The Two Towers

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

Book 2 of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Tolkien, J.R.R. (1954, 1965). The two towers (57^th printing). New York: Ballantine Books. 

Plot

As we rejoin the inhabitants of Middle Earth in Tolkien’s second book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Fellowship of the Ring is in disarray. Boromir has fallen defending the Halflings, Sam and Frodo have departed on their own for Mordor, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas are pursuing the orcs who have kidnapped Merry and Pippin. Sam and Frodo encounter the unsavory creature, Gollum, on their journey east. He is obsessed with the ring, but Frodo gains his trust and uses him as his guide through Mordor. The others are reunited as Pippin and Merry’s captors are vanquished by the Riders of Rohan, the Rohirrim. Gandalf returns from darkness as Gandalf the white wizard. He casts out the evil spirit inhabiting the King of Rohan, Theoden. The people of Rohan, including the King’s niece and nephew Eowyn and Eomer, join with Gandalf and Aragorn to defeat the minions of the powerful wizard Saruman, who is in league with Sauron. Sam and Frodo encounter Faramir, the brother of Boromir and a Captain of Gondor. He is wise and allows them to continue on their journey to Mordor. But Frodo is betrayed by Gollum and led into Shelob’s Lair. Shelob is a giant spider who bites and paralyzes Frodo. Sam, thinking Frodo dead, takes the ring. But once he realizes Frodo is still alive, he follows the orcs who are carrying him deeper into the bowels Mordor as the book ends.

Critical Evaluation

The Two Towers introduces compelling new characters to the story. We meet the valiant people of Rohan, including the beautiful and brave, yet emotionally tormented Eowyn, her brother Eomer and their uncle, the King, Theoden, who has been poisoned by the evil whisperings of his advisor, Wormtongue. We meet Faramir, brother of Boromir, Captain of Gondor who is noble and wise, but not favored by his father. We meet Treebeard, leader of the Ents. The Two Towers draws the battle lines into clear focus. As Frodo creeps closer to Mount Doom, armies must make decisions on how they may best help destroy Sauron. The descriptive language in The Two Towers, particularly in the chapter The Window on the West is some of the best in the trilogy.

Readers Annotations

One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, In the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie. Follow Frodo’s terror-ridden journey through the hills of Emyn Muil and the Dead Marshes to Mordor where he must make his way to the fires of Mount Doom and cast the One Ring inside. Meet the brave and beautiful people of Rohan, who come to the aide of Gandalf and Aragorn. Lose yourself in the world of sword and sorcery conjured up by the master story-teller of this genre. The story told in The Two Towers was butchered in the movie. Rediscover Tolkien’s original story!

About the Author

Born in 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon from 1925 to 1945 at Pembroke College, Oxford. From 1945 until his retirement in 1945 he was Merton Professor of English Language and Literature. His chief interest was in the literary and linguistic tradition of the English West Midlands, especially in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He is best known for The Lord of the Rings trilogy which he completed in 1955. The trilogy began with the book the Hobbit. The Hobbit’s genesis was from a doodle Tolkien made on a margin while grading papers one summer: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” Many have seen parallels to the tumultuous times of Tolkien’s life (2 World Wars) in The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien denied that his story was allegory. He claimed to have no control over the story. He described creativity as popping up through a river that runs over your head and allowing the flow to stream through you. Tolkien drew deeply on his knowledge of ancient mythology to flesh out his characters and plot. He died in 1973 as an icon in the fantasy genre

Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Language Arts and Mythology

Booktalk Ideas: You’ve played the video game. You’ve seen the movie. Neither can compare to the book.

Reading Level: 8+
Interest Level: 8+
Challenge Issues: None

The Two Towers is included because it is one of the greatest books of this genre.