| Aragorn Aragorn is first introduced to the Hobbits as "Strider", a mysterious and dangerous Ranger, at the Inn of the Prancing Pony. He soundly scolds Frodo for letting out the secret of his ring, but guards the Hobbits and leads them to Rivendell to seek the aid of the Elves in disposing of the Ring. There, his true identity is revealed as Aragorn, son of Arathorn, descendant of Isildur and heir to the throne of Gondor. This, naturally, does not sit well with Boromir (whose father is the Steward of Gondor in the absense of a king) and leads to tension between the two. Aragorn offers his continued protection to Frodo for the journey to Mordor and is the leader of the Fellowship after the passage through Moria. Aragorn has the blood of Numinor in him, making him an excellent ranger and leader. All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king. |
 |
 |
Boromir Boromir is the son of the Steward of Gondor. He joins the Fellowship to lend the support of Gondor to the quest because, as he says, "If this is the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done." However, it is more likely that the Ring was tempting him and his desire for the Ring caused him to join. His presence in the Fellowship causes a great deal of tension for both Aragorn (see the notes on Aragorn for more details) and Frodo, as he obviously desires to use the Ring for his own purposes. In the end, he scuffles with Frodo for the Ring, and Frodo only manages to escape by using the Ring. Despite his weakness to the temptation of the Ring, Boromir is a stout fighter and devotes himself to the aid of the Fellowship. He saves the lives of the Hobbits on several occasions and sacrifices himself toward that goal in the end. It is best to realize that his actions in pursuing the Ring were due to the control the Ring exerted over him, and not his true personality or intentions (see picture caption). |
Boromir: "Why do you recoil? I am no thief!" Frodo: "You are not yourself!" |
|
| Frodo In the middle of everything sits the smallest of creatures, Frodo the Hobbit. Frodo came by the One Ring through inheritance from his uncle, Bilbo. Although he has always longed for an adventure of his own, he does not want the horrible task of destroying the Ring. However, there is no one else who can take this task. It has been appointed to Frodo by fate, as it seems, and he steps up to the challenge. For a time, the Fellowship accompanies him on his journey, fighting to protect the Ring and its Bearer, but, eventually, he realizes that the temptation of the Ring is too great for Men, Elves and Dwarves and sets out to destroy the Ring alone. Fortunately, his faithful companion Sam refuses to be abandoned, and follows him into the lands of Mordor. |
 |
"What must I do?" |
|
 |
Gandalf Gandalf the Grey reprises his role as the instigater of the Hobbits' adventure ("If you're referring to that incident with the dragon, I was barely involved. I only gave your uncle a little nudge out the door."). His knowledge of the Ring saves Frodo (and probably the entire Shire) just in the nick of time, although it nearly costs Gandalf his life. Despite his looks, the old wizard is powerful and wise. He guides the party and protects them to the best of his abilities. In the caves of Moria, however, he meets up with the ancient and evil Balrog and plunges into the depths of the dwarven mines to face this adversary. |
Frodo: "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had ever happened." Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time we are given." |
|
| Gimli From the beginning, this Elf-hating Dwarf embodies the true nature of dwarves, living for mines, treasure, feasts and war. Gimli strongly opposes the idea of letting an elf carry the Ring to Mordor, but is quick to offer his aid to the Hobbits and defends the quest with all the fervor and energy expected of a warrior. Over the course of the adventure, he learns to see beyond the pointy ears and even forms a friendship with Legolas. |
 |
"I have the eyes of a hawk, and the ears of a fox!" |
|
 |
Legolas As Gimli embodies a Dwarf, Legolas embodies an Elf. This Elvin prince is the eyes, ears, forward- and rear-defense for the Fellowship. He personally saves nearly every party member at some point in the adventure, and only loses his cheerful nature when the elves of Lothlorien sing their lament for Gandalf. He is proof that elves can be very stubborn from the moment he first opens his mouth in the Council, and devotes himself completely to the quest of the Ring. |
"There is a fell voice on the air!" |
|
| Merry Merry is the thoughtful side of the playful Hobbit-pair that join Frodo and Sam on the journey to Mordor. His love for pranks and fun is tempered by an analytical depth of thought. Despite his light-heartedness, he sees the truth in matters and understands the pain of sacrifice. |
 |
"That Rider was looking for something. Or someone." |
|
 |
Pippin How this clueless Hobbit has survived so long, no one will ever know. His insatiable love of food, his endless curiosity and his devotion to his friends may some day be the death of him, but, until that time, he keeps everyone's spirits high. |
"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission. Quest. Thing. ... Where are we going?" |
|
| Sam In many ways, Sam is the hero of this tale. His dependability and faithfulness to Frodo are, at times, the only strength that Frodo has to draw upon. Despite the temptations of the Mirror (a scene that wasn't in the movie...) and the many hardships presented by the journey, Sam sticks to the promise he made to Gandalf (see picture caption). Some may see him as none too intelligent, but he's honest and has a strength of will that challenges the grip of the Ring. Galadriel's prophecy is fulfilled through Sam: "Yet hope remains as long as the company is true." |
 |
"I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A promise. 'Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee,' and I don't mean to. I don't mean to." |
|
 |
Bilbo Bilbo's adventures are the foundation of the quest. He is the one who found the Ring, brought it to the Shire and eventually passed it on to his nephew, Frodo. Little did he know the impact his actions would have on the world. His long years of toying with the Ring have given him long life, but at a price. The power of the Ring possesses him to an extent and nearly leads him to his undoing several times. But, in the end, his love for Gandalf and Frodo saves him. |
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve!" |
|
| Elrond For Elrond, the king of the elves of Rivendell, the Ring represents a life-long struggle. Elrond has lost faith in the strength of Men. The time of Elves is coming to an end, as well, and he sees little hope that the Ring will ever be destroyed. Perhaps his long and turmoil-filled life has tempered his elf-spirit. Whatever the case may be, he still is willing to aid the quest and fight the evil of Sauron and the Ring. |
 |
"Men?! Men are weak." |
|
 |
Galadriel This wise, old elf is the grandmother of Arwen and the mother-in-law of Elrond. She bears one of the three rings of power given to the Elves (Nenya, to be exact), and, so, understands Frodo's position to a greater degree than any of the other characters. She is tempted by the One Ring, but overcomes the temptation. She also gives words of wisdom and encouragement to the Fellowship, and aids them with rest and refreshment in her home, Lothlorien. |
"You are a Ringbearer, Frodo. To bear a ring of power is to be alone." |
|
| Others There are many minor characters that support the quest, some of whom are not shown in the movie (such as Tom Bombadil), and some of whom are given larger roles in the movie than they originally had in the book (such as Arwen, whose entire role in Fellowship of the Ring was to be seen briefly across the long banquet table at Rivendell). |
 |
Many played important roles in the quest of the Ring. |
|
 |
Balrog The Balrog, the ancient Flame of Udun, is Gandalf's nemisis. He lives deep within the mines of Moria and was disturbed by the uncautious dwarves in their mining ferver. Gandalf knows of the Balrog's existance and avoids the path through Moria until the party has no other choice. When at last the Balrog challenges the Fellowship, Gandalf stays behind to do battle while the rest of the party escapes the mines. |
Gandalf: "You cannot pass!" |
|
| Gollum Gollum's history is long and sad. In his youth, 500 years before The Hobbit, Gollum himself was a Hobbit by the name of Smeagol. He was a very greedy Hobbit, however, with a rich but stingy grandmother whom he despised. One day, he and his closest friend were fishing, when his friend spied the One Ring in the riverbed, where it had been dropped 2000 years earlier by Isildur. His friend fished the Ring out of the water, but Gollum's greed overcame him, and he killed his friend to get the Ring. Realizing the trouble he was in for this murder, Gollum fled beneath the mountains and lived for 500 years, being tainted by the Ring. When Bilbo finally came into the possession of the Ring, Gollum attempted to pursue him, but was captured by the minions of Sauron and tortured into telling its whereabouts. Once he had confessed, he was released to continue his pursuit of the Ring. By this time, Frodo had begun his quest. |
 |
"My Precioussssss." |
|
 |
The Nazgul Aragorn says it best: "They were once men, great kings of men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them Nine Rings of Power. In their greed they took them without question, one by one falling into darkness. They are the Nazgūl, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the Ring..." These creatures are human kings that have lived on the power of the Rings so long that they have wasted away into wraiths. They pursue the One Ring endlessly, and nearly destroy Frodo and his companions on several occasions. |
"Give up the halfing, she-elf!" |
|
| The One Ring "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them!" This is the inscription on the One Ring into which Sauron "poured all his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate every living thing." Sauron used evil Ring 3000 years before Fellowship of the Ring to control the entirity of Middle Earth, until Isildur cut it from his hand. After that, "the Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of men are easily corrupted. And the ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur, to his death." It lay dormant for at least 2000 years, until Gollum found it. Gollum was also corrupted by it, and lived 500 years in its power. At last, Sauron began to gain power again, and the Ring abandoned Gollum as well, falling into the hands of Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo was little effected by its evil will, but still lived an unnaturally long life until he passed the Ring down to his nephew Frodo. While in Frodo's possession, Gandalf the Grey finally realized the true identity of the Ring, and sent Frodo on the quest to destroy the One Ring. However, the Ring is constantly tempting Frodo with its power and calling all sorts of evil creatures to its presence... |
 |
"Ash nazg durbatulūk, ash nazg gimbatul. Ash nazg thrataulūk, agh burzim-ishi krimpatul!" |
|
 |
Saruman Saruman the White has led the wizards' council for many years. He was believed to be the wisest and most powerful among the wizards (although Elrond disagreed), but has lately taken an interest in the dark and evil powers of Sauron. He realizes the strength of Sauron and believes it would be more beneficial to join Sauron than to try opposing him. He is ruthless and cruel in his new aims, and willing to kill any who stand in his or Sauron's way. Shortly after Gandalf confronts him, he begins to build a new army of evil creatures (Uruk-Hai) to fight the Fellowship and capture the Ring. |
"So you have chosen death." |
|
| Sauron The Dark Lord Sauron lived about 3000 years before Fellowship of the Ring. At that time, he was a great sorcerer and designed and created the Rings of Power. He was an evil sorcerer from the beginning, however, and tainted nearly all the Rings to be under his control. He then secretly created the One Ring and tried to use it to conquer all of Middle Earth. However, the Rings given to the Elves had not been tainted, and the few humans who resisted Sauron joined the Elves to combat him. They were victorious, at least for a time, and Sauron was defeated. However, as long as the One Ring exists, Sauron also exists. Over the 3000 years, he has waited, gathering power, until the One Ring returns to him again. |
 |
...agh burzim-ishi krimpatul... |
|
 |
Others The One Ring attracts all sorts of evil creatures to its power. On the long quest undertaken by the Fellowship, many strange creatures follow them and attempt to reclaim the Ring. |
Saruman: "Whom do you serve?" Lurtz: "Saruman!" |
|
