Greetings Sinbearer! It seems long since we have seen you last. Thank you for your input in this discussion. Very valuable as always. And so I am posting this even though goodness knows the next time you will be on to read it.

Ring_Bearer, you make good points as well.

This idea of what Frodo saw in the Ring keeps haunting me. Frodo is my favorite chracter, and I'm very interested in analyzing his feelings towards people, events, etc. But this one is so hard to answer. What does Frodo see in the Ring? What does he want enough or what weakness does he have that the Ring exploits? What are his wildest dreams that he sees being fulfilled? I've been thinking about it, but I'm no nearer to coming up with an answer.
Also something I've been thinking about, what did the Ring mean to Gollum/Smeagol? The instant he saw it, lying there in Deagol's hand, he wanted it, and he wanted it badly enough that he would kill for it. Why? Did he sense some kind of power about the Ring? Or is it just that effect of the Ring, that all who see it desire it in some way, and some give in to that desire more easily or are more in tume with it than others? I don't know. I was just wondering what you guys think about this.

Maybe that's true Tinuviel's Tears. In fact, all those who have had the opportunity to see the Ring have in some way desired it or at least they have had a minute of doubt : Sam, Aragorn, Gandalf...I think the Ring is able to appeal to the inner nature of the characters, to their fears, their likes...it's like it knew where to hurt, you know what I mean, how to make the bearer suffer. Cannot forget it was made for evil and it's evil what it makes

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..>>are u sure that there will be a "tomorrow"?<<..



Since I met u, I knew you were special thank you for everything Fer ^^
How do you go on when in your heart you begin to understand, there's no going back?

the fallen nature of humanity and the original sin of adam and eve.

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proud to be a pipe smoker like JJRT

I think in, spiritual means, it means it represents sin and temptation. It tries to pull people into it's evil power. There's actually a book that talks about LOTR and how it relates to the Christian faith.

Well, Tolkien very much disliked allegories, so I don't think that he intended for the Ring to be seen as sin. However, if readers want to interpret it that way, then that's their choice. I think that's one fo the cool things about the Ring is that we can all interepret it in our own ways. We can all see what we want to see in it.

That is truly what I love about the books that Tolkien wrote and I'm glad you said it again.

As I have thought more on his masterful tale and have listened to all the great viewpoints here I think that, regardless of what the ring might represent to each, it's effect was an agony of choice to all who encountered it. Inside each soul it bred a struggle between the blessing and the curse, between dark and light, between life and death. What would they do?

So in our lives the ring can never lie far from our choices--the choices for good or evil (as each of us understand good and evil) that each of us must make each day.

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"If you do not find a way, no one will."

Sinbearer! When did you get back? I haven't seen you in forever! It's nice to have you, if only for a short while.

I'm glad you agree with me.

Your thoughts are good ones. I think, however, that I'd use a diffferent word besides choice. I think I'd say....... opportunity. I'd say the Ring could represent the opportunity that we each have in us for good and for evil, if you want to look at it in that sense. After all, I don't think that the Ringbearers had a choice about bearing the Ring or that there was a choice of being drawn to the Ring or not. Even the most powerful, such as Gandalf were tempted.

Thanks Tinuviel's Tears ! It has been a while. I have been so busy with work and study that I just haven’t had time to write but I love it when I get a chance……

The word opportunity certainly puts a different spin on things. I like the word because I think it gives an optimistic and hopeful feel to what must be done with that Ring! Instead of being strapped with the horrific and burdensome choice of how we will relate to it, we have an opportunity to propagate all that is upright in this world if we will do it.

You are right, none of us have a choice—we are all drawn to the Ring—we must all bear it. How we will do this—where this journey will take us I think has to do with an understanding of the true force of the will because I believe that it is the governing power in the nature of man. Everything depends on the right action of our will.

Many are lost to the dark side while hoping and desiring to use their force for good. But in the hour of opportunity they don’t come to the point of yielding their will so that they may serve good—they don’t NOW choose to do what they really should do with that Ring. We see it the struggle in Smeigel and Gollum. We see it in Boromir. In Galadriel. In Isildur and Frodo and in many others. And my heart really goes out to Saruman. Very few had the strength to resist the darkness and seize the opportunity for moral excellence and virtue.

Isn't this forum awesome! It gives us all an opportunity to temper each others thoughts and ideas! It is so stimulating and enlightening to get other perspectives!

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"If you do not find a way, no one will."

I think it simply represents weakness. Everyone is weak to something, can fall addicted to something. Nobody can resist everything. It just represtents that everyone craves for something, may it be power, love, might, or something other. We are trying to fight it and someones can accually do it (like Gandalf or Galadriel didn't want to take the ring) but most are weak and fall to this addiction, however they swore never to fall to this (like Boromir promised to protect Frodo, but then he couldn't resist anymore to try taking the ring)
It also shows that addiction need not to break out immediately and changes you completely from the first "shot" (like with Smeagol) but it can eat you up slowly from the inside (Frodo) even until you are dead (nazgul) and you are still bound to your addiction, however you know you won't do it again (Sauron...like in his case never to get the ring again and still all of his power is bound to it...I think we can also compare Sauron to some kind of a "drug dealer"...he himselves craves from the ring, but at the same time, he drives others into this addiction (ringwraiths) so...yes, in my opinion it only shows the weakness of human, and every other race...and that everyone is craving for something and would even go to their limits to get what they want (Gollum)

That's my opinion about it...what do you think?

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Come to the Dark Side...we have Jim Moriarty

Temptation because it shows we can succomb to pretty things that turn out evil and have little will power to fight it off.

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Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future.
It's simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step Joni Erickson Tada

I'm going to attempt not to restate things that have been said before in this topic.

I really like what gollum13 said about The Ring being an addiction, because in a way it is. Those who have an addiction to power [which I believe we all have inside of us, no matter how deep down] feel it's pull most strongly. It's a fix of sorts. Those who use it are blinded and believe it will do good. They cannot see it's evil intentions. A drug can work the same way. Those who use it seldom realise it's bad for them. They are blinded by the way it makes them feel.

Sort of a ramble, but I felt inspired to add on.

The One Ring.

It represents humans. It represents everything we are, well at least some characteristics we have.

It's about selfishness. What else Sauron was. He wanted everything to himself. he wanted to be the ruler of theworld, King of his own Universe and if that os not selfish, I don't know what is.

The Ring represents temptation, seduction. It represents power. We all want power, there's no use in denying it. We want, some more and some less, but never the less... we. want. it. Power in seductive, tempting and definitely addictive. Those who had the ring were addicts, the craved the ring like some crave heroin (or pistachios).

The Ring is beautiful. That is what we want to be. Nobody likes being ugly. It makes us feel lousy. Beauty gives us power.

The One Ring = Power. And humans = power hungry *beep*. Hence the our hearts are so easily corrupted. Hobbits, wizards and elves and dwarves have these same characteristics... not the same amount though, so they react differently.

complicated anough?

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<center>Like a wilful stray cat, full of pride and freedom... bearing wounds that can't be healed...

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Saw this and decided to drop and and take a look but there ins't much i can say that has not been said already.


I agree that the one ring probably is a representation of sin, temptation, and the likes. So in a sense, yes it is something abd in our lives that we have to get rid of and it can corrupt the purest of peoples.

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Visit The Varsian Kingdom!

While I did enjoy reading everyone's thoughts on this, I have to say, I don't think the Ring represented anything. Someone quoted earlier (meaning three years ago ) Tolkien saying he didn't like allegory, and didn't write LotR as some metaphor of life or the World Wars or anything else.
In any case, I view the Ring as a separate entity, with a will of its own, capable of using people for its own gain or mischief. It represented different things to different characters because it told them to, in its way. It used its own power on them, and it used temptation as a short cut.
It said to Bilbo: Put me on, and be impressive and important in the grand scheme of things, instead of a bumbling, laughable hobbit from the Shire.
It said to Gandalf: Use me to defeat the Dark Lord and bring goodness and happiness back to Middle-earth.
It said to Boromir: Bring strength and pride back to the race of Men, please your father, and save your city and your countrymen.

That's why Frodo was so uncorruptable: he was not tempted by anything, and he realized when he wanted to put on the Ring, it was not for any reason in particular, except that the Ring was telling him to. And so the Ring had to slowly possess him from the outside.

In short, if the Ring represented anything, it wasn't any abstract emotion of humanity, it was the Devil, or something with a purpose of its own, capable of using people by corrupting or possessing them, not only by temptation of power but with power.

That's what I think, anyway, if you can make any coherent sense out it.

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To me the One Ring represents the strive to ultimate perfection (perhaps the strive of Mortal Men?) yet is the culimnation of ultimate evil. To me it symbolizes curruption - corruption of self, of the soul. The Ring ruined (corrupted) everyone who came in contact with it to one degree or another. It's the thing which seems to draw everyone to it with appealing appearence and beguiling powers (the evil deeds of the world that are so much easier to commit than those which are not). Those who reach out to it, who take it to themselves, are altered by it forever just as those who choose to reach out and commit evil deeds are altered by what they do.

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