Characters
A deputy to Sauron who confronts Gandalf and Aragorn at the gates of Mordor.
The Lieutenant of the Dark Tower
Frodo’s cousin and mentor, the previous keeper of the Ring.
Bilbo Baggins
Date of first publication
1955
What destination are Gandalf and Pippin traveling to when The Return of the King opens?
Minas Tirith
What country was J.R.R. Tolkien born in, in 1892?
South Africa
Two Orcs whom Sam and Frodo encounter in the tower of Cirith Ungol.
Shagrat and Snaga
Hobbit policemen who attempt to arrest Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry as they reenter the Shire.
The Shirrifs
Setting (Time)
The end of the Third Age of Middle-earth and the beginning of the Fourth Age
Who fulfils a prophecy concerning the coming of the next king of Gondor?
Aragorn
Who did Tolkien meet while living in a boarding house at age sixteen?
His future wife
The Steward of Gondor and the father of Boromir and Faramir.
Denethor
Frodo’s greedy and corrupt relative, whom Frodo suspects is the “Chief” to whom the Shirrifs refer.
Lotho
Setting (7 Places)
Minas Tirith, the Paths of the Dead, Osgiliath, Cirith Ungol, Mount Doom, the Shire, and the shore of the Great Sea
What do the leaders of the armies of the West aim to do by launching an assault against Mordor?
Distract Sauron
What creative pursuit did Tolkien take up while studying ancient languages at Exeter College, Oxford?
Inventing Languages
The Lady of Rohan and future wife of Faramir.
Éowyn
One of the oldest and most respected hobbits in the Shire.
Farmer Tom Cotton
Climax
Gollum’s plunge with the Ring into the Cracks of Doom; the destruction of Sauron’s power
How does Gollum get the Ring from Frodo?
He bites Frodo’s finger off
What other writer-professor did Tolkien befriend while teaching at Oxford?
C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia)
The Prince of Dol Amroth, the proudest of the captains of the Outlands who arrive to aid Minas Tirith.
Imrahil
Marries Sam Gamgee at the end of the novel, and together they have a daughter, whom they name Elanor.
Rosie Cotton
Themes
The ambiguity of evil; the importance of redemption; the priority of friendship
Who is the secret leader of the police state that a group of Men has set up in the Shire?
Saruman
To Tolkien’s dismay, what cultural movement contributed to the popularity of The Lord of the Rings?
The Hippie Movement