Why is the ending so sad in the Return of the King

[Durialion]

smilies/frown.gif smilies/frown.gif smilies/frown.gif smilies/frown.gif The ending I think was so sad I wish Frodo could of stayed in Middle-earth why did he have to leave. Sam was so sad. Frodo had worked so hard to make it safe then he just left Middle-earth. I miss him lol

Durialion

[*Varda*]

I agree that the ending was sad, and yet it wasn't. Frodo found peace when he went to Aman, he was reunited with Bilbo, it was just that he had to part with Middle Earth. But he could never have settled there again.

But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me.

And remember that eventually Sam did pass over the Sea.

I don't think I would have liked the ending so much had it been made happy. I like a book that has the ability to make me cry, as LotR did. It was bittersweet.

[ElanorGamgee]

I love the ending all the more for its bittersweet ending. By having Frodo need to leave the Shire for comfort from harm that came to him during the quest, Tolkien brings up a point that is often over-looked in stories of heroic deeds; in reality, the hero more often than not does not exactly live "happily ever after." That is part of the price paid by Frodo; not only does he suffer more than any average hobbit would in the actual destroying of the Ring, but he also loses his innocence and gives up part of himself to the evil he helps to destroy. After suffering the trauma of journeying through Mordor at the constant temptation of the Ring, he simply cannot return to his former life. Freedom from the threat of Sauron was bought at a great price. A deed really worth doing does not come at a small cost.

[ August 10, 2002: Message edited by: ElanorGamgee ]

[Morgoth Bauglir]

sad? no.

frodo going to aman is an extremely HAPPY ending! few people of any race besides the elves have gone there, and its what the world would have been like if morgoth (or evil) would have not corrupted it.

i was pretty happy, just sad that we didnt hear how frodo and the company liked it there.

[Ravenna]

I would say it was more of a bittersweet ending that a truly sad one. Happy that Sauron has gone and things are going right again, and also of course that Sam is then able for the first time to concentrate on his own family. BUt sad in that after achieving all that he did, Frodo cannot stay to reap the rewards of his labour.
Then again, Frodo does get to go with Bilbo which surely made him happy.

[Tigerlily Gamgee]

I like the way that the book ends because it really doesn't end. Tolkien leaves us with a feeling that the story is still happening. There really is no end to the story, just to the book. I am sure that many more stories could've been written, but since Tolkien (as has been said) wrote this as sort of a mythology it definitely leaves an open end of belief...
I don't think fans would've liked it if it had ended "happily ever after" - because then it would be more of a fairy tale than an epic. People remember stories more when they are left thinking about it without a closing emotion (if that makes sense), it's better when you are left feeling something rather then saying, "Well, that's it"

[Joy]

You know, epics are not supposed to end. Remember when Sam and Frodo are in Mordor, speaking of the great tales?

Why, to think of it, we're in the same tale still! It's going on. Don't the great tales never end?"
No, they never end as tales, said Frodo. But the people in them come, and go when their part's ended. Our part will end later - or sooner."

The tale of the Fellowship and the War of the Ring may indeed be over, but the epic is not yet over. Their part is done, and were are here today, battling some of the same evils.

How will your part play out? Will you be loyal like Sam, or will you be a traitor like Saurman? Will you falter in your pride, yet redeem yourself like Boromir?

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

Actually I agree that it's sad. All that planning; all that work; so many sleepless nights, and then Sauron's defeated. Sounds like cause for depression to me. smilies/wink.gif

[Arathiriel]

For all its bittersweetness, I thought the ending to RoTK was PERFECT! This one time I would not have wanted nor settled for anything that resembled a "and he lived happily ever after...' ending...

Nope the way Tolkien ended LOTR was PERFECT! smilies/tongue.gif

[The Green Ringwraith]

I found myself saying "I can't wait to read the next book" and it took me a couple of seconds to realize... there was no other book! It just seems like there should be more after Sam says, "Well, I'm home!" or something like that. *is confused* Hm. But nonetheless they were wonderful books and I can't wait to see the other two movies! smilies/smile.gif

[Ms. Took]

I think that it ended that way to show the readers how deeply the whole quest affected Frodo. To show that after such an experiance one cannot live the happy normal life that they once did. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it did in my head. I really liked the ending. I do admit it was bittersweet, but i think it affected me much more deeply than if it had ended happy.

[avarerniliel]

I thought the ending to ROTK was a great one. It wasn't just some 'happily ever after' tale. JRRT really kept it in his style throughout the entire story. I'm also sort of glad that Frodo didn't go back to ME, he wouldn't have been able to go back to his old lifestyle, and I'm sure he was grateful to be back with Bilbo again. As for Sam, well, he was always to the point, and "Well, I'm back" suited him nicely.

[Eruwen]

I loved the end of the books. It was so good. After I read it, I just read it over and over again. It is so sad, but I love how it ends. I can't really explain what I mean, but I can say that I have never read anything better in my entire life. And that is why I am so obsessed with this story. I just can't get over it! smilies/smile.gif

[Feanaro]

Generally all of Tolkien's works had "sad endings". Just look at The Silmarillion, the vast majority of the tales recounted in that book are tragedies. The Flight of the Noldo, the fall of Fëanor, the death of Fingolfin, the entire life of Turin. The list goes on and on. Tolkien lived during a very depressing time period. It's a harsh realism that the heroes generally do not come out happy and fulfilled--a philosophy used by many of the Lost Generation of post WWI.

[Altariel]

Despite its bittersweetness, the way Tolkien chose to end the Lord of the Rings was, in my opinion, perfect. I think that Frodo's inability to really return to his life the way it was (as well as the Elves departing Middle-Earth smilies/frown.gif) sort of symbolizes that the world of Middle-Earth is changing, and that nothing stays the same. The ending is, to me, sweetly sorrowful, and tinged with wistfulness and longing for something that's gone, or will never be quite the same, and although it isn't a happy one, I like it. It gives me the same feeling fall does... it's difficult to explain...

I'm going to shut up now. smilies/tongue.gif

[ August 13, 2002: Message edited by: Altariel ]

[Orome]

i think that prehaps there reason for all of the suffering in the sil was because of his experienced in WWI where all of his friends died and such.

I think that Bittersweet is the perfectword to discribe the Lord of the Rings

[lindil]

It is to my mind an utterly Elvish ending.Full of the blend of joy and sadness that the books so often hint at. Never is it so perfectly revealed I think.

I recall reaching the shores of Mithlond and after sam returned home I was speechless, wishing the books to go on and on. And somewhat devastated realizing that I would never be the same, and how could I enter M-E more fully?

I spent quite a fwe years searching for answers to that.

[Kuruharan]

If you think that the end of the Return of the King is sad, just consider the alternative.

And I'm not so sure that Frodo or Bilbo would have considered the ending too sad. They were going to the most wonderful place in the world in the company of Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel. And both of them were with the person that they most wanted to be with. (Sorry folks, but Frodo still loved Bilbo more.) Sam had his family to go back too, so things did not turn out too badly for him.

[Lhunbelethiel]

The ending, to me, was appropriate. It left you able to wonder and fantasize about what happened to everyone after the end of the book. (Like we are doing now) Though I cried, I cried not because the ending was sad, though it was bittersweet, I was sad because I would never have the experience of reading the trilogy for the FIRST time ever again. (know what I mean?) Also I was sad there was no more to read on the adventures of the rest of the Fellowship. I always wondered whether Frodo married or not. (does it say?) I also felt that way at the end of the Phantom Tollbooth. (my all time favorite book)