How JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is an allegory

As we watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I said to my mom, "You know, I just know that The Lord of the Rings is some sort of an allegory, but I just can't figure out how to make all the elements fit."

We thought for a bit as my mom fixed dinner, and my mom said, "What if Frodo's journey is supposed to represent the Christian journey?"

BAM!!!

The light turned on.

Here's what we came up with:

The Ring represents sin. Frodo represents Christians. His journey is symbolic to get rid of our sin, which, most people believe, happens when we die and reach heaven. (I have heard debate that people can be sinless on Earth. That's another topic.)

So Frodo gets stuck with this curse [the Ring in the book, sin in reality] that his relatives were responsible for passing on (just like people are born as sinners because of Adam and Eve's decision to eat of the forbidden tree). And just like every human, he has to bear it. Only Frodo has to begin a journey to destroy the Ring [sin] so that the rest of the people have a chance at freedom. Just like overcoming our sinful nature is hard, so Frodo has a difficult time on his journey, made worse by a deceptive guide [Smeagol] and a broken Fellowship [notice it was a fellowship, which is what a lot of Christians call it when Christians gather together to enjoy each other's company]. Samwise [who could represent the Holy Spirit in our lives] is the light trying to shine through Smeagol's lies to Frodo, who needs encouragement and help on his journey [especially at the end].

And in the end Frodo does throw the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. Although he longs to return to the Shire, probably supposed to represent the original Garden of Eden, he instead sails across the sea to a land where one never dies [heaven].

The White Wizard most likely represents Christ, since he sacrifices himself for the others and then dies defeating the creature from hell but later comes back to life to bring absolute guidance to the others.

Just like Frodo, with the help of the Holy Spirit and through the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, we eventually will destroy the Ring [sin] in our lives. Then we will live in Heaven forever and ever, where the old earth shall pass away and the new earth and the new Jerusalem will be.



Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel