After leaving the Fellowship at Parth Galen, Frodo and Sam have only each other to depend on. While Merry and Pippin meet the Ents, and Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, and Gandalf begin the battle for Middle-earth, the two hobbits must make their slow, painful way to Mordor. The landscape is forbidding, and they have little hope of getting into the Black Land, let alone getting out again. Where their friends follow the path of outward heroism in battle, for Frodo and Sam, heroism must come through endurance, the dogged determination to complete their task regardless of the obstacles.
Their first obstacle is simply finding the path—a metaphorical representation of the confusion that besets everyone on his or her journey through life. What is the right way? Aragorn had to face this dilemma as leader of the Fellowship, but the choice must ultimately be made by each person alone. The reduction of the quest to Frodo alone emphasizes this point. Sam’s presence as a servant and friend, however, keeps the importance of friendship and support as well. Although the burden of the Ring is his, Frodo knows quite well that he could not succeed alone.
Gollum has been lurking on the edges of the story for many pages, and he emerges here in all his slimy, hissing, backbiting nastiness. While the Ringwraiths and Sauron are a terrifying evil— large, dark, and intimidating—Gollum is a small evil, a “Slinker,” as Sam dubs him, who will not attack directly but sneaks and betrays. Gollum is also a more complex character than the Dark Lord; he is evil, corrupted, and eaten away by the gnawing hunger for the Ring, yet still capable of sympathy and even kindness, as with the rabbits. The hints of goodness that Frodo draws out of Sméagol are very fragile, however, and the perceived betrayal at Henneth Annûn gives Gollum’s evil side an excuse to resurface.
Faramir is the man that Boromir should have been. Even though he promises not to take the Ring before he knows Frodo has it, he honors his word. Although not as powerful as an elf-lord or wizard, Faramir has some of their wisdom, and understands the danger in wielding such a terrible weapon, regardless of his desire to do good.
