Comparing Monomyth In The Odyssey And The Lord Of The Rings

A HEROS JOURNEY

Comparing The Monomyth in The Odyssey and The Lord of the Rings

Ordinary World

Frodo Baggins’s story begins when he inherits the Ring and all of Bilbo’s possessions at Bilbo's 111 birthday. Bilbo leaves the Shire, gifting his magic ring to Frodo.

During the years leading up to the realization of what the Ring really was, Frodo grew restless and found himself looking at Bilbo’s old maps and wondering what might lay beyond those maps.

Nearly twenty years later, Gandalf reveals that Bilbo’s ring is actually the One Ring and that Sauron has found out the name of Baggins, which means that the Ring is no longer safe in the Shire.

Odysseus' Ordinary world is different than Frodo's. Odysseus' story begins back before the Trojan

Odysseus's disguise as a beggar allows him to enter his kingdom so he can plan his revenge on the suitors.

Ordeal The ordeal that Frodo must face is the final destruction of the ring. He must throw away the ring into the volcano from whence is came, Mount Doom. Doing this will destroy Sauron and his evil forces forever. However important this may seem, Frodo hesitates when he is faced with the challeng. He only manages to complete his Ordeal when the creature Gollum steals the ring from him and falls into the lava of Mount Doom.

Odysseus has a much less stressful ordeal. He has to face the many suitors that have invaded his city and kill them all. He does not have to face a tough emotional challenge but instead a physical one.

Reward When the Ring is destroyed, the consequences are felt immediately everywhere. Orcs and those peoples on the side of the Dark Lord flee or surrender or get ready for the last fight after this happens. When they are beaten, the Free peoples that opposed the rule of Sauron get back the freedom they almost lost. The reward of freedom is Frodo's. Frodo also gets rewarded by Aragorn when he is honored by those of Minas