The book The Lord of Rings has been the most successful fantasy fiction of the 20th Century. The author has built up a great world filled with different nations and species, who fought in order to preserve their freedom from being captured by the evil of all sources—Sauron.

It has a very strong mystic atmosphere, yet it feels very close to the real history of Europe and Anglo-Saxon (Hunter, 1981: 139), which makes the story impressive and it’s moral deep. In order to resist Sauron and destroy his ultimate weapon, the Ring, multinational forces called “Fellowship of the Ring” was organized to escort the Ring into the land of Mordor and destroy it in the fire of Mount Doom.

The Ring’s power lies not only in its almighty energy, but also the power to consume and control its bearer’s mind, making them the servant of the Ring and eventually Sauron himself. Thus, all members of the Fellowship of the Ring had to protect the Ring from falling into Sauron and his followers’ hands, as well as resisting the temptation the Ring imposed on them, which could have corrupted them if they try to seize the Ring as their own property.

Most of them succeeded in resisting the temptation and eventually walked a path of victory; those who could not be devoured by their greediness or die out of confessing their wrongdoings. This typical traditional romance plot can be seen everywhere in the novel (Thomson, 1967: 45), and we shall analyze their influence.

Isildur’s Curse

Actually, the nations of Middle Earth had several golden opportunities to destroy the Ring and put an end to Sauron’s reign once and for all. One of the best chances was the defeat of Sauron by the union of elf and man sometimes 3,000 years ago before the Fellowship of the Ring.

The fall of Isildur after defeating Sauron was a tragedy. Isildur could have listened to Erelond to destroy the Ring and end the possible comeback of Sauron, but he was swallowed by the overwhelming desire to take the Ring as his own. He was then slaughtered by a group of Orcs who also wanted the Ring on his way back to Gondor, and the Ring fell into hands of others instead, “For Isildur was marching north along the east banks of the River, and near the Gladden Fields he was waylaid by the Orcs of the Mountains, and almost all his folk were slain.

He leaped into the waters, but the Ring slipped from his finger as he swam, and then the Orcs saw him and killed him with arrows.” (J.R.R.Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 2) It gives Sauron the chance to gather forces and come back; the best chance of Middle Earth defeating Sauron was gone with the Ring lost again.

Such was the event of the story that postpones the destruction of the Ring for another 3,000 years. Also, Lord Elrond remembered the time when he fought with Isildur and watched him corrupt, “…and Isildur cut the Ring from his hand with the hilt- shard of his father’s sword, and took it for his own.”

(J.R.R.Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 6) As the novel has already mentioned, men are very easily corrupted by the lure and temptation, and it is almost always men in the novel that is often brought to the choice of resistance or acceptance when facing the lure of the Ring. Isildur, being the king of Gondor, is as easy to fall as other human beings.

Smeagol’s Loss of Humanity

Smeagol the Hobbit was eager to chase the power of the ring, he called it “my precious” when he got it. He even killed his friend Deagol to rob him of the Ring, as Deagol too could not resist the power of the Ring. “…and he caught Deagol by the throat and strangled him because the gold looked so bright and beautiful.

Then he put the ring on his finger.” (J.R.R.Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 2). Smeagol was then expelled from Hobbiton and began his overwhelming long life under the influence of Ring and transformed him into a monster by the name of Gollum, who lost all his humanity and became possessed and eventually the slave of the Ring. When Frodo and Sam were on their way to Mordor Doom to destroy the Ring, Gollum followed them all the way and tried to kill them a number of times to get the Ring.

At last, Gollum fell into the Mountain Doom together with the Ring; he got the Ring eventually, and he was destroyed by the fire of Mountain Doom as well along with the Ring.

Smeagol’s fight with Deagol was told with Smeagol getting the Ring and turning into the monster. An originally happy gathering of two friends became the tragedy of one killing the other with utter ferocity. By the end of the novel, Smeagol jumped out in front of Sam and Frodo and revealed to them his evil plan of obtaining the Ring. From here it can be seen that Smeagol lost all the merit a normal person should possess, for he bears the lie as his weapon to seize whatever power there is.

When Frodo said he made a promise, Smeagol said slowly with a cunning smile and told them that he lied about the Ring and the route. Eventually, he fell into Mount Doom with Ring in his hands. Smeagol is the living example of the consequence of those who fail to resist the Ring, even his death came with his seemingly “re-possession” of the Ring.

Wizards in Conflict

Gandalf and Saruman, the two great wizards that parted way when it comes to the Ring, are the perfect contrast of the attitudes against the Ring. Gandalf the Grey devoted himself to resist the temptation of the Ring, while Saruman served Sauron and naively believes that the doom of all free people in the Middle Earth is coming and that if he serves Sauron well, Sauron will share the power of the Ring with him (actually, judging from his behavior, Saruman’s resolution is even weaker than ordinary human); so Saruman sets to build an army of orcs for Sauron to get the Ring for him and tried to kill Gandalf. But Gandalf survives and became Gandalf the White and the Fellowship of the Ring defeats and kills Saruman, bringing the prosperity of the trees and Ents back to the forests.

After Gandalf sets out to discuss the situation of the Ring with Saruman, he did not expect that Saruman had gone rogue and tried to convince him of uniting with Sauron. After Gandalf rejects, Saruman locks him in the chamber and says, “There is no hope left in Elves or dying Númenor. This then is one choice before you, before us. We may join with that Power.

It would be wise, Gandalf. There is hope that way.” Gandalf stares and Saruman angrily, “I have heard speeches of this kind before, but only in the mouths of emissaries sent from Mordor to deceive the ignorant. I cannot think that you brought me so far only to weary my ears.” Seeing that his persuasion was useless, Saruman set to lock Gandalf up, “…to devise, say, a fitting reward for the hindrance and insolence of Gandalf the Grey.” Gandalf replies, “…only one hand at a time can wield the One, and you know that well, so do not trouble to say we!” (J.R.R.Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 6) Eventually Gandalf escapes from Saruman.

Here Gandalf’s image is Christlike, a holy figure that is able to resist the temptation of evil and gain even stronger revive (Wood, 1993: 209). Later, Saruman’s army of Orcs is defeated by the Ents and the army of Kingdom Rohan; but he insisted that Sauron could not be defeated and tries to unite with him again. Eventually, he is stabbed, falls over from his tower, and died.

The Shame and Fear for the Ancestors

Aragon, Isildur’s heir, the one who can reclaim the throne of Gondor, chooses to exile himself for fear that he could not resist the temptation of the Ring, just like his ancestor. He fears that the same destiny will fall on his people and himself so he chooses not to get involved in all these fights. But Arwen, daughter of Elrond, persuades and encourages him all the way during the fellowship, even in dreams.

Arwen consoles the worried Aragon by telling him that being Isildur’s heir does not equal to Isildur himself. While Aragon still worries about his ancestor’s influence, Arwen encourages him once again not to give up. Also, Frodo’s determination and willingness give him the braveness to use his power to fight against the evil of the Ring and Sauron.

Eventually, they defeat Sauron and destroy the Ring, Aragon becomes the King of Gondor. Strictly speaking, Aragon may also become weak and docile and is highly likely to be manipulated by the Ring; he fights over the Ring simply by rejecting to carry or bear it during the Fellowship, which is as intelligent as unconfident for him. At least it tells us the Aragon is actually unprepared to retake the throne and become the true hero at the beginning of the Fellowship.

Mistakes and Redemption

Boromir, the elder son of Gondor’s Steward, is ambitious to restore the glory of Gondor and the race of men. But he is too ambitious that he wants to use the Ring to bring back the power of men, and falls into the trap of the Ring’s temptation. He tries to get the Ring during the meeting between all nations of Middle Earth. Then during the journey when he feels there is no hope, he tries to rob the Ring from Frodo and flees with it.

However, when he discovers his mistake, he sacrifices his life in protecting Frodo from the orcs and dies a noble one. He cannot resist the temptation of the Ring at first but is able to resist it and make up for his wrongdoings till the last breath of his life.

After Erelond summons the meeting of leaders of the Middle Earth, Boromir contends after Gandalf speaks the black speech that the other nations should give Gondor the Ring and Gondor will use the Ring to fight against Sauron and defeat it. After years of struggle and battle, there is no way that Boromir knows anything about the power of Ring, his requests are more related to his will of “human dominance” than his ignorance of the Ring’s power.

Aragon and Legolas oppose his opinion and he is angry that Aragon dares to challenge his authority. From here we can see that the Ring has actually had quite an influence on Boromir, his ambition to restore the glory of Gondor has in fact become the very reason for his later faults. Later during the trip, he questions Frodo and asks him to bring the Ring to Gondor or give it to him, so that humans can use the Ring to defeat Sauron, unlike the elves or the wizards who fear its mighty power.

When Frodo walks away, he shouts at him, “Why not get rid of it? Why not be free of your doubt and fear? You can lay the blame on me if you will. You can say that I was too strong and took it by force. For I am too strong for you, halfling,” When Frodo wears the Ring and disappears, Boromir is angry, “Let me get my hands on you! Now I see your mind.

You will take the Ring to Sauron and sell us all. You have only waited your chance to leave us in the lurch. Curse you and all halflings to death and darkness!” (J.R.R.Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 10) Here we see that Boromir has been devoured by the temptation of the Ring and his ambition of restoring Gondor’s glory.

But he then quickly realizes that he has made a grave mistake and he fights to protect Frodo against the coming Orcs and dies to preserve his honor. In general, Boromir is courageous enough to become a member of the Fellowship and he is a good soldier with honor in his mind; yet hasty desires and congenital weakness of men (greediness) make him a tragic figure eventually. The tension between one’s confidence and the uncertainty of the results lies explicitly in The Lord of the Rings here as we see (Dubs, 1981).

The struggle of the Ring Bearer

Frodo, the protagonist of the story and the Ring-bearer, has fought over the temptation of the Ring ever since he starts his journey to destroy it. Lord Elrond and Gandalf agree that Hobbits have shown great potential in resisting the Ring’s influence, and Frodo is able to proceed with his journey from the beginning to the end. However, when they have come to Mount Doom, Frodo cannot bear the influence of the Ring and decides to keep it.

At the end of the novel, when Sam asks Frodo to destroy the Ring, he replies, “The Ring is mine!” Then he tries to wear it onto his fingers. But just at the moment, Gollum shows up and two begin to fight over the Ring. When Gollum gets the Ring, Frodo pushes him into the fire of Mount Doom, destroying both Gollum and the Ring. Here it is hard to say whether Frodo kills Gollum for sake of destroying the Ring or own the Ring, all we know is that he is not so persistent in resisting the temptation of the Ring eventually.

It is Sam and Gollum that drives him to destroy the Ring from both positive and negative aspects. Frodo is determined but not as resolved as his friend Sam. In fact, we would predict that if Sam is the Ring Bearer, he could very much end up like Frodo. The resistance of the Ring’s temptation cannot be accomplished by one only, it takes two and even more to be as incorruptible as possible against the Ring.

Conclusion

No matter succeeds or not, the figures in The Lord of the Rings all depict the powerful Ring and the disastrous consequence of people’s uncontrolled greediness. The Ring does not exist in the real world, but it is clearly the symbol of men’s infinite desire.

If one fails to resist them, he or she will be easily manipulated by wrong desires; however, the choice can be made by oneself only, should he or she succeeds, it will bring out the greatest merit of men and made him or her prestigious and respectful; if failed, the consequence would be disastrous and one would be devoured by one’s own purgatory of desire. It is a demonstration of the standard of modern morality, which gains popularity among modern people (Feder, 2002: 45).