ORR #5

Marshall Banks, 6th period

The story presented in Tolkiens The Two Towers and throughout his Lord of the

Rings trilogy provide an interesting and well written story that captivated my attention and

made this a great book to read. The archetypal journey I found in the story is the quest to rid

the land of danger, as Frodo and the Fellowship traverse Middle Earth to rid themselves of the

Ring. The Fellowship face many challenges, make enemies, allies, and eventually triumph

over the dark forces of Mordor. The danger they face is presented by the Ring, and in turn the

dark enemies that pursue it. These include Ringwraiths and the orcs that kidnapped Pippin

and Merry in the first few chapters of this book and #10 of the last. The character archetype I

have chosen is that of the mentor, as it suits Gandalf perfectly. He gives Frodo initial

information about the Ring in The Fellowship of the Ring, and returns to assist the band

throughout the trilogy. Although he perishes at the hand of Saruman, he is reborn as Gandalf

the White, a more pure and powerful wizard than ever. (Books #1-2) The situational archetype

I found is the task, as Frodo must ultimately destroy the Ring at Mt. Doom, a near impossible

task requiring effort and pain along with a dangerous journey. This journey is initiated when

Frodo inherits the Ring from Bilbo, the last owner of the Ring, in the first book of the trilogy.

He goes through many trials, beginning with Ringwraiths at the very beginning of his journey,

and ending with the final battle for the Ring with Gollum and Samwise inside Mt. Doom. The

archetypes that the book present and use help the reader to better enjoy and comprehend the

story being told, and are used very well by one J.R.R. Tolkien.