captaingondor:

The movie version of Frodo volunteering to take the Ring, with the council devolving into a fight around him, isn’t a bad scene - showing the dark influence of the Ring, how it’s his selflessness that makes the right way

But I think the book scene is so much more powerful. Everyone there knows what they have to do. They’ve gone over the whole history of the thing, they have talked all the options to death, but as soon as it’s determined there is only one thing to do - take the Ring into Mordor - there is silence.

There are powerful people at this council, and brave. There are all the people one might think are best suited for such a quest. But none of them say anything. They’re staring the reality of their choice in the face, they’ve accepted it in their mind, but - 

Then Frodo of the Shire speaks up.