Tolkien's society in the novel, The Lord of the Rings, presents a fictitious world consisting of a battle between good and evil. Frodo Baggins is a hobbit of this society and he struggles with a burden against the forces of evil. He must carry a Ring to "the Cracks of Doom in the depths of Oroduin, the Fire Mountain, and cast the Ring in there, if you [Frodo] wish to destroy it, to put it beyond the grasp of the Enemy for ever" (Tolkien 59-60). Sauron the Great of Mordor created the Ring, as a master ring to the three elf-lords, the seven Dwarf-Kings (three of the Dwarf-Kings were recovered and the others were consumed by dragons), nine were given to mortal men and they were captured by Sauron and thus became Ringwraiths. Sauron is the Dark Lord and he seeks the Ring in order to have "strength and knowledge to beat down all resistance, break the defenses and cover all the lands in a second darkness" (Tolkien 60). The evil and good viewed throughout the novel is demonstrated spiritually, mentally and physically. .
Frodo Baggins embarks on his perilous journey with his companions Pippin, Sam and eventually Merry. They become acquainted with many friends and foes along the way towards Rivendell, an Elvish land. One of the foes that Frodo frequently encounter during the journey are the nine Ringwraiths, which are most commonly known as the Black Riders. The riders become attracted to the one carrying the ring and they seek the presence that it possesses and they are described as being clothed in black with hoods over their faces. "Questions of life and death dominate the minds and actions of the inhabitants. As Sale observes in passing, "The World is alive, and the story is the story of the ways in which it is called on to be alive when the shadows threaten and darkness grows powerful."" (Keenan 4). Hugh Keenan describes the essence behind every person and their being.