: I'm not sure how I'd sum it up with one sentence, but I really think a
: driving point was that war affects everyone, even those that don't
: necessarily see it. I think The Scouring of the Shire was arguable the
: most important chapter in the whole story (and I'm still really, really
: disappointed that Peter Jackson and Co. elected to cut it from the film
: adaption, even though I understand why they did so). It shows that even
: back home, far away from the front lines, the war had an effect on
: everybody.

That part's also true. It's also why Frodo ends up leaving home in the end. I had figured it's not the entire story's main theme since it mostly emerges towards the end of the story, not throughout the whole series, but it's still a very important theme and shows why I said that just saying the main theme won't sum up every subplot.