Frodo Baggins

Frodo Baggins

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." A hobbit once did by the name of Frodo Baggins. Now, hobbits are very famous for their huge meals and round stomachs. They never leave the Shire and hardly ever go beyond their own town in the Shire. Frodo Baggins proved them all wrong when he went on the greatest adventure of all time into the Cracks of Doom. This journey proved to make a hero out of Mr. Baggins, a hobbit who was supposed to do nothing unexpected. Frodo became a hero because he saved Middle Earth, bore the burden of the One Ring, and gave up his life to save the good in his world.

The fate of Middle Earth rested in Frodo's hand once he took his first step on the adventure. The dark lord, Sauron, was bound with the ring and as long as the ring still existed, so did Sauron. If Sauron would have reclaimed the ring, all of Middle Earth would have been taken over by the evils of the ring and its master. Frodo prevented Sauron from getting the ring by carrying it to the fires of Mount Doom. He traveled from the Shire, to Rivendell, to the Mines of Moria, to Lothlorien, to Ithilien, to Minas Morgul, and finally, to the evil mountain itself. At the mountain, the One Ring was destroyed along with Sauron and the Nazgul. By carrying the ring to Mount Doom in Mordor, Frodo Baggins saved Middle Earth.

Frodo was a ring bearer and he bore the greatest of all burdens, the One Ring. He did not have to take the burden of the ring upon himself, yet he did. There were many chances when he could have turned back and he even tried to give the ring to Galadriel and Gandalf. Instead of just leaving the ring in the Shire, he journeyed to Rivendell where the ring might be safe. At Rivendell, the council decided that the ring had to go to Mordor and Frodo volunteered willingly. Even when he was on the edge of despair and the ring was heavy around his neck, he kept going forward. The burden of the ring became so much for him that he could not throw it into the fires of Mount Doom by himself. Frodo Baggins risked his own life by bearing the burden of the One Ring.

Frodo and the One Ring

When Frodo chose to take the ring to Mount Doom, he knew in his heart that it would take his life. There was good in his world and he felt that it was worth fighting for. Although he did not die on the journey, the things he went through made him unable to live in Middle Earth. Frodo went through a lot on his journey; including seeing the Eye, getting stabbed by an immortal blade, and carrying the ring the whole way to Mount Doom. These led to wounds that would never heal and he would never feel at home in the Shire again. He chose to go to the Grey Havens and sailed away with the elves leaving his past life behind him. Frodo was warned of the consequences of choosing to do what he did and he still decided to do it. As he told Sam, "I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me." Frodo was willing to give up his life to save the lives of people he loved.

Although just a hobbit, Frodo Baggins showed hero characteristics by saving Middle Earth, bearing the burden of the One Ring, and giving up his life to save the world. Big people are not the only ones who can save the world. A little hobbit was able to do something that most "big people" are not able to do. Heroes should not be judged by the size of a person, but by the size of their hearts. After all, "You can learn all that there is to know about their (hobbits') ways for a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you."