Ooh I read the essay, and Donaldson got his masters from Kent St...therefor it is my duty to support whatever he says as undeniable truth
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One thing that Donaldson certainly got wrong is that he says "Frodo spends the novel in the process of becoming Sauron".~Mac
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Hmm...I don't know if that is completely true, because before he enters the Sammath Naur we do see the Ring really taking it's hold on Frodo. Although, I do think the fact that Frodo did get the Ring into the Sammath Naur does prove your point that Frodo had spent most of the novel successfully resisting becoming Sauron.
I wonder if Donaldson chose the right person...what about Gollum? Because I think if Donaldson's overall point that Sauron was an externalized 'part' of Frodo, than we have to find other characters who represent a part of Frodo. I would think based on the connection Frodo finds between him and Gollum, seeing what the Ring has done to Gollum, and what it is doing to himself, Gollum would be a better person than Sauron.
However, if Sauron (as Donaldson argues) is Tolkien's representation of pure evil in the novel, then he would only represent whatever evil exists within Frodo. Hmm...now I'm wondering if that is making any sense.
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We've all heard people criticise LotR for its supposed lack of character depth. This looks a lot different in the light of this idea, since the character development is not confined to being inside the characters anymore.~Mac
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I think throughout the story, we do see several layers of internalizing and externalizing. I don't know if there is any part of Boromir within Frodo, because they are two distinctly opposite characters. However, if you look at the Breaking of the Fellowship...
Right before Boromir tries to take the Ring from Frodo he is facing his own internal struggle to resist the Ring. Then when he falls, attempts to take the Ring, he because an external representation to Frodo, because right after Frodo escapes he puts on the Ring on Amon Hen and undergoes his own internal struggle between "the Voice" and "the Eye." So, you could say Boromir externalizes the struggle that Frodo would undergo a few moments later.