R Tolkien published the first book in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, in 1954 he broke ground and paved the way for fantasy all the way to the twenty-first century -- a century that still holds Tolkien's works on a glorious pedestal that stands far and above those in his shadow. The complexity of Tolkien's writing rules out a detailed overview of the entire hero's quest through what is called "Middle Earth". The essence of Tolkien's trilogy can be found in this epitaph:.
Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,.
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone.
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,.
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,.
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,.
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.
In the prequel to the trilogy, The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins finds the "ring to bind them." He stole this ring from Smeagol who has carried the ring for 500 years; all the while, the dark power of the ring has transformed him from a hobbit into a creature of the dark who cannot bare the light. It is the "dark power" which is connected to Gollum that makes him a pivotal character through out the whole trilogy. In the ending of The Hobbit, Bilbo passes the ring onto his heir, Frodo. At the beginning of The Fellowship of the Rings, the first book in the trilogy, Frodo departs, accompanied by his friends: embarking on the journey to destroy the ring by casting it into the Crack of Doom in the land of Mordor as he promised Bilbo. The second half of this book, all of The Two Towers, the second book, and the first half of the final book, Return of the King, are the details of sub quests that need to be overcome to get to Mordor. In the climax of the trilogy the ring is destroyed, freeing Frodo and his surviving friends to enjoy life. The journey home is filled with cheers and praise for Frodo, whom his surviving friends have now dubbed hero.