“The Return of the King,” opens as Gandalf and Pippin ride east to the city of Minas Tirith in Gondor, just after parting with King Théoden and the Riders of Rohan at the end of “The Two Towers.” Gandalf and Pippin meet Denethor, and Pippin offers him his sword in service to Gondor, out of gratitude for Denethor’s son Boromir, who died protecting the Hobbits during the battle of Amon Hen. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam, continue their perilous journey through Mordor toward Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring and thwart Sauron’s bid for domination
I think there is a lot of animosity between the Steward Denethor and Gandalf. Tolkien writes that the power of Numenor runs true in Denethor, so he possesses the power to discern the thoughts and personalities of the people around them, which the men of Numenor inherited from their Elvish ancestors. Denethor saw Gandalf as a powerful force who would take the minds of his children from him, as is seen from his treatment of Faramir, who he considers Gandalf’s student.
The rising action begins when a deep cloud of Darkness arose from Mordor, soon obscuring the entire sky over Minas Tirith. The armies of Sauron, led by the Witch King of Angmar began to march out of Minas Morgul to lay siege on Minas Tirith. Meanwhile, realizing that the Riders might arrive too late to defend Minas Tirith from the imminent attack from Mordor, Aragorn decides to take the perilous Paths of the Dead to Gondor. As he travels through the Paths, accompanied by Legolas and Gimli, a huge army of the Sleepless Dead heeds Aragorn’s commands and follows him southward.
In Minas Mogul, Sam bravely rescues his friend and master from the Orc garrison and they leave the fortress to enter Mordor proper, disguised as Goblins. In Gondor, the armies of Mordor surround the defenses of Minas Tirith and lay siege to the city. Already cracking from the pressure of the false visions of the city’s destruction shown to him by Sauron, Denethor goes mad as the fierce battle wages outside Minas Tirith and locks himself in a crypt with Faramir, who was dying from a wound from an Orc arrow during his retreat from the outer walls as it was overrun. Denethor plans to destroy the remnants of the line of Gondor’s Stewards.
Denethor’s Numenorean powers allowed him to spy on Mordor using the Seeing Stone of Minas Tirith in an attempt to discover Sauron’s secrets, but he was caught in Sauron’s web of lies as he was shown one of the many futures where Minas Tirith was taken and destroyed as truth. I think this contest of wills between Denethor and the Mair spirit Sauron contributed to Denethor’s eventual mental breakdown.
One of the turning points of the book occurs as the armies of Mordor break down the gates of Minas Tirith, allowing the Witch King wide into the city to confront Gandalf the White. But just at that moment, clear horns began blowing in the distance, the riders of Rohan had arrived just in time to save the city. As the battle rages, the Witch King grievously wounds King Théoden but as he stands over the king to kill him, Lady Éowyn and Merry heroically confront him and kill him, though both receive grievous wounds. The forces of Mordor manage to regroup, but Aragorn sailed up the Anduin River on the black ships of the Corsairs, which he conquered with the help of the Dead, and the forces of Mordor were defeated.
Pippin finds Gandalf, and together they stop Denethor from killing his son. The old Steward throws himself on a burning pyre and kills himself. Having rescued Gondor, Aragorn enters Minas Tirith and heals those wounded by the dark sorcery of the Witch King during the battle. By doing so, Aragorn fulfills an ancient prophecy concerning the coming of the next king of Gondor.
The leaders of the armies of the West decide to put together an attack on Mordor to distract Sauron from the quest of Frodo, the Ring-bearer. Aragorn’s forces march to the Black Gate of Mordor and confront Sauron’s Lieutenant. The Lieutenant claims that the Hobbit spies, Frodo and Sam, have been captured in Mordor. Gandalf rebukes the Lieutenant, who flees inside the Gate and unleashes the great armies of Mordor.
Gandalf and Aragorn realized that Sauron still had a considerable army waiting in Mordor for a chance to catch the Free Peoples when they were least prepared and that they would pose great danger to Frodo and Sam as they attempted to cross the land and reach Mount Doom. This shows me the bravery in sacrificing oneself in service of a greater good.
The story reaches a climax as the Hobbits reach the Crack of Doom. Overwhelmed by the Ring’s heightened power so near to its master and the weariness of their long and dangerous journey, Frodo succumbs and claims the Ring. Gollum suddenly appeared and attacked Frodo, biting off his ring finger and recovering the Ring. All seems lost as sensing Frodo as he claims the Ring and then loses it to Gollum, Sauron turns his attention to the Crack of Doom and the Nazgul sped to reclaim it. But at the turning point, Gollum stumbles off the ledge and falls into the Cracks of Doom taking the One Ring with him.
This calls to my mind how close the quest came to ending in disaster. It also reminds me of Gandalf’s reply to Frodo when he mused that his uncle Bilbo should have killed Gollum when he had the chance. Gandalf admonished him, saying that Bilbo’s mercy might yet decide the fat of Middle-earth.
With the destruction of the One Ring, the down action occurs. Sauron’s power breaks, leading to the falling as Aragorn’s forces at the Black Gate defeat Mordor’s panicked servants, resolving the story’s conflict. Seeing the destruction of Mout Doom and fearing that the Hobbits will be caught up in it, Gandalf flies to Orodruin on the back of Gwaihir, the giant eagle, and rescues Frodo and Sam.
The story reaches its resolution as Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor and Anor, and he is wed Arwen, daughter of Elrond Halfelven, restoring the line of the Kings of Men. Minas Tirith and the surrounding areas begin to recover and rebuild.
The Hobbits return to the Shire, where they find their homes ravaged. A group of Men have entered and set up an oppressive police state. The four companions discover that the secret leader of the destruction is Saruman, the deposed wizard, who sought revenge on the Hobbits. They organize a rebellion and defeated Saruman and his men, banishing them from the Shire. Frodo spares Saruman’s life, but the wizard’s tortured servant, Wormtongue, betrays and kills his cruel master.
The Hobbits rebuild the Shire and return to their ordinary lives. Sam marries a Hobbit named Rosie Cotton, and together, they have a daughter. Frodo, wounded by the burden of the Ring-quest, decides to leave the Shire. He sails away over the Great Sea with Gandalf, Bilbo, and the other Ring-bearers to the peaceful paradise in Valinor.
