A ring to rule three hobbitsinterdependency and narrative development in frodo, sam and gollum in j.R.R. Tolkien’s the lord of the rings (1954-1955)

Abstract

This thesis will provide an in-depth study of the figures of Frodo, Sam and Gollum in J. R. R. Tolkien’s work through a thorough close-reading of The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), seeing them not only as merely individual characters but as parts of a whole and indivisible narrative structure. I will analyse the interdependency existing between the three hobbits and the possibilities it brings to each of their developments. However, to reach to this point it will be necessary to study each character’s evolution, putting special emphasis on the influence the One Ring exerts on them from the moment in which they become Ring-bearers, being in a way the central axis of the three. This influence will become especially relevant so as to analyse the different ways in which the hobbits face their journey, putting the focus on, but not being limited to, the description of the Hero’s Journey provided by J. Campbell, and the archetypal structure as explained by C. G. Jung.