Frodo Baggins is the protagonist of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. He is a hobbit who inherits the Power Ring of the evil Dark Lord Sauron and must destroy it. Frodo is Christ-like, has a reflective mind, and is challenged by the corrupting and addictive power of the ring. He is accompanied by Sam Gamgee and guided by Gollum. Ultimately, Frodo goes to the Gray Havens and becomes one of fiction’s great heroes.
Frodo Baggins is one of the central characters, if not probably the protagonist, in JRR Tolkien’s best-selling book, The Lord of the Rings. He is an intelligent and graceful hobbit, who inherits the Power Ring of the evil Dark Lord Sauron. He must make the painful decision to try and destroy the ring by taking it from his beloved home in the Shire to Sauron’s evil country of Mordor, so that he can, if possible, hurl the ring into the depths of fiery Mount Doom.
There are some important points about Frodo Baggins that need to be addressed especially for those familiar only with Peter Jackson’s film versions of Tolkien’s books. First, although hobbits tend to have longer life spans than humans and look younger for much longer (which is enhanced by wearing Sauron’s ring), Frodo isn’t just a young man. When Tolkien’s book opens, Frodo is about to celebrate his 33rd birthday, the typical coming-of-age year for hobbits. He is 50 when he begins his perilous quest, an echo of the age of his uncle Bilbo (actually a cousin) when Bilbo began his “adventure”, in the prequel book, The Hobbit.
There is much about Frodo’s character that is admirable, and as his journey continues, his figure becomes distinctly Christ-like. He is clearly and fully aware that he is sacrificing himself in the hope that the world will be saved. As a hobbit, he begins to describe Tolkien’s book as somewhat different from other hobbits. Under Bilbo’s guidance, Frodo learned some Elvish, and the wizard Gandalf describes his mind as “quick”, not always the case with hobbits, who can be quite simple people. Though he loves the Shire, his homeland, he is as torn by the desire for adventure as Bilbo was, and though he has many hobbit characteristics, such as a good sense of humor and a love of mushrooms, he has a more reflective mind and adventurous spirit. .
As Tolkien’s novel progresses, Frodo Baggins is increasingly challenged above all by the constant need to carry the enemy’s ring, which corrupts all who come into contact with it. The main need for Frodo is to remain as free from this taint as possible and have the mental strength to finally throw off the ring. This is no easy task, since possession of the ring is not only corrupting, but also addictive.
On his travels, Frodo is accompanied by his faithful servant Sam Gamgee, and later he is guided by the former ring-bearer and desperate creature Gollum. A Jungian interpretation of Gollum/Sméagol would clearly call Gollum’s shadow Frodo. In most other interpretations, Gollum is simply a clear indication of what Frodo would have become had he chosen to claim the ring for himself. To remain Frodo Baggins and resist being Gollum is a terribly difficult task.
Yet Gollum serves Frodo, in some cases, exceedingly well. It must be remembered that Gollum and not Frodo is ultimately responsible for the destruction of the ring, and furthermore, that the film version of Peter Jackson once again deviates from the original. When Gollum takes the ring from Frodo by biting the poor hobbit’s finger, Frodo does not respond with any violent act or deed. Instead, Gollum in his madness and exultant glee at gaining the ring dances too close to the rim of Mount Doom’s volcano and falls into it. Frodo does not push it in.
Ultimately, the experience of wearing the ring makes it too difficult for Frodo Baggins to return to the Shire and live there. Instead of remaining in the Shire, which Frodo believes he has saved for others, not himself, he sets out with the last of the elves to go to the Gray Havens. He’s gone from earth-loving hobbit to one of fiction‘s great heroes, and his ending is both fitting and sad. Gray Havens suggests immortality, and Tolkien may not have known that his character would become nearly immortal for the many readers who have enjoyed his work. Frodo combines ultimate self-sacrifice with enduring love, and is therefore to be loved; small in stature, but immeasurably great in spirit.
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