Being Tested

Think of a character in a book or a movie who faced a tough challenge. What physical and mental tests did he or she meet with? How did the character feel at the end of the ordeal? Write a brief summary of the character’s experience, then try to relate it to an experience you have had yourself.
The most obvious character I could think of that needed to achieve a goal but faced multiple challenges, both physical and mental, is Frodo from The Lord of the Rings. After a fateful turn of events, Frodo, an innocent Hobbit who lives in the Shire, finds himself in the possession of a dark object - the ring of Sauron, the Dark Lord. Following his possession of the ring, Frodo finds himself on a quest to destroy it without letting it fall into the wrong hands - or letting the rings overpower him.

The objective is quite simple: dispose of the ring. However on the way, Frodo and the Fellowship meet more opposition than ever imagined, as the "dark" forces continue to work against them. Frodo encounters the physical challenges of trekking across Middle Earth and fighting off waves of resistance. The mental test of the journey, though, was far greater; Frodo also had to guard his mind from the ring, which would try to tempt him, and infiltrate and corrupt his thoughts. Other prominent characters from the books and the movie, such as Boromir, also had to fight against the temptations of the ring. Denethor, the King of Gondor, also suffers from the corruption of his thoughts, though not originating from the Ring.
At the end of the journey, Frodo succombs to the ring's power, and almost kills himself because of this. Nevertheless, the ring is destroyed and Middle Earth is saved; however, Frodo is still traumatized by the Ring's effects, leaves Middle Earth for the Undying Lands, separate from Middle Earth.

I think that life in general is kind of like the journey of Frodo. We fight against the external conflicts of life - the waves of oppression that threaten to knovk you down - but we are also heedful of Satan, who continually croons to us, tempting us to succomb to his power. At the end of the journey, which is in our case, death, I have confidence that I can leave the world for heaven; sin and death has lost its sting. For Frodo, he left for the Elvish Undying Lands, which can be thought of as a metaphoric heaven.