Never heard of the Lord's prayer connection. That is interesting. Tolkien goes deliberately for a kind-of divine intervention, which today is considered weak storytelling. I think he employs it quite well but I also remember thinking that it was a little convenient for Gollum to just get the Ring and then accidentally fall in the novel, which is why I preferred the change in Jackson's adaptation.
Despite having lost his finger, Frodo resumes fighting Gollum for the Ring, like a man possessed. Here then, the Ring's destruction is somewhat less accidental and results more directly from the main character's actions. Thus, Frodo still fails but his failure is more obviously successful.
Never heard of the Lord's prayer connection. That is interesting. Tolkien goes deliberately for a kind-of divine intervention, which today is considered weak storytelling. I think he employs it quite well but I also remember thinking that it was a little convenient for Gollum to just get the Ring and then accidentally fall in the novel, which is why I preferred the change in Jackson's adaptation.
Despite having lost his finger, Frodo resumes fighting Gollum for the Ring, like a man possessed. Here then, the Ring's destruction is somewhat less accidental and results more directly from the main character's actions. Thus, Frodo still fails but his failure is more obviously successful.
Excellent article! Great food for thought.