For the fans of Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and J.R.R Tolkien, Hobbit Day holds a great importance. On this day, the two most famous characters Bilbo and Frodo were born although in different years.
For many, The Lord of the Rings was a world in itself with detailed descriptions, maps, characters and villains. It seems like a discovery of a new kind of world. Both the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings were massive success. The books as well as the movies created history and become one of the highest grossing movies ever made.
Frodo Baggins was the protagonist of the Lord of the Rings and Bilbo Baggins was the hero of The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins did have a cameo in the Lord of the Rings though. For years, J.R.R Tolkien’s the Lord of the Rings has won many hearts and has inspired a plethora of merchandise including the coolest t-shirt designs. Hobbit Day is celebrated on 22 September every year and the tradition started in 1978.
The diehard fans do not need reminding of the epic Fantasy drama. For the benefits of those who are new to The Lord of the Rings and those who want to revisit the story, here is the recap of the famous trilogy.
A little background of the Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is a sequel to his previous novel The Hobbit, equally popular and revered among fans. Set in the real earth but in a fictional past with the story centered on the Middle Earth, the book is divided into three parts:
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Two Towers
- The Return of the King
The story includes fantasy creatures like the Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards, Orcs and Goblins along with humans. The main theme is about the powerful Ring created by the powerful evil wizard Dark Lord Sauron.
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first part of the trilogy. The story starts with the discovery of a powerful ring by Frodo Baggins, the nephew of Bilbo Baggins. The origin of the ring goes back thousands of years in the Second age of Middle-Erath. The lords of Elves, Dwarves and Men are given power Rings. But, the Dark Lord Sauron creates an even more powerful ring in the Mount Doom that will control all the other rings in the world. While forging the ring, Sauron also puts some his power in it which makes the One Ring so powerful. He goes on a quest to control the world. The coalition of men, elves and dwarves fight Dark Lord in the Mordor. During the battle Prince Isildur of Gondor cuts the One Ring off of Sauron's finger. This helps others in destroying him permanently. The Prince decides to destroy the ring in the Mount Mordor but he fall prey to its power. He is later killed by the orcs and the ring is lost for 2500 years. The ring is later found of Gollum and he keeps it for five centuries until the ring is then taken from him by Bilbo Baggins.
Many years later Bilbo is old and is celebrating his 111th birthday and decides to go on one last adventure leaving all he has to his nephew Frodo Baggins. He also gives the right to him, but at the last moment tries to take it away from him but is stopped by Gandalf, who later discovers the true identity of the ring. He then instructs Frodo to take the ring with him to be destroyed in the Mount Doom now that he knows that Dark lord knows where the ring is. Frodo is accompanied by his best friend Samwise Gamgee and his two other friends Mary and Pipin. They are attacked on their way but they survive and so begin the journey of taking the ring to be destroyed.
The Two Towers
In the Two Towers, the Journey of Frodo and Samwise continues. They are attacked by Gollum on their way to Modor. Gollum had the ring previously and the ring was stolen from him. Knowing that the ring is with Frodo, Dark Lord Souron is in pursuit of it. The whole middle earth is now preparing for the great battle and to fight the great army of orcs. Meanwhile, Frodo and Samwise take Gollum prisoner but later sympathize with him given the kind of suffering he had. Gollum promises to take them to the Modor and to the Mount Doom to destroy the ring, but little do they know that Gollum has other plans. Elsewhere the other characters like Gandalf, Elves and Araggon, the heir to the Gondar are fighting the armies of the evil wizard Sauron, who is supporting the Dark Lord.
The Return of the King
Here the true identity of Gollum is revealed: how he was a hobbit but when he discovered the ring, he was corrupted and became an animalistic creature that he is today. The battle is ravaging the Middle-east as Frodo and Sam try to find their way to Mount Doom to destroy the ring. Here Gollum is angry at Frodo’s betrayal (the way he sees it), tries to mislead them so that he can claim the ring for himself. Sam suspects that Gollum is not what he seems to be and warns Frodo who, burdened by the power of the ring, doesn’t want conflict in the group. Gollum in his part tries to isolate Sam so that he can manipulate Frodo. He creates a misunderstanding between the two which results in Frodo sending Sam away. Later, Frodo discovers that Gollum is trying to take away the ring from him. Sam comes to his rescue as Frodo is captured and tied by Shelob. In the last stage Frodo himself falls prey to the temptation of the ring and tries to take it for himself even as Sam tries to convince him. At the Mount Doom, Gollum attacks Frodo biting his fingers off to take the ring away, but he falls down on the volcano along with the ring and the ring is destroyed. The Hobbits go back to their land, Aragon is crowned as kind and everything returns to normal.
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular novel and movies in the Fantasy theme and has inspired many fan-fictions, discussions, internet memes, merchandise and so much more. If you are a die-hard fan, then don’t forget to celebrate the Hobbit Day.