Fellowship Of The Ring Essay

The temptation of power and control has caused destruction since the beginning of time. From Adam and Eve’s choice to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil to Hitler’s massive genocide, it seems as though humanity cannot evade a fascination with personal status and authority. In The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, the ring’s control over characters is a reflection of humanity’s innate craving for power. While most of the characters do not comprehend the ring’s tremendous power at first, Gandalf quickly realizes that the ring has a great influence on both those who obtain it and those who are aware of it. He says, “It is far more powerful than I ever dared to think at first, so powerful that in the end it would utterly overcome anyone of mortal race who possessed it. It would possess him” (Tolkien 46). This possession causes characters to become attached to the ring, making it their

Gandalf begins to ponder the ring’s control over Bilbo when Bilbo expresses, “I don’t like parting with it [the ring] at all, I may say. And I don’t really see why I should. Why do you want me to?” (33). According to Gandalf, Bilbo's voice changes when he says this, becoming suspicious and aggravated with the idea of giving up his precious ring. Bilbo is also caught in lies about how he acquired the ring, leading Gandalf to believe that something is amiss. While Gandalf urges Frodo to avoid using the ring, Frodo cannot help himself and puts it on his finger multiple times in the book. Finally, Boromir betrays Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship when his yearning for the ring’s power gets out of hand. As he tries to grab the ring, Boromir tells Frodo, “I need your Ring: that you know now. . . it is not yours save by unhappy chance. . . Give it to me!” (399). Bilbo, Frodo, and Boromir are just three examples of characters that are negatively influenced by the