In this class, we will read carefully through The Fellowship of the Ring. We will discuss Tolkien’s elaborate framing of the story and look at the growth and development of the story from its first chapter through the increased seriousness and darkness of the story that follows. We will look at the characters and peoples whose stories Tolkien tells along the way, such as Aragorn, Gandalf, the fading of the High Elves, and the fall of the dwarves of Moria. Throughout our discussion, of course, we will watch carefully the development of the Ring itself and Frodo’s own changing relationship with it, culminating in his moment of crisis on Amon Hen.