One Ring to Rule Them All

"One Ring to rule them all,

One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all

and in the Darkness bind them"

(Tolkien, The Two Towers 233)

One of the masters of British Literature, J.R.R. Tolkien was able to create a fantasy world with an endless supply of parallelisms to reality. The fantasy world was found in the "Lord of the Rings." Tolkien is able to create wonderful symbolism and meaning out of what would otherwise be considered nonsense. He creates symbolism and meaning by mastering his own world and his own language. To understand the symbolism of The Ruling Ring, or The One Ring, one must understand the events, which take place from the time of the ring's creation until the time of it's destruction. One must also develop an understanding of the characters and events that are important in the story. In this paper, we will learn the background of Tolkien's life and the history of the One Ring. The history of the One Ring will include it's creation, it's effect on mortals, and it's destruction. By learning the One Ring's history, one can understand its symbolism.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, an English scholar and storyteller, became interested in language at an early age. During his schooling, Tolkien was mostly interested with the languages of Northern Europe. His interests included both ancient and modern languages. Tolkien's interest in language leads to his profession and his own hobby. He invented languages.

The history of the One Ring starts before the "Lord of the Rings." The ring is created in the book "The Silmarillion." The creation of the One Ring is found in "The Silmarillion" after the fall of Morgoth. At the time, Sauron wants to control all of the people in Middle Earth. To gain control of the people, Sauron convinced them that he had good intentions. Eventually the people sided with Sauron, and created the Rings of Power. Sauron created the One Ring in secret so he would be able to control the other rings. This gave Sauron control of the people. The creation of the One Ring, and the essence of it's power follows here. "And their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only as long as it too should last. And much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that One Ring; for the power of the Elven Rings was very great, and that which should govern them must be a thing of surpassing potency; and Sauron forged it in the Mountain of Fire in the Land of Shadow. And while he wore the One Ring he could perceive all the things that where done by means of the lesser rings, and he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them."(Tolkien, The Silmarillion 589)

The people recognize the power of the One Ring as soon as Sauron puts the One Ring on his finger. They realize that he can control their thoughts. This makes the people decide to remove their rings and never use them. The people and Sauron become bitter enemies while the One Ring remains in Sauron's possession. The One Ring is lost in the river when Isildur defeats Sauron. After passing through many hands, the One Ring is given to Frodo Baggins. This brings us to the beginning of the "Lord of the Rings."

The nature of the One Ring can be explained in three distinct ways. The One Ring is a personification of Sauron's power. It is a symbol of evil in general. It also is an object with a mind of its own.

As the One Ring's creator, Sauron had placed a great amount of his own power into the ring for the purpose of controlling the other rings. The ring is an extension of Sauron's power. The loss of the ring does not destroy Sauron. Only the destruction of the One Ring can destroy Sauron. His power simply becomes spread around, and his influence affects whoever has possession of the ring. If Sauron gets the ring back, his power will be greater than ever. "If he recovers it, then he will command them all again, wherever they be, even the Three, and all that has been wrought them will be laid bare, and he will be stronger than ever."(Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring 115) However, there are only hints of this power throughout the "Lord of the Rings." Sauron's power lies in control, domination, and the deprivation of free will.

The One Ring presented, as a symbol of evil is possibly the most important idea represented in the "Lord of the Rings." In Tolkien's world, evil is the antithesis of creativity. It also is dependent on destruction and ruin for its basis. And goodness is associated with beauty of creation as well as the preservation of anything that is created. The symbolic nature of these two statements is represented in the Elven rings, which symbolize goodness, and the One Ring, which is wholly evil. A main theme of the "Lord of the Rings" is the struggle between good will and evil. Another theme is the theory that while goodness can create and be beneficial, evil can only serve to destroy. Evil cannot exist unless there is something that can be destroyed. This idea is the main reason for Sauron's evil nature. This also makes the One Ring evil as well. Another way to show the symbolic nature of the ring is to say that it represents the presence of evil. It has the power to tempt, corrupt, and destroy.

The next way in which the nature of the One Ring can be examined is in the way it has seemingly animate abilities as an inanimate object. It has the ability to work away from and return to its creator. In order to understand this, one must realize that the One Ring is evil. It has the ability to work evil. It cannot create evil ideas on its own. Instead, it can take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself to the One Ring.

The idea that the ring has a mind of its own is further explained in the way it is never lost or forgotten for long. As Gandalf explains, "A Ring of Power looks after itself, Frodo. It may slip off treacherously, but its keeper never abandons it."(Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring 283) This statement shows how the One Ring will protect itself from destruction if at all possible. Further explained, "It was not Gollum, but the Ring itself that decided things. The Ring left him."(Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring 283) This shows how the ring always strives to return to its creator. This goes on to further the notion that Sauron has control over the ring even when it is not in his possession. His power is not taken away by the absence of the ring. It is simply reduced and spread out. The One Ring will always