How Frodo Has Influenced Me by John

How Frodo Has Influenced Me by John - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

A character that has had an influence on my life is Frodo Baggins who is the main character in “The Lord of The Rings.” He is influential to me because throughout the trilogy he constantly shows us examples of his underestimated courage and his strong will. Frodo has shown me that the people who seem the most insignificant can still have a major impact on society.

Frodo grew up in a strange and magical world known as Middle Earth. He is part of a race known as Hobbits and he lived within a peaceful region of Middle Earth known as The Shire. He lived in an estate called Bag End with his uncle Bilbo Baggins because his parents died when he was very little. Frodo lived a happy and peaceful life in the Shire with many of his friends and family members. The Shire was like a little world where everyone was comfortable and happy. Just like other hobbits Frodo was completely oblivious to the world around him. Outside of the Shire the world was a very dangerous place and peace was a hard thing to come by.

In the other realms of Middle Earth there are Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Wizards, Goblins, and various other mysterious creatures that are both similar and different than what we find in our reality. While Frodo was living out his childhood in the Shire, the world around him had begun to fall into darkness at the hands of an evil spirit named Sauron, who allied himself with the Orcs. Frodo along with his friends, set out on an adventure to defeat the evil Sauron. This group was known as the Fellowship of the Ring and consisted of Frodo and three other hobbits, two men, a dwarf, an elf, and a wizard. Sauron could only be defeated if the Ring of Power, which he forged, was destroyed. The only way to destroy the Ring was to throw it into the fires of Mount Doom within the heart of Sauron’s realm known as Mordor.

On this journey, Frodo and his friends suffer great losses and achieve great triumphs together, but the greatest triumph of all is the destruction of the Ring by the hand of Frodo. He and his hobbit friend Sam traveled alone into the heart of Sauron’s realm where no one else would dare to go. Frodo’s courage in the face of death is what makes him so influential to me. You would never expect an innocent little hobbit to go where not even the strongest knights and wizards would venture. Frodo embodies the idea that anyone can achieve greatness no matter how insignificant they may seem. I believe that principle is what separates Frodo and “The Lord of The Rings” from other tales.

Frodo’s influence on me has been very intriguing at times because whenever I say to myself, “I am not good enough” I remember Frodo and how everyone considered him insignificant. He has shown me that it is not so much what is on the outside that matters, but who you are on the inside. The author could have made the hero in his novel a knight or a wizard, but he chose a hobbit. I believe that is why the author included Frodo and the hobbits in his novels to show people that what is on the inside is what matters. So whenever I think that I cannot do something, I remember what Frodo accomplished. Then my goal does not seem as far away.