The Six Books in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The Lord of the Rings is well-known as a trilogy. A trilogy of books and a trilogy of films. It really is one huge story of course, and you can buy it as one book with three parts or you can buy Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, and Return of the King separately as three different books. But for those who haven't read the Lord of the Rings it might come as a surprise that it's actually split into six books. Each of the three parts of the trilogy actually contains two books. This isn't just an arbitrary choice on the part of the author either. 

In the Fellowship of the Ring it doesn't really make much difference, but once the Fellowship splits up Tolkien makes a very interesting choice with his writing. The first book in the Two Towers follows the story of Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli as they search for Pippin and Merry and gives us glimpses into what Pippin and Merry are up to as well. For that entire book, the whole first half of Two Towers we don't see anything at all of Frodo and Sam. For all we know they could already be dead. Like their companions we completely lose touch Frodo and Sam and their fates. Then in the second half of Two Towers (or book 4) we get to hear Frodo and Sam's side of the story and we lose touch with Aragorn and the others. 

Tolkien follows the same formula with Return of the King. We get one whole book with Aragorn and co first and then we go back and catch up with Frodo and Sam. There are many little sentences and descriptions in the Frodo and Sam parts that refer to where Aragorn and the others are at the moment, so that we understand chronologically how the two stories fit together. 

On my latest re-read each time I come across one of these little descriptions I think to myself. "If this happens right after Pippin and Gandalf reach Gondor then why didn't you just put this chapter after that chapter?" It's certainly an interesting choice. I don't think anyone writing a novel today would do such a thing - I certainly wouldn't. These days you have to keep checking in with each character lest the reader forget about them. I can't help but think that this is because of television and movies.

They've changed our way of thinking. They've changed our way of visualizing things and imagining stories. Have they also changed the way we structure and present stories?