Wow Vikingmaiden. Your thoughts on the Ring are very thought provoking. I love the way you put it. Thank you!



I think that this is a good point as well. The heaviness of the Ring weighs you down, just as sin weighs you down. Following along that thought, the Ring got heavier for Frodo as he got closer to Mordor. I wonder what the reason for this was. I think it could be that it was tempting him more and more every day. That it's hold was growing stronger and stronger on him. Soon, there was more of the Ring in Frodo than there was of himself.

I suppose you could quote me. If you'd like a more eloquent, refined rendition, you could read Tolkien's letters

You've got it in one! That's exactly how it is. The ring became heavier closer to Mordor because Sauron could sense it more and Frodo was weakening. If it wasn't for Sam Frodo would have been a goner long ago, especially in the TTT when he rescues Frodo from the Nazgul.

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Thanks Frodos Guide. I do feel a certain degree of gratitude for Sam throughout LOTR. He keeps Frodo alive. Towards Mordor, it's like the only teo things Frodo is sticking around for are to see the Ring destroyed, and Sam. Their friendship is a truly beautiful one.

That's it
Which makes it even more sad in ROTK when Frodo's all like
'Go home Sam'
It's like here man what you playing at!
Obviouslycorruption was the trigger for this but still!

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That was very sad scene. It broke my heart. It didn't happen in the books though. And really, it was the Ring that made Frodo say/do that. He would never have done anything like that if not for the Ring.

I think that one ring means death and power,strenth.?

who knows .

Melia,Lady Of Gifts.

And yet, I don't know if the deaths themselves are what makes the deaths devastating. I think that it is rather the people who are left behind to mourn their dead. The pain that the must feel, the longing. Those who are dead, are dead. They have acheived the ultimate peace. Those who left alove were left to face the hardships during the War of the Ring and the devastation that followed it. Therefore I'd say that yes, death if definitely one of the evils of the Ring, one of the main ones. But I actually feel like the corruption of an innocent soul is worse? I don't know what I'm saying. Excuse me everyone.

Well said, guys! I'm afraid I can't really say what hasn't been said before -but I can try to re-visit them. xD

Like Tinuviel, the Ring represented corruption for me, along with the already mentioned sin, greed, and power. All to often, a seemingly beautifull thing will be a thing to corrupt your soul. Like Frodo said,

(I'm quoting from memory so it may not be correct.)

I think that statement has much truth in it. It is part of human's nature to want to control something, rather than be controlled. In this way, the Ring decieves. It seems to offer complete power to the user, but in the end said user is controlled by the Ring.

I want to say so much more, but I can't seem to put my thoughts into words just yet...interesting topic, thanks for bringing it up. Made me thing alot. ^^

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I've lost my faith in so many things but I still believe in You

I have been following the discussion for a while and I agree that temptation is a crucial point in this case. But it wasn't until I read another post by Tinuviel's Tears' in another thread that I actually understood it in a way... a slightly different way maybe. (Her post is in the Misc. LotR Book Discussion>>Good and Evil in Middle-earth: http://arwen-undomiel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11082)

I hope I have her permission to quote a bit of her post:

The Ring tempts by promising to fulfill your dreams. It appears like a good fairy, a neutral and innocent object or medium to channel your desires and good intentions.
So I agree that the Ring represents temptation, but next it also represents our dreams, hopes, desires and wishes. We mirror ourselves in the ring. All the good things we would like to see for ourselves and for the world, the paradise and the Utopia can come true with the power of the ring. But the more we allow the ring to dazzle us, the more blind we become to the fact that the changes we wish, we need to work with ourselves. It is quite difficult for me to explain this, so I dare drawing on an example from LotR, even though it might confuse everything more.
Boromir sees the great potential of the Ring. He sees a mighty weapon who can throw back the enemy, he sees himself as the wielder of the Ring, the bringer of peace to his people. The Ring magnifies this desire by offering him an easy solution that might end the war even before it has begun.

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*applauds* Wow, Ea. An excellent, excellent post. Very insiteful. Again, wow.

I agree wholeheartedly with you on this. The Ring represents temptation, but why is it tempting? Because we see it as the fulfillment of our deepest dreams. The Ring is representative of power (that could be why it's called the Ring of Power ), and with power, we can attain what we wish. It preys on our weaknesses, our fears, our ambitions, and distorts and clouds our vision until we think it can gain us everything we want, until we desire it above all things. I love what you said there, "what we wish, we need to change ourselves." That's a very accurate, true statement.

I wasn't at all confused by your connection with LOTR, in fact, I think it's a very good one. In the Ring, Boromir sees his city being saved. He sees peace for Middle Earth. Those are the unselfish things he sees. But he also sees triumph and Honor for his city, Gondor. He sees great Glory for himself as a warrior, he sees himself praised as the Savior of Middle-earth. Those are selfish reasons. The Ring appeals to Boromir's fear, fear of war and death and destruction, and Boromir's pride, as a Son of Gondor and as a warrior.

Just a few of my thoughts added in to Ea's brilliant post.

I think the Ring represents the Sin that Jesus or in this case Frodo had to bear to Mt. Doom or the Cross. We can all try to destroy, and some times we give in to the sin as Boromir did. This Sin or the Ring is so strong that it can and will over take us if we let it. Will you or do you have "something you're holding onto?"

tolkien once said "I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations...I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse 'applicability' with 'allegory'; but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author"

that means he didn't assign any particular symbolism to the ring (or anything else in the books for that matter), but he wouldn't mind us interpreting it in our own way - it represents what we want it to.

tolkien's like the guy writing the history book, and we're like the students trying to work out what those events mean for us today and how we can learn from them.

hope that makes sense

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It makes perfect sense to me Eowyn. Nice post.

HirilAlatariel, if that's really what the Ring means to you, go for it.

The Ring means different things to different people, different characters. I guess that's really what we're saying in some of the other posts. As Ea said, the Ring shows us the fulfillment of our wildest dreams. Different people have different dreams, therefore, the Ring would be something different to each one of them. Does that make any sense?