Frodo's tale. Indeed they have much in common: a mortal hero takes on a
seemingly-impossible quest, walking into Hell itself, and succeeds with the
help of many others, including luck or fate or Higher Powers.
When Tolkien gave up on the sequel to LotR he did so because he was not
interested in writing a "mere thriller." And he once confessed that he
wrote with a "didactic" purpose, i.e. as a teacher, which of course was his day
job. Turin's tale, and Feanor's, present the other side of the coin, the
warning against undue pride and
stubbornness.
“I dislike Allegory - the conscious and intentional allegory - yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical language. (And, of course, the more 'life' a story has the more readily will it be susceptible of allegorical interpretations: while the better a deliberate allegory is made the more nearly will it be acceptable just as a story.)” (From Tolkien Letter # 131.)
Tips for posting in the Reading Room.
