When Frodo takes the Ring

I have been in a LotR kick lately. Actually, for the last 5 years I have been re-reading and re-listening to The Lord of the Rings. (I do not always rewatch the movies as I don’t have easy access to them) 

There is a lot to enjoy about this story, that is for sure. I want to take a moment and talk about the very end of the story.

For those that don’t know the story or forget how the story unfolds, please consider reading a short summary before jumping into my post. This discussion is meant for someone familiar with the story and I won’t always be taking time to explain different aspects of the plot.

So let us begin.

At the end of the story (but not the Very End), Frodo and Sam have made their way up to Mount Doom. They are walking and crawling on the shaking earth with the horrible steam and choking air filling their lungs as they get to the pathway leading to the inner part of the mountain’s molten center.

If you remember, in the movies, this point is where Sam says “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!” It is such a powerful moment of enduring friendship for the cause of good. This moment feels like the ultimate display of encouragement, dedication, friendship, and human love beyond anything any of us have experienced. 

As Sam and Frodo make their way into the cavern, Gollum attacks. You are disheartened. The epic moment is dashed by that slimy Golum creature for which you have put up for the entirety of two whole books. The annoying companion whom you pity and hate and then pity again. 

As they struggle, Sam again helps Frodo by pushing Gollum off. Frodo rushes into the crack. 

There is no time to lose. 

Frodo enters the inside of the mountain. All he has to do now is cast the ring into the fire. We zoom into his face to see that Frodo is completely overtaken by the power of the ring. Sam follows his friend and pleads with his master. But, Frodo reject the quest that they had traveled so long to complete. He puts the ring on his finger and disappears.

It is this moment that I want to delve a bit more into. 

Why is Frodo overcome by the ring? What does this mean for all of us who strive for the good quest we believe we have been tasked to do?

It brings up interesting questions about evil, power, your ultimate destiny, and other questions about good and evil.

At this moment, is Frodo still good? He is completely overtaken by the power of the ring. He then puts the ring on as if in a final dedication to the evil that he has carried around his neck for the last thousand pages as we have followed his journey.

The whole point of the journey seems to be fraught with a perilous conclusion. The evil of the ring was ultimately too much for Frodo and he succumbed to it. 

Frodo became part of the evil he was trying so hard to destroy. As a reader, it is the ultimate betrayal. This very act is what makes Frodo so tangible and relatable and intriguing. For, we all experience this choice to become the thing we hate.

In the crack of Mount Doom, Frodo is wearing the ring. Sam approaches trying to help his master but is thwarted by Gollum. Sam falls to the ground with a thunk and then Gollum attacks Frodo. The ring draws him to Frodo even though Frodo is invisible. The evil of the ring which has twisted Gollum becomes the deliverance for our main character. Gollum bites the ring off of Frodo’s finger, slips on rocks, and falls into the molten lava of Mount Doom.

The evil of the ring which overtook Frodo could only be destroyed by the evil it had created in Gollum’s heart. Evil destroyed by its own evil. 

It is quite poetic, don’t you think?

I believe that this idea is why the Lord of the Rings feels both complex and simple. It is simple in that good ultimately wins the day. But, it is complex because good succumbed to evil and evil was only defeated by evil. 

For this reason, I am drawn again and again to this story. Many re-reads have made me appreciate the ending more and more. It is not easy to create stories that are so nuanced. In my own writing, I dream to craft a story with such detailed and touching themes. 

Let us return to the moment that Frodo puts on the ring. I couldn’t help but think, what if we were only told this part of the story? What if we were living in this part of the story?

It is easy to judge fictional characters and put them on a pedestal or judge them harshly. I believe that this scene makes us consider our own relationship with evil. As much as I want to be Sam in the story, I have grown to appreciate the complexity of Frodo. He is the character that most reflects our human experience. 

This story, and this part of the story, brings to me full appreciation of the events in the Christian Bible. We are not left at the moment when evil wins. Instead we see that evil is ultimately vanquished by Jesus’ power. I refer you to Mark chapters 15 and 16. 

Each of us receives the same task as Frodo was given. There is a great evil, what shall we do to overcome it?

Unlike Frodo, when we succumb to the evil around us, we are not left alone. There is a savior and a Holy Spirit which provides deliverance again and again.

And for this reason, Frodo’s journey reflects our journey but in an imperfect capacity that allows us to appreciate the fullness of the reality found in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This is why I love the characters of Frodo, Sam, Eragorn, and many others. In their stories, I find glimpses of my own experience. But, I do not have to face the great evil alone. Instead, Jesus goes before me and has given me victory over each and every evil that I encounter.

This truth is not always my guiding principle, admittedly. I can often think of myself as Frodo the moment he put on the ring. But, just as I hope to remind you, I am reminding myself the truth of the matter and the reality of the gospel.

To conclude I will leave you with this, “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” (1 John 2:1-2 NLT)