The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the third book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the fourth of the books set in Middle Earth.

Once again, I was drawn into Middle Earth as if it were a real place, one that is now part of my personal and historical past. It is as compelling as Camelot or Shangri-la, and other "lost time" fantasies. And much more.

There is such a gritty reality to the Rings trilogy. Nothing is clean in this book--all are tainted by the bitter fumes of the dark lord. Light is fading in almost every regard: the sky is darkening; people move through foul caves and tunnels; people subsume their identities in disguises; in this book, all are moving toward the final war against the Eye. Frodo can no longer see the Shire, can no longer remember the taste of bread or the smell of new-mown grass in the fields.

The lost city of Shangri-la

Frodo and Sam face gruesome, soul-wrenching ordeals as they stagger toward Mordor bearing the weight of the ring--Shelob the spider, orcs, the creature Gollum, Nazgul, heat,  starvation, molten rock, and the utter hopelessness of their quest. Pippen waits with Gandalf at the doomed city of Gondor, watching insanity spread as the enemy gathers its forces. Merry rides with the Rohirrim, but disguised and in secret with Eowyn, riding toward war and certain doom. All of his friends are fighting. He must fight for them. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas take the pathways of the dead…Aragorn’s faith in himself is tested; he is royal or he is dead. And, if the dead do not follow him, the war against evil is lost.

The most moving part of the book, to me, comes after the battle of Peleanor, when it is clear that the titanic battle that was a grueling victory for the West was a mere skirmish for the Eye. His forces are vast and he will defeat the good, if battle is the method of attack. The forces gather in council. Should they strengthen defenses and die in a few months, or ride out to the attack now and die quickly, Aragorn asks. In this state of hopelessness, the council decides to have faith in Frodo and Sam. If men will be wiped out, they will be wiped out creating a distraction that takes the Eye away from Frodo and the ring, which are secretly in Sauron's very stronghold. Aragorn's men agree to sacrifice their own lives for the future of all. This is a decision of great beauty.

An image of Camelot

This book was full of fear and battle, wounding and battle. The way Tolkien sets up the victory at Pelannor and then snatches it away made the doom so much more real. I felt a glissando of sheer terror at that moment, horror and loss. And I felt all the more resolute when Aragorn led his army into action and into certain death. I was right with them.

Yes, the Rings books are more in the endless procession of guy-bonding books that so fill the fantasy and science fiction genre. In this book, Eowyn is the only woman who has any role whatsoever--but her character is fully developed--more so even than in the movie. She channels her heartbreak over Aragorn’s dismissal of her love into valor. And her role is essential to the victory—her killing of King Angmar of the Dark Riders is marvelous symbolism and drama. And then she gets a wonderful gentle romance with Faramir in the Houses of Healing. I loved that. She must come into her true power before love can enter her life.

Middle Earth

But the Halflings are the true heroes of the story. Their courage, loyalty, wit, and charm are terrific. They are more fully developed for me now that I have such a familiarity with both the movies and books. They show that danger, fear, hunger (and the unknown in general) only strengthen the pure in heart. In fact, that is the hero journey for most of the principal characters--good and bad. How will you respond when the rug is jerked out from under your life, when the feces hits the fan, when you are truly and utterly lost? What will guide you through the dark? What is your light of Elendial? The characters of these books will show you many different strategies for coping. And they demonstrate courage over and over.

I had to include at least one photo of Viggo Mortensen as
Aragorn, the returned king of the title.

I highly recommend Tolkien for junior high school age and up. They are truly beautiful and rich. However, not everyone can read fantasy, so you don't "have" to read them and you don't "have" to see the movies. But, please, at least once, give them a try.

As soon as I finished reading the Tolkien titles on my list, I started reading books by Mark Twain. Switching over to Tom Sawyer has given me mental whiplash. I switched from the sound of ancient sagas being told by candlelight to Twain’s tall-tale-teller voice. I can almost hear him chuckling at his own wry jokes. Still, Tom Sawyer is also a quest story, and holds up well in that genre in its own way. Frodo bearing the ring and Tom bearing the pansy…hmmm.


There's some weird stuff out there. For sermons and essays on LOTR, try:
www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-lord-of-the-rings-sermon-series...

http://www.gradesaver.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring/study-guide/