A few fun LotR quizzes to share:

http://www.sporcle.com/games/dolebanana/alllotr

I got a little over half of the names on this one

http://www.sporcle.com/games/text/lotr_ring

I had 1:42 left when I finished this one. Would have been done sooner, but got stuck on one word.

I had 2:08 on the last one. I would have been quicker, but I started typing things I didn't need to. Oh! And it's not the same each time, so the second time I got 2:16...

I got over half the names on the first one as well. I was sure I'd typed in a few of the ones I missed, though! Oh, well.

I did the first one, Bookwrym. I missed 13 characters because I forgot

Interesting quizzes. I got 38/50 on the first one. There were two names that I immediately knew I should have gotten but didn't:

I finished the second one with only 2:27 left.

Possible Good News for The Hobbit if the following article turns out to be more than a rumour:

*really, really, really hopes it's more than a rumor*

On the first one I got 32/50, which is not bad considering I'm terrible with names, horrible at spelling, and had to answer the phone in the middle of the quiz.

On the second one, I timed out the first time with three blanks. At least two of them are some of the most missed on the chart. The second time I had 1:39 remaining.

I don't think that they were counting the Hobbit or there probably would have been more dwarves in the quiz.

Also, the ring was destroyed not through anyone's merit or clear divine intervention but by a greedy creature who accidentally falls into the fires of Mount Doom.

The closest you get to a merit, is by saying that it was destroyed by pity or mercy - Sam felt pity for the greedy creature and didn't kill it, and thus made it possible for the ring to be destroyed.

Pattertwigs Pal wrote:
Also, the ring was destroyed not through anyone's merit or clear divine intervention but by a greedy creature who accidentally falls into the fires of Mount Doom.

I missed this part of Pattertwig's post a couple of pages back. Thanks to Varnafinde for pointing it out.

I've actually posted at length about the topic at length at another forum, largely through comparing Tolkien's original version to Jackson's version. Either way, I think it is very clear that Providence plays a role in the destruction of the Ring, though perhaps even more-so in Jackson's version, in which some of the dialogue in the films alludes to the role of Providence (insofar as Providence can mean Divine Guidance, I think it can be equated with Divine Intervention).

It might be less clear, I suppose, to those who don't have any religious upbringing or knowledge--a non-theist can simply see the destruction of the Ring as pure chance as Tolkien wrote LotR without directly referring to a deity or deities. And rather than direct Intervention, the story plays out as if Providence nudges things along the journey to ensure that a situation arises in which the Ring can be destroyed. But it is clear from the start that no-one can willingly destroy the Ring, as the Ring's Will would overwhelm any particular individual. In the book, Frodo can't even throw the Ring in his fireplace when Gandalf tells him to try.

As I wrote in one of my other posts:

In my view, Jackson's version matches up just fine with Tolkien's. Though the details are slightly different, it's clear to any who were paying attention, that Jackson was paying far more than lip service to Tolkien's notion that Providence was the key to destroying the Ring.

The Ring could not be destroyed intentionally by one individual. It simply would not allow it's own destruction. Sensing it's impending Doom, it would overwhelm any Ring-bearer at that point.

In the Mines of Moria, Gandalf makes it clear that the fate of an individual is not up to another to decide, and that for good or ill Gollum had a role yet to play, and that Frodo was meant to have the Ring . He is talking about Providence , clear as Day.

Gollum, thought to be dead by Frodo and Sam, survives his fall into the chasm outside Shelob's Lair. He reappears on the slopes of Mt Doom, just in time to battle for the Ring. This was a necessary component to the destruction of the Ring. Providence again. And finally, on the ledge, the last struggle seals the Ring's fate. It's not really important who ends up with the Ring at that point. What is important is what Providence demands. The Struggle itself. Only by someone "Accidentally" falling with the Ring or dropping it, can the Ring be carried into the Lava Pit of Doom. As long as Jackson demonstrated this, he was perfectly in keeping with Tolkien's notion of Providence.

Providence seems to work through individuals (in Tolkien's telling, as a believer in Free Will), by choosing those who are most likely to choose a path that synchronizes with the needs of Providence. This is different from the Manipulative Power of the Dark Side, which forces individuals to bend to it's Will, against their own judgment. So Choice and Destiny in the hands of Providence are two sides of the same coin.

GB

I just got a better copy of FotR yesterday! yay! my old copy had ripped in half and had been messily glued back together again so I finally have a new copy!

Good! I'm always glad to get a new book if an old one falls apart. We have a new hardcover 3-in-1 edition, but before we got that we only had these ancient falling apart paperbacks that my grandmother got for some class when my dad was a teenager. The spines split, and some of the covers fell off. The Hobbit was in better shape, even though both covers fell off. But we have a nicer paperback of that now. I never throw a book away, even if it falls apart. I just get a new copy to read and keep the battered one. Fortunately, my Silmarillion copy is hardcover, too. I like hardcovers better. *end ramblings*

^^ at least with something like a copy of LOTR that falls apart, it shows that it was well used and well thumbed (understatement! )! I have a good copy I just got of RoTK and my mom gave me a copy of TTT so now I have a good set! finally!

One of our Hobbit books broke in half and is currently held together with a rubber band. I've noticed that my copy of LofR has typos. I have a boxed set of the Hobbit, FotR, TTT, and RotK. One time Frodo was misspelled. I'm not sure how this was managed but the word "be" was printed sideways, so it was perpendicular to the other words.

Thanks for your view on the destroying of the Ring, GB. I understand why it was destroyed that way. It still feels like a let down though. I don't think I really picked up on the other powers in LotR until I read some of Tolkiens other stuff - some of the books that go farther back. It is easy to miss just reading the book. There is so much stuff in the book that a lot of stuff is easy to miss. I do think that it comes out better in the movie.

My Dad used to have paperback copies of Hobbit, FotR, TTT, and RotK. They were already falling apart even before my older brothers got their hands on them. I never even saw the cover of Return of the King. Now I have my own hardcover copy that no one but me is allowed to touch.

I'm not sure how this was managed but the word "be" was printed sideways, so it was perpendicular to the other words.

I have seen some crazy misprints and typos, but that is the weirdest.

Pattertwigs Pal wrote:
I'm not sure how this was managed but the word "be" was printed sideways, so it was perpendicular to the other words.

Maybe it's a secret code book!

Haha this is what I do to maintain a healthy, happy LOTR book or any book for that matter. I buy a nice hardcover LOTR set. I put it in my shelf and only look at it. If I want to read the books, I go to the library and check it out thats why my books stay nice and clean