How is Frodo a Hero Archetype?

How is Frodo a Hero Archetype?

The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring tells the tale of Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit who suddenly finds himself faced with an immense task: He must leave his home in The Shire and make a perilous journey across the realms of Middle-Earth to the Crack of Doom, deep inside the territories of the Dark Lord. There he must destroy the One Ring forever and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

As Bilbo’s heir Frodo received the One Ring and accepted the quest of Ring-Bearer during the Council of Elrond. As Frodo sets out on his dangerous journey, he encounters difficult challenges and fearful obstacles. His mythical journey is also a quest: he must experience a rite of passage and accomplish a significant and wondrous feat to signify the end of childhood innocence. At the breaking of the Fellowship it was Frodo who decided to continue the quest alone and enter the land of Mordor.

I would like you to analyze ALL the following aspects of mythology in the film:

1. How is Frodo a Hero Archetype?
2. How are Frodo’s experiences universal to humankind?
3. How is Frodo a model by which people can comprehend experience and cope with the enormous and often baffling task of being human?

It must be 1000 words in length.

Solution Preview

Frodo is a hero archetype. However, he is not presented as a conventional archetype. He is a particularly small hobbit existing in a large world. Ideally, up to the moment that we are introduced to him going about his activities, he is yet to do anything that could be considered heroic or great in nature. This, however, changed when he took on the duty of sending the evil ring back to the hell pits. Here, the readers start to interact with a new form of character that is heroic in nature. In all classical presentations of the hero, they are presented as courageous, thoughtful of the greater good of others around them and capable of great sacrifice.

(1,004 words)