The Lord of the Rings is a long story about a hobbit from Bag's End named Frodo Baggins and his journey through Middle-earth. The span of his journey lasted twenty years. It all began with Bilbo, Frodo's older cousin. Bilbo decided to throw a birthday party for himself and Frodo. Bilbo was turning one hundred and eleven, while Frodo was thirty-three. Hobbits came from all over the world, mainly to watch Gandalf's famous fireworks. After his farewell speech Bilbo disappeared in a puff of smoke. Everyone was in awe, especially Frodo. After Bilbo left, Frodo received his main parting gift. A ring. Gandalf told Frodo of his history and his dark powers. He told Frodo how the young hobbit must set out on a journey to Mount Doom, into the heart of the Dark Lord's domain to destroy this evil device. So Frodo set out with his friends Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Peregrin "Pippin" Took, and Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck. Before they had even gone far, they were pursued by a Black Knight. The hobbits hid, but as they encountered enemies, they also encountered friends. They encountered elves in the forest and Tom Bombadil, an extremely powerful creature from the Old Forest. Eventually they came to a small town called Bree and an inn. There they found Mr. Butterbur, whom Gandalf had ordered to deliver a letter to them. In the letter, they discovered that they had to trust a Ranger named Strider, one of the mysterious wanderers who roamed the lands beyond Bree. Together they set off once again. When they reached Windhill, there was a battle between the members of the company and the Black Knights, as the number of the fear-inspiring black-cloaked creatures had grown. Frodo was stabbed in the shoulder by one of the Knight's deadly blades. Frodo's wound was... in the middle of a sheet of paper... power slipping from his grasp, he was enraged. The following quote supports this: “For Boromir was loyal to me and was not a wizard's pupil. He would have remembered his father's needs and would not have squandered what fortune had given him. He would bring me a powerful gift. (Tolkien 795). Lord Denethor called his son a wizard's pupil because Faramir looked at Gandalf because he was worried that he had revealed too much about the Ring. Lord Denethor wanted that Ring and thought that his favorite son would bring it to him if he were alive. In his anger, he said many hurtful things to Faramir, such as agreeing that he wished Faramir was the one who died and not Boromir. Due to his greed, he sent Faramir on a mission from which Faramir almost did not return alive. These two quotes are great examples of the many themes and life lessons taught in The Lord of the Rings.