Gollum and Eagles: Deux ex machina?

[JennyHallu]

I feel so frustrated that I cannot follow Frodo to this new land and discover it with him in the same way I discovered Middle-earth. This way of rounding off Frodo's story may have allowed Tolkien not to have to 'kill' him off, it may or may not be a DEM, but either way, it leaves me feeling flipping frustrated, as though I've been left behind, unwanted on this voyage, while at the same time I feel utterly enchanted...

Yet when I read this passage, I find only hope and promise. It isn't that we have been left behind, it is that our tasks, unlike Frodo's, are not yet finished. I think the most basic reason for Frodo's departure is that Tolkien wanted to let us leave Frodo without worrying about him.

But it's hardly a DEM...think of how often the idea of refuge in the West after long labor is brought up: Legolas' longing for the sea, Aragorns' mourning for the loss of Atalantë, the mystery of Gandalf's origin in the West, the stories (told fairly early in the story) of Ëarendil's journey to Aman. Both the Elves and Men have the same story: A land of milk and honey which they were forced to leave through their own willingness to break rather minimal rules, by the temptation of an evil figure. The fact that Frodo is allowed to return to the West is the ultimate full circle, and reflects Tolkien's religious philosophy. After long labor, and extreme self-sacrifice and bravery, we can return. The West is not lost.