Cliffs Notes on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

From Tolkien Gateway
Cliffs Notes on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
Cilffs notes tolkien.jpg
AuthorGene B. Hardy
PublisherHungry Minds, Inc.
ReleasedSeptember 1 1977
FormatPaperback
Pages80
ISBN0-8220-1286-3

Cliffs Notes on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit is a book in the CliffsNotes series of books. The series aims to provide student study guides of noted literature.

From the publisher[edit | edit source]

CliffsNotes on Lord of the Rings follows Frodo's adventures in Middle-earth through J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. When the hobbit Frodo receives the One Ring, forged by the evil Sauron, he joins Sam, Pippin, Merry, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Boromir, and Gimli on a dangerous quest to cast the ring into the fires of Mount Doom. Lord of the Rings was pivotal in the development of the fantasy genre as it appears today.

Contents[edit | edit source]

  • About the Author
    • Formative Years
    • A Scholar’s Life
    • Fantasy and Fame
  • About the Trilogy
    • Introduction to the Trilogy
    • The Fellowship of the Ring: A Brief Synopsis
    • The Two Towers: A Brief Synopsis
    • The Return of the King: A Brief Synopsis
    • List of Characters
    • Character Map
  • The Fellowship of the Ring: Summaries and Commentaries
    • Maps, Prologue, and Note on Shire Records
    • Book 1, Chapters 1–6: The Shire to the Old Forest
    • Book 1, Chapters 7–12: The House of Bombadil to the Ford of Bruinen
    • Book 2, Chapters 1–5: Rivendell to Moria
    • Book 2, Chapters 6–10: Moria to Amon Hen
  • The Two Towers: Summaries and Commentaries
    • Book 3, Chapters 1–6: The Falls of Rauros to Edoras
    • Book 3, Chapters 7–11: Helm’s Deep to Isengard
    • Book 4, Chapters 1–6: Emyn Muil to Henneth Annûn
    • Book 4, Chapters 7–10: Henneth Annûn to Cirith Ungol
  • The Return of the King: Summaries and Commentaries
    • Book 5, Chapters 1–5: Minas Tirith and the Siege of Gondor
    • Book 5, Chapters 6–10: The Battle of Pelennor Fields to the Black Gate
    • Book 6, Chapters 1–5: Cirith Ungol to the Return of the King
    • Book 6, Chapters 6–10: Journey Home and the Scouring of the Shire
    • Appendices
  • Character Analyses
    • Frodo Baggins
    • Sam Gamgee
    • Gandalf the Grey
    • Aragorn
    • Gollum
  • Critical Essays
    • "This Is Worse Than Mordor!": The Scouring of the Shire as Conclusion
    • The Temptation of the Ring
  • Study Help
    • Quiz
    • Essay Questions
    • Practice Projects