Posted: May 06, 2000 at 19:33:36: by Hereward
The question of whether or not Frodo failed is by no means an elementary one, nor one that can be answered simply by "doing a little homework". One may read the Lord of the Rings a dozen times, and give it great thought and still ponder the success or failure of Frodo Baggins. Yes, he failed to personally hurl the One Ring into the Crack of Doom, but he did succeed, against great odds to reach Mount Doom. He did fail to complete the quest, but his achievements, not the least of which is the compasssion that he showed Smeagol/Gollum, are great. Many heroes have not been successful in the ultimate goal but might not be considered failures. Was Roland a failure because he failed to defeat the Saracens at Roncevaux, or was he a great hero over come by a force far greater than any mortal could withstand? (this one is even more controversial than the question of Frodo!) It is not a simple question but one which evokes great thought upon the meaning of heroism, success, failure and the quest as a whole.
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