ,” which adds an archaic tone to the general dialog but might not be quite comfortable for many readers.
Also check my review of the Movie version – [Movie] The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
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