Final Project

Theme: Gifts and their role in The Lord of the Rings Sub-theme: The Ring and its Bearers.

When the One Ring is seen as a gift, that is when it is most dangerous. When Sauron created the Ring, it was never intended to be used by anyone but himself, which is why he put part of his being into the Ring. A gift is something that is freely given in good will that is meant to make another's life happier or better; the Ring encompasses none of these things. It was created purely through selfishness and evil, to be used by its creator to destroy and control. Those who recognize it for what it is-Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn to name a few-are less susceptible to its power than those who will mistake it for something they can use, such as Isildur and Boromir have done.

"It is a gift, I say; a gift to the foes of Mordor. It is not mad to use it, to use the power of the Enemy against him." (Boromir, page 389)

Because the Ring was created through evil, it is expected by its maker to be used for evil and destructive actions that will eventually lead it back to him. Using it draws the wearer into Sauron's world, and into the world of the Ringwraiths, who are under the control of the Ring. The Ring reeks of greed, power, and destruction, enticing all who see it, which makes the scenes when Frodo offers it to another (Gandalf and Galadriel) so significant. He is willing to the turn the burden into a gift for another, but only because he wishes to be rid of it-the opposite of its usual effect.

But even more twisted is the relationship between Gollum and the Ring. When Deagol finds the Ring, Sméagol demands it as his 'birthday present' and then murders Deagol when he refuses to hand it over. The Ring was forever after his birthday present, his 'precious'. It destroyed and twisted him beyond what any other creature had felt, all the while he labored under the delusion of it being a gift, sometimes sounding as if he was trying to convince himself that it really was a gift and perhaps ease his guilt in his warped mind.