Ladies and gentlemen,
J. R. R. Tolkien in army uniform
See page for author, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons
Good day to you all.
This evening, I wish to speak of a book that has enthralled millions, a story that has shaped the imagination of the modern world — a tale of courage, friendship, sacrifice, and the enduring battle between light and shadow. I speak of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
This work is not merely a fantasy novel. It is a monumental tapestry of myth, language, and morality — a story that speaks as deeply to the heart as it does to the mind. As Tolkien himself once said, it is “a story that grew in the telling,” a vast world built from a single, simple idea — that even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
I. The Beginning — A World Beyond Our Own
Our journey begins, as all great journeys do, in peace.
In the gentle land of the Shire, among green fields and quiet hills, lives a race of small folk called hobbits — cheerful, comfort-loving people who prize good food, good company, and the simple joys of home. Among them is Frodo Baggins, a young hobbit whose life, like many of ours, seems destined for ordinary days — until fate calls him otherwise.
Tolkien opens with the line that hints at greatness arising from simplicity:
“When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday... there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.”
Bilbo, Frodo’s eccentric uncle, is the hero of The Hobbit, Tolkien’s earlier tale. During his adventures, Bilbo came into possession of a strange ring — a plain, unadorned band of gold, which he keeps secret. Yet that ring is no mere trinket. It is the One Ring, forged in the fires of Mount Doom by the Dark Lord Sauron, who poured into it much of his own power, so that he might rule all the lands of Middle-earth.
When Bilbo departs the Shire, he leaves the Ring to Frodo — and with that simple act, the great tale begins.
II. The Discovery of the Ring’s Power
The wizard Gandalf the Grey, friend and counselor to the hobbits, investigates the Ring’s origin. When he learns the truth, his words are grave:
“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”
The Ring, Gandalf explains, corrupts all who possess it. It can enslave the will, twist the good into evil, and draw its bearer into the shadow of Sauron.
Thus, Frodo is charged with a terrible task: to carry the Ring away from the Shire and eventually destroy it in the very fires where it was forged.
He does not go alone. His loyal friends — Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took — insist on accompanying him. These four simple hobbits step out of their peaceful world and into a landscape of danger and destiny.
J. R. R. Tolkien,1916.
See page for author, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons
III. The Fellowship of the Ring
See page for author, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons
Frodo’s journey leads him first to Rivendell, the hidden valley of the Elves, where the wise Elrond summons a council to decide the Ring’s fate. There, representatives of all the free peoples of Middle-earth gather — Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Hobbits — to debate what must be done.
It is decided that the Ring must be destroyed, though the path will lead into the very heart of the enemy’s realm. Thus is formed the Fellowship of the Ring — nine companions to counter the nine dark Riders of Sauron.
They are: Frodo and his three hobbit friends; Gandalf the Grey; Aragorn, a ranger and the heir to the throne of Gondor; Legolas, the Elf of Mirkwood; Gimli, the Dwarf warrior; and Boromir, the valiant man of Gondor.
Together they swear an oath to protect Frodo and aid him in his quest.
Their journey takes them through the snowy passes of Caradhras, into the dark mines of Moria, where they face ancient terrors and where Gandalf falls into the abyss battling the monstrous Balrog. His final cry, before he is lost to shadow, has echoed through generations of readers:
“Fly, you fools!”
The Fellowship escapes Moria broken and sorrowful, but their journey continues through the golden woods of Lothlórien, where the Elf-queen Galadriel offers them counsel and gifts.
To Frodo she says, in one of Tolkien’s most moving passages:
“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”
It is a line that captures the novel’s spirit — that hope and heroism are not the privilege of the mighty, but the responsibility of the humble.
IV. The Breaking of the Fellowship
Leaving Lothlórien, the Fellowship travels down the River Anduin. But doubt and temptation begin to creep in. Boromir, noble yet flawed, tries to take the Ring from Frodo, believing he can use it to save his city. His moment of weakness shatters the Fellowship.
Frodo, realizing that the Ring’s corruption will destroy them all, decides to continue the quest alone. Yet faithful Sam, ever loyal, refuses to be left behind:
“I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A promise! ‘Don’t you leave him, Samwise Gamgee.’ And I don’t mean to.”
Thus, Frodo and Sam set out toward Mordor, the land of Sauron, while Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue the orcs who have captured Merry and Pippin.
Tolkien in 1940's
TuckerFTW, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons
V. The Two Towers — The Struggle for Middle-earth
TuckerFTW, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons
The second part of Tolkien’s saga, The Two Towers, unfolds along two paths — one of war, one of endurance.
Aragorn and his companions join forces with Théoden, King of Rohan, whose land is threatened by Sauron’s ally, Saruman — a once-great wizard now corrupted by the desire for power.
At Helm’s Deep, the men of Rohan make their stand against Saruman’s armies in one of literature’s most stirring battle scenes. When hope seems lost, Gandalf — now reborn as Gandalf the White — returns, leading the riders of Rohan to victory.
Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam, guided by the treacherous creature Gollum, make their perilous journey toward Mount Doom. Gollum, once a hobbit-like being named Sméagol, was corrupted by the Ring long ago and now serves as both guide and threat. He embodies the Ring’s power to twist and enslave the mind — a mirror of what Frodo himself might become.
Sam, with his simple courage and steadfast love, becomes Frodo’s anchor. His words shine with quiet truth:
“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”
VI. The Return of the King — Triumph and Sacrifice
In the final part, The Return of the King, the great war for Middle-earth reaches its climax.
Aragorn accepts his destiny and takes his rightful place as King of Gondor. The armies of Men march against Sauron’s fortress of Mordor, not to destroy it — for only Frodo can do that — but to draw the Eye of the Dark Lord away from the Ring-bearer’s path.
While the world’s armies clash, Frodo and Sam, exhausted and half-starved, creep through the ashen wastes of Mordor. In the end, at the very edge of Mount Doom, Frodo can no longer resist the Ring’s power. He claims it for himself.
But fate — or providence — intervenes. Gollum, in his madness and desire, bites the Ring from Frodo’s hand and falls into the fiery chasm, destroying both himself and the Ring.
Thus ends the power of Sauron. His tower collapses, his armies scatter, and Middle-earth is freed.
Yet the victory is not without cost. Frodo is left scarred in body and soul. Though the world rejoices, he cannot find peace. “I have been too deeply hurt,” he confesses, “I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved — but not for me.”
Finally, he departs across the Sea with Gandalf, Bilbo, and the Elves, leaving Sam, his truest friend, to continue life in the Shire.
The book closes not with triumph, but with tenderness — with Sam’s simple words as he returns to his home and family:
“Well, I’m back.”
In that quiet line lies the entire weight of the journey — loss, endurance, and the humble beauty of returning home.
VII. The Great Themes of the Tale
Why, you may ask, is The Lord of the Rings such a special book to be read, cherished, and remembered?
Because it speaks to truths that transcend time.
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
It is a philosophy of quiet heroism — of doing good not because it guarantees success, but because it is right.
VIII. Tolkien’s Legacy and the Light that Endures
The Lord of the Rings endures because it offers both enchantment and truth. It shows us that darkness will always rise, but so will courage. It reminds us that history is a cycle of shadow and dawn — that “the old that is strong does not wither.”
As Galadriel says, “Even the smallest star shines in the darkness of night.”
Tolkien wrote during the age of world wars, but his tale speaks beyond any era. It tells us that power corrupts, that mercy redeems, that home is worth fighting for — and that every act of kindness, no matter how small, pushes back the shadow.
And so, more than seventy years after its publication, The Lord of the Rings continues to guide readers through their own journeys — journeys of doubt and courage, loss and renewal, darkness and light.
IX. Conclusion: The Journey That Never Ends
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Lord of the Rings is not just a book; it is a pilgrimage. It is the story of leaving home to find the strength to return — of losing innocence and gaining wisdom.
It is the tale of every soul that dares to face its own shadow and still chooses the light.
Tolkien’s world, though filled with Elves and kings, speaks to us because it mirrors our own — our fears, our hopes, our struggles, our faith. And perhaps that is why, when we close its final page, we feel not that the journey has ended, but that it continues within us.
For, as Frodo’s friend Sam reminds us,
“The great tales never end, Mr. Frodo. Folk seem to have been just landed in them... But I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?”
We, too, are in that tale — striving, stumbling, hoping — carrying our own small lights through the vastness of the world.
And so, as the evening of Middle-earth fades into the dawn of our own, we remember:
Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
Thank you.
