The Resistance towards temptation in The Lord of the Rings

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The Resistance towards temptation in The Lord of the Rings

Thesis Statement: In the film Lord of Rings, all members of the Fellowship of the Ring had to protect the Ring from falling into Sauren 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 were devoured by their greediness or die out of confessing their wrongdoings.


Topic 1: 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 once and for all, 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; the best chance of Middle Earth defeating Sauron was gone with the Ring lost again.

B: In the beginning of The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring, the narrator quoted “…the Ring passed to Isildur who had the one chance to destroy the evil forever. But the hearts of men are easily corrupted”; “…it (the Ring) betrayed Isildur to his death, and things should not have been forgotten were lost.” (The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson.2001, 04:38) Also quoted by Elrond “I was there 3,000 years ago when Isildur took the Ring, I was there the day the strength of men failed.” (The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson.2001, 91: 56)


Topic 2: Smeagol the Hobbit was eager to chase the power of ring and 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. 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. 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 for a number of time 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.

B: In the beginning of The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King, Smeagol’s fight with Deagol was told with Smeagol getting the Ring and turning into the monster (The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson.2003, 05:30). Then by the end of the film, Smeagol jumped out in front of Sam and Frodo and revealed to them his evil plan of obtaining the Ring. “Mustn’t go that way. Mustn’t hurt the precious!” (The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson.2003, 206:44) When Frodo said he made a promise, Smeagol said slowly with cunning smile “Smeagol lied.” (The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson.2003, 207: 17) Eventually he fell into the Mount Doom with Ring in his hands.

Topic 3: Gandalf and Saruman, the two great wizards that parted way when it comes to the Ring. Gandalf the Grey devoted himself into resisting 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; 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 and bring prosperous of the trees back to the forests.

B: During The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf sets out to discuss the situation of the Ring with Saruman. But he did not expected 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, “You do not seriously think that a Hobbit could contend with the will of Sauron? There are none who can. Against the power of Mordor, there can be no victory. We must join with him, Gandalf. We must join with Sauron. It would be wise, my friend.” Gandalf stares and Saruman angrily, “Tell me, friend, when did Saruman the Wise abandon reason for madness?” Saruman set to kill Gandalf, during the fight, he tells Gandalf, “Embrace the power of the Ring or embrace your own destruction!” Gandalf replies, “There is only one Lord of the Ring. Only one who can bend it to his will. And he does not share power!” (The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson.2001, 85: 23) Eventually Gandalf escapes from Saruman. Later in The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King, Saruman’s army of Orcs was defeated by the ents. He fell over from his tower and died.


Topic 4: Aragon, Isildur’s heir, the one who can reclaim the throne of Gondor, chooses to exile himself for fearing 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 fight. But Arwen persuades and encourages him all the way during the fellowship, even in dreams. 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.

In The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring, Arwen consoles the worried Aragon by telling him, “You are Isildur’s heir, not Isildur himself. You are not bound to his fate.” Aragon replies, “The same blood flows in my veins. The same weakness.” Arwen says to him, “Your time will come. You will face the same evil and you will defeat it. ” (The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson.2001, 95: 40) 


Topic 5: 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 species of the 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 till the last breath of his life.

B: In The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir says after Gandalf speaks the black speech, “It is a gift, a gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against them!” Aragon and Legolas oppose his opinion and he is angry that Aragon dares to challenge his authority (The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson.2001, 100: 47). From here we can see that the Ring has actually had quite an influence on Boromir. Later during the trip, he questions Frodo, “What chance do you think you have? They will find you. They will take the Ring. And you will beg for death before the end!” When Frodo walks away, he shouts at him, “You fool! It is not yours, save by unhappy chance! It could have been mine! It should be mine! Give it to me!” When Frodo wears the Ring and disappears, Boromir is angry, “You will take the Ring to Sauron! You will betray us! You will go to your death and the death of us all! Curse you! Curse all you halflings!” (The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson.2001, 180:54) 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.


Topic 6: 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 the Mount Doom, Frodo cannot bear the influence of the Ring and decides to keep it. 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.

B: In the end of The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King, when Sam asks Frodo to destroy the Ring, he replies, “The Ring is mine!” (The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson.2003, 210: 34) Then he tries to wear it onto his fingers. But just at the moment Gollum shows up and two begins to fight over the Ring. When Gollum gets the Ring, Frodo pushes him into the fire of the 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.