Frodo Baggins’ (and Samwise Gamgee‘s) quest to destroy the Ring is the heart of The Lord of the Rings story. In an endless world full of creatures and characters, these two, small Hobbits must travel a long and dangerous road to destroy the One Ring amidst the battle between good and evil.
Mount Doom—also called Orodruin or Amon Amarth—was where the second Dark Lord, Sauron, secretly forged a great Ring capable of storing his finite power so he could become infinitely powerful. This Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom after Sauron the manipulator tricked the Elves into making lesser Rings of Power which he would later use to control the different races of Middle Earth.
Nine of these rings went to the race of Men, whose lives were extended so far beyond normal human years that they became stretched and thinned into ghostly kings of Men known as the Ringwraiths. Seven of the rings went to the Dwarf lords who became greedy and dug in their mines too deep, attracting dragons. And separately from this, but with the same dark magic, three rings were made and given to the Elves, which after wearing made them immediately aware of Sauron’s true intentions. The Rings of Power were linked to the One Ring, so when it was destroyed, they too were destroyed.
Mount Doom was a volcano located deep within Mordor, behind the Black Gates and under the surveillance of the Eye of Sauron. Sauron’s servants lived within Mordor, working and building their army while Sauron regained strength. This place—Mount Doom—was the one place the Ring could be destroyed. Sauron knew if the Ring was destroyed, he would forever be “a mere spirit of malice that gnaws itself in the shadows,” but would never be able to grow or take shape again.
Yet, it doesn’t seem like the entrance of Mount Doom is ever guarded, or at the very least, it wasn’t guarded when it needed to be most. Perhaps this was just Sauron being arrogant, believing no one would be able to slip past the gates, go through his army, and go unnoticed by his watchtower. But is there another reason why the entrance was not under twenty-four hour protection or was it not guarded because it simply would have been a better story to have the characters succeed rather than be stopped and captured at the gates?
One of the many morals of the story of The Lord of the Rings is that no matter how small or outwardly “weak” one might be, if they have the heart and courage, they can change the fate of the whole world for the better. A creature as small as a Hobbit, who cared for nothing more than the simple things in life like peace and quiet, was small enough to go unnoticed, yet strong enough to overcome the temptation of power and riches the Ring offered. Because the Hobbits cared nothing for power, Sauron was not able to detect them. He also let his guard down since he did not view the race as a threat.
When the Ring was destroyed, Sauron was banished to The Void, and the Tower of Barad-dûr shook the Earth when it collapsed. Had there been guards at the entrance of Mount Doom, Frodo and Sam would not have been able to get in—at least not very easily, especially with Gollum attacking them. The Cracks of Doom were not guarded, because why guard a volcano when Mordor itself is already the perfect fortress with thousands of enemies? Sauron never foresaw anyone being able to get into Mordor without being spotted. But because Gollum’s life was spared, he was able to show Frodo and Sam another entrance into the dark land where they could go unnoticed.
There are a few ways to get into Mordor. The main entrance is through the Black Gate (or Morannon), and this entrance is not only the most direct, but it is also the most fortified and heavily guarded. The gates even require giant Trolls to operate because the doors are so heavy and tall. Cirith Ungol was the entrance Frodo and Sam ended up going through, but this area was also very dangerous and guarded by the giant spider, Shelob. Shelob was not a servant of Sauron, but Sauron did allow her to live there as she was the perfect guard. This entrance was also guarded by the Tower of Cirith Ungol (near Minas Morgul where The Nine dwelt), and past that, the entrance was guarded by the Two Watchers. The Two Watchers were almost sentient, three-headed statues that provided an invisible barrier through their sheer will.
There was also a third entrance. The air in Mordor was so thick and filled with black smog that only the Nazgûl would have been able to warn Sauron of the Hobbits, but they were far away on another errand. Geographically speaking, Mordor also guarded itself since the air was a poisonous fume from the volcanic ash, there was nothing to eat or drink, and the rocky landscape (with brambles, weeds with thorns, and collapsing cliffs) was dangerous itself. Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings was not directly guarded because Mordor was, but perhaps there should have been a guard at the Cracks of Doom.