Power In J. R. Tolkien's The Return Of The King

A new computer, book, dress, phone, or movie, each item has a purpose in life, but also a certain amount of power over the beholder. J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Return of the King, described a specific object in his novels and the supremacy it held over certain characters. The One Ring of Power, The Ring of Sauron, plays an essential role in The Return of the King as a source of power, trial of will, and symbol. From Sauron to Isildur, the river to Gollum, Gollum’s cave to Bilbo’s pocket, Bilbo to Frodo, the Ring of power fought to control the minds and wills of many (Pattern 5). The Ring of Sauron exerts resilient power over various characters, but especially Gollum. Gollum succumbs to the Ring’s power and allows it to control his mind. The authority exercised by the Ring also transforms Gollum from hobbit to sniveling, despairing, greedy creature; a creature who cannot acquire all the Ring’s power. Sauron’s Ring also causes internal struggles. Gollum, Bilbo, and Frodo struggle internally with the …show more content…
For it was said, “…One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them in the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.” The Ring was a piece of metal that denoted the fall of man; it illustrated how much control a small item can have over an entity. Another object which led to the downfall of men was the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge in the Biblical book of Genesis. Just as the One Ring of Power caused many to die and numerous more to succumb to its power, the fruit from the tree triggered the descent of Adam and Eve into the devil’s will. Both the fruit and Sauron’s Ring are symbols of the corruption of power because those who came in contact with the objects, believed they would be smarter and possess a stronger influence over others. As a whole, the Ring symbolized the forbidden fruit from Genesis (Pattern