Editing Nazgûl (section)

=== Opposed to the Nine Walkers ===

{{further|Company of the Ring}}

[[File:Nine Walkers vs Nine Riders.svg|thumb|center|upright=2.6|Nine Walkers vs Nine Riders: diagram of Ariel Little's analysis of the enslaved Nine Nazgûl opposed by the free [[Company of the Ring]]. Tolkien made the two groups match in number but sharply different in character.<ref name="Council of Elrond" group=T/><ref name="Little 2020"/>]]

The [[Inklings]] scholar Ariel Little writes that Tolkien explicitly opposes the enslaved Nine Riders with the Nine Walkers, the free Company of the Ring. In "[[The Council of Elrond]]", Elrond announces that "The Company of the Ring shall be Nine; and the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil".<ref name="Council of Elrond" group=T/><ref name="Little 2020"/> Little describes the Nazgûl as "homogeneous, discordant, intensely individualistic", a group bound and trapped by Sauron, noting also Gandalf's description of them in "[[The Shadow of the Past]]" as "Mortal Men, proud and great [who] fell under the dominion of the One, and they became Ringwraiths, shadows under his great Shadow, his most terrible servants".<ref name="Shadow of the Past" group=T/><ref name="Little 2020"/> They had thus, Little writes, lost their identities as humans, even losing their substance and becoming what Tolkien calls "nothingness" under their black clothing. He adds that the evil characters in ''The Lord of the Rings'' are characterised by infighting, as among the Orcs, lack of harmony, and "hate-filled discord", forming an "anti-community".<ref name="Little 2020"/>

Little contrasts this disharmony with the Company of the Ring, which is "diverse, bound by friendship, relying on each other's strengths".<ref name="Little 2020"/> The Company is joined by its common purpose, and by "devoted love".<ref name="Little 2020"/> There are strong bonds of friendship, seen initially between all the Hobbits. Further friendships develop throughout the Company as they travel together; Little notes that Frodo says that "Strider" (Aragorn), viewed initially with suspicion, is "dear to me".<ref name="Little 2020"/> He comments that "the deep affection of the Fellowship breaks down racial and cultural barriers" as all its members drop their initial reserve and come to an "appreciation for the cultural distinctiveness" of their companions.<ref name="Little 2020"/> A case in point is the strong friendship between the Dwarf Gimli and the Elf Legolas, members of two races with radically dissimilar cultures, and which had often clashed in the past; Little notes that even the other members of the Company, in Tolkien's words, "wonder ... at this change".<ref name="Little 2020"/> He writes that even when the Company splits up into smaller groups, it is not destroyed: far from it, Frodo and Sam sustain each other through their arduous journey, their friendship deepening with time; Merry and Pippin supporting each other; Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli acting as a team, all continuing to function as communities. Little adds that the Company functions as a true team, every member being essential to the success of its mission.<ref name="Little 2020"/> The Christian commentator [[Ralph C. Wood]] writes that "the greatness of the Nine Walkers lies in the modesty of both their abilities and accomplishments. Their strength lies in their weakness, in their solidarity as a company unwilling to wield controlling power over others."{{sfn|Wood|2011|pp=116–134}} Rebecca Munro notes that in the Company, "no one acts alone without dependence on the deeds of others".{{sfn|Munro|2014|p=645}}