Success or failure in LOTR _ Why does Tolkien do this to us?

In class this week we discussed success or failure: did Frodo succeed? Is Same the real winner? Is Gollum redeemable? Does Aragorn make a good king?Was Pippin helpful? I would have to say that many of the characters in LOTR do succeed. The difference is that in the story, there is an uncertainty or a questionable element of that success.

When we succeed there is always someone out there to wonder about how we succeeded, did we really succeed or did we technically succeed? Was there a moment of weakness to include in their appraisal of our character? Are we perfect in every aspect?
Most of the time, I believe that it is human nature to question what constitutes success. I can't imagine why.

Could it be that we are constantly conducting upward or downward comparisons to others in order to maintain or increase our self-esteem? Many people believe that humans are constantly trying to make themselves feel better or make other people think something of them. Sometimes these human urges present themselves in horrible ways, like mass shootings in order to demonstrate one's masculinity, power, or dominance over others.

I argue that there is always success to be seen in every character. Incremental successes are what constitute the entire human experience. We don't judge a person by if they met their goals but typically by how they attempted to meet their goals. Perhaps Tolkien did intend for Frodo to succeed at his assigned journey, perhaps he also intended for Sam to be the real hero, and perhaps Gollum was redeemed by keeping his oath/ finally dying and being released from the power of the Ring. Aragorn is a good king, and Pippin was helpful. It is the readers that think "Yes, but" instead of "Yes, this is what success looks like in the end according to the human experience."

Many people probably think that I'm crazy, and that's okay. Let me know!