the return of the fellowship of the ring to the two towers

Together they ride to Edoras, capital of Rohan. Gandalf assures his friends that Merry and Pippin are safe. He is clothed in white and is now Gandalf the White, for he has taken Saruman's place as the chief of the wizards. He was also killed in the fight, but was sent back to Middle-earth to complete his mission. Gandalf explains that he killed the Balrog. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn. Merry and Pippin escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by Treebeard, the oldest of the tree-like Ents. In the kingdom of Rohan, the Orcs are killed by Riders of Rohan, led by Éomer. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas decide to pursue the Orcs taking Merry and Pippin to Saruman. Boromir tries to protect Merry and Pippin from the Orcs, but they kill him and capture the two hobbits. The body of the volume consists of Book Three: The Treason of Isengard, and Book Four: The Ring Goes East.īook III: The Treason Of Isengard Ī party of large Orcs, Uruk-hai, sent by Saruman, and other Orcs sent by Sauron and led by Grishnákh, attack the Fellowship. Some editions of the volume contain a Synopsis for readers who have not read the earlier volumes. In the illustration, Orthanc is shown as a black tower, three-horned, with the sign of the White Hand beside it Minas Morgul is a white tower, with a thin waning moon above it, in reference to its original name, Minas Ithil, the Tower of the Rising Moon. However, a month later, he wrote a note published at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, and later drew a cover illustration, both of which identified the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc.

In letters to Rayner Unwin, Tolkien considered naming the two as Orthanc and Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol. In other editions the Books are often untitled. The titles The Treason of Isengard and The Ring Goes East were used in the Millennium edition. Book Four was titled The Journey of the Ringbearers or The Ring Goes East. The proposed title for Book Three was The Treason of Isengard. Tolkien wrote: ' The Two Towers gets as near as possible to finding a title to cover the widely divergent Books Three and Four and can be left ambiguous.' At this stage he planned to title the individual books. The Two Towers covers Books Three and Four. However, the novel was originally published as three separate volumes, due to post-World War II paper shortages and size and price considerations. Even though our heroes have won, they will never return to their innocence.The Lord of the Rings is composed of six 'books', aside from an introduction, a prologue and six appendices. There is a sadness to Sam as we watch him greet his wife and children, and we understand that the world has changed for all of them. He has seen the world and then some, and the comforts of home, while appreciated, will never be enough anymore. The relaxing days spent in the Shire have been replaced by the very real possibility that our heroes may not make it out alive.Īnd while it is true that 'Return of the King' ends with Sam returning to the lush green landscape of the Shire, he returns a changed man. There is a complete lack of color in that scene, signifying that we are now deep into this story. It is a decidedly different ending from 'Two Towers,' which ends on a desolated mountain side, Sméagol planning to lead Sam and Frodo to Shelob. Even the score is uplifting, with the trilogy's main theme playing triumphantly as we watch each hero choose their new path. This is why I love the ending of 'Fellowship.' When I think back on it, even though tragic things happen within those final moments, I always see nothing but green forest. There is still hope for Middle-earth and, unless you're a fan of Boromir (blow those horns of Gondor, Bormoir fans!), our heroes are still alive. The trees provide a sense of serenity that allows the viewer to feel hopeful when the fellowship disbands rather than fearful. Despite the Orc ambush, the landscape is relatively pleasing to look at, even though so much is changing. This is the only time (with the exception of the third film, but I'll get to that) where the scenery at the end appears green and lush. Boromir).īut the true beauty of the ending of 'Fellowship' comes in the form of its visuals. Each group clearly has their own distinct part to play in the battle for Middle-earth, and we know at the end of 'Fellowship' just where each individual stands (or doesn't R.I.P.

Of course, the obvious surface level interpretation of the ending of 'Fellowship' is that Frodo decides he must continue his journey alone (technically with Sam), and the rest of the fellowship is either captured (sorry, M.

The return of the fellowship of the ring to the two towers