posted
Mine is Sam Gamgee. Is that weird? I guess I just think he sacrificed the most and had the least to gain by it. What do you guys an girls think.
Posts: 278 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I like Sam, Treebeard, Faramir, and Smeagol.
I simply adore Smeagol/Gollum's conflicted nature. The merest spark of goodness that comes out and then dies. He fascinates me, and while lots of people praise the way Peter Jackson portrayed him (the character as a whole, not Andy Serkis' fantastic acting of it), it felt like a sledgehammer to me - Smeagol is such a subtle character.
I just plain like Treebeard. He's someone I identify with and will probably mature to be somewhat like. I do wish I could be less impulsive.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by String: Mine is Sam Gamgee. Is that weird?
Nah, that isn't weird at all--Sam is a pretty compelling character with a substantial and satisfying story arc. You could make the argument that he is really the protagonist rather than Frodo if you wanted.
My favorite character, if I had to choose one, would probably be Faramir.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
Blayne - Eol? Really? Why? He was kind of a jerk, killed Aredhel, and his son was responsible for the destruction of Gondolin. What's to like?
I have a tough time coming up with favorite characters for Tolkien, only because a dozen leap immediately to mind. I like to categorize them:
Favorite Silmarillion human: Turin. Tough choice there between Turin, Tuor, Beren and Hurin. I love Hurin's role at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and his courage, and I love what little we see of Tuor and his role in the defense of Gondolin. I think Beren's story is interesting enough and certainly one of the major oddities of the LOTR universe. But Turin is both a tortured and tragic character. Maybe it's not so much him as his story that I like so much. There's just so much richness to it.
Favorite Silmarillion Elf: Finrod Felagund. This one is tough too, as there are lots of individual great elves like Beleg Strongbow, the other high kings of the Noldor, and the Feanori. But Finrod is my favorite. Honorable, a friend to men, trustworthy to the last, just a fantastic individual. Of all the elves of Middle Earth, he's the one I'd most like to meet.
Favorite LOTR human: I tend to favor peripheral characters in LOTR, and as such, Eomer and Prince Imrahil are some of my more favorites. But in reality some of that is just image. I love the image in my mind if Imrahil marching up to the gates of Minas Tirith with his knights and Men at Arms of Dol Amroth. And I like Eomer's fierce love and equal ferocity in combat, and his loyalty and wisdom. Faramir's purity of spirit is also compelling. He fits in there too. If I had to pick of the major characters, Aragorn would probably be my favorite.
Favorite LOTR non-human: I really like Treebeard and Gandalf, but Sam is probably the most easy to identify with as just a regular guy tagging along to help his best friend, and finds that unnatural courage gets him through a lot of tough spots.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
From LOTR, probably Eowyn, even if she was kind of a minor character, I like her love of her country and her admittedly borderline-suicidal desire to defend it.
From the Silmarilion, Cuthalion, though that's evident from my email address. Posts: 681 | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
Favorite Silmarillion human: Turin...But Turin is both a tortured and tragic character. Maybe it's not so much him as his story that I like so much. There's just so much richness to it.
Mine too. Tuor gets a lot of stuff handed to him...He has kind of a rough start, but Ulmo leads him to Gondolin, he gets a Elf wife. He sees the fall of Gondolin, but if memory serves, he doesn't die at the hands of an evil doer, but get to sail off into the blue.
Turin gets nothing handed to him. He has a terrible childhood, and an unhappy adolescence. There's a line in one of the versions, about how nothing came easily to him, and he longed for a lot of things he never got. He has to fight for everything, but he manages to do a lot of good (though even some of his good gets turned into bad events). He kills the first dragon practically alone, a feat I don't think any other human ever comes close to achieving, and that few elves come close to meeting.
And he gets a classic Wagnerian tragedy in there, and dies in a tragically heroic fashion.
He's living in a world that is pretty much doomed. There's just no way that the elves and humans and dwarfs can stand up to Morgoth. Their job is to just try. To endure. To strike brave, glorious blows agaisst evil. And Turin Turambar does that.
Posts: 575 | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged |
Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Blayne - Eol? Really? Why? He was kind of a jerk, killed Aredhel, and his son was responsible for the destruction of Gondolin. What's to like?
I have a tough time coming up with favorite characters for Tolkien, only because a dozen leap immediately to mind. I like to categorize them:
Favorite Silmarillion human: Turin. Tough choice there between Turin, Tuor, Beren and Hurin. I love Hurin's role at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and his courage, and I love what little we see of Tuor and his role in the defense of Gondolin. I think Beren's story is interesting enough and certainly one of the major oddities of the LOTR universe. But Turin is both a tortured and tragic character. Maybe it's not so much him as his story that I like so much. There's just so much richness to it.
Favorite Silmarillion Elf: Finrod Felagund. This one is tough too, as there are lots of individual great elves like Beleg Strongbow, the other high kings of the Noldor, and the Feanori. But Finrod is my favorite. Honorable, a friend to men, trustworthy to the last, just a fantastic individual. Of all the elves of Middle Earth, he's the one I'd most like to meet.
Favorite LOTR human: I tend to favor peripheral characters in LOTR, and as such, Eomer and Prince Imrahil are some of my more favorites. But in reality some of that is just image. I love the image in my mind if Imrahil marching up to the gates of Minas Tirith with his knights and Men at Arms of Dol Amroth. And I like Eomer's fierce love and equal ferocity in combat, and his loyalty and wisdom. Faramir's purity of spirit is also compelling. He fits in there too. If I had to pick of the major characters, Aragorn would probably be my favorite.
Favorite LOTR non-human: I really like Treebeard and Gandalf, but Sam is probably the most easy to identify with as just a regular guy tagging along to help his best friend, and finds that unnatural courage gets him through a lot of tough spots.
Eol and his son were the first true Drow
But I also like Faenor, he crafted the Silmarils and the Seeing Stones, an awesome smith.
IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by String: Mine is Sam Gamgee. Is that weird?
Nah, that isn't weird at all--Sam is a pretty compelling character with a substantial and satisfying story arc. You could make the argument that he is really the protagonist rather than Frodo if you wanted.
My favorite character, if I had to choose one, would probably be Faramir.
I have often made the argument that Sam is, if not the protagonist, then at least the true 'hero' of the novels.
I don't agree that he 'sacrificed the most' as String says, since he ended up just about where he would have in the life of a normal hobbit. Frodo certainly lost a great deal more along the way, and also stood to gain little other than fame and recognition (leaving aside the salvation from being under the power of Sauron that *everyone* in middle earth received).
Of course Aragorn and Gandalf devoted much of their lives to the cause, but they had much to gain. For Gandalf, he was fulfilling the wishes of his superiors among the Lords of the West (the Valar, Maiar, fellow Ishtari, etc.). For Aragorn, while he certainly was concerned with the well-being of the folk of Middle Earth, he stood to gain much: the Kingship of a reunited Gondor/Anor, his marriage to Arwen, the redemption of his line, etc. Sacrifices made? Perhaps, but with pay-off in the end.
Sam strikes me as the true hero of LOTR because he is the ONE person to have born the Ring who remained free of its temptation, even knowing the terrible power he could have unleashed. When he needed to give it back to Frodo, he did, without hesitation and nary a thought of himself; concerned only that Frodo may not be able to bear the burden. Talk about altruism! Not sacrifice, no, but certainly altruism.
Posts: 1099 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
I'm not sure how that follows. Didn't drow live in caves? Eol was a forest dweller. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but Feanor didn't create the Seeing Stones. The Palantiri were gifts from the Valar to Numenor.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
wikipedia has Faenor as having forged both the Elessar and the Palantiri.
The Drow of Dungeons and Dragons as "reinvented" by Gary Gygax live in the Underdark (or in the case of certain exiles also in forests) however his Drow have their roots in Eol and his son.
IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but Feanor didn't create the Seeing Stones. The Palantiri were gifts from the Valar to Numenor.
I'm fairly certain that it says somewhere that Feanor created them. Don't remember exactly where, though.
Posts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have no idea his name, but the guy who shot the dragon in The Hobbit. He had excellent vision or something, i just remember liking him alot, even if i felt he was a kind of dues ex machina.
Posts: 549 | Registered: Feb 2008
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: wikipedia has Faenor as having forged both the Elessar and the Palantiri.
The Drow of Dungeons and Dragons as "reinvented" by Gary Gygax live in the Underdark (or in the case of certain exiles also in forests) however his Drow have their roots in Eol and his son.
I'll have to look up the Palantiri then, as I don't ever remember it being said that they were created by Feanor. The Elessar has multiple origins, only one of which is sourced to Feanor, and I'm not even sure which book that's in. The Unfinished Tales have it being made by a jewel smith of great skill in Gondolin, I can't remember his name.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Xann.: I have no idea his name, but the guy who shot the dragon in The Hobbit. He had excellent vision or something, i just remember liking him alot, even if i felt he was a kind of dues ex machina.
That's Bard. I think he was a far off descendent of Girion, which means he's both of noble blood and probably of a slightly higher race of men, but I can't remember what, if anything, was ever written about the origins of Dale. I know his descendents, the Bardings, were crucial in the War of the Ring and the defense of Lonely Mountain against the forces of Dol Guldur.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
In the last chapter of part 1 of the Two Towers, Gandalf says, "The Noldor made [the palantiri]. Feanor himself, maybe, wrought them in days so long ago that the time cannot be measured in years."
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hm, I went and did a little checking, and it looks like Feanor might have known how to make them, but for sure more than one person did, though it was a very small group. So whether or not the Seven that were gifted to Amandil by the Noldor (not the Valar, my bad) were made by Feanor or not is unknown.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Good recollection! It's been a year or two since I've read a lot of this stuff and I get caught up on some of the details, especially on the stuff that has like six versions to it because Tolkien kept changing his mind.
Luckily I have all the Histories of Middle Earth (except one!) to browse through when I need an obscure factoid of absolutely no real world value. Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
HEY! It has TOTAL real world value. to me anyways.
IP: Logged |
posted
Faramir. I just find his whole subplot with his father so compelling. (yes, I know it mostly appears in the appendices, but still - it's part of the story for me).
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I think Eowyn was my favorite human character. My favorite character of all was probably Frodo. I love that he was an elf-friend. When he said "Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo" (a star shines on the hour of our meeting) to the first elves they met, nor far outside of Hobbiton, it was such a great moment.
I totally agree that Sam was the real hero of the LoTR. I didn't see that until I'd read it 10 times or so, but he truly was. What a jewel of a hobbit was Sam!
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
It's interesting, because whenever we talk about film adaptations, I say that what I liked about LOTR was that the movie was close enough to the world of the books, but different enough in the story that it didn't overrule my own imagined versions of the characters. The main difference being that I thought the heroes of the movie were Aragorn and Frodo, but the heroes of the book were Gandalf and Sam.
Posts: 368 | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by BandoCommando: Sam strikes me as the true hero of LOTR because he is the ONE person to have born the Ring who remained free of its temptation, even knowing the terrible power he could have unleashed. When he needed to give it back to Frodo, he did, without hesitation and nary a thought of himself; concerned only that Frodo may not be able to bear the burden. Talk about altruism! Not sacrifice, no, but certainly altruism.
I was going to say this. Of all the people who possessed the ring, Sam is the only one who came to his own decision, after the typical delusions of ganduer, that he didn't want it. (Yes, I know Bilbo did give up the ring, but he had to be coerced.) Sam is the most noble character in the story, and he doesn't even know it - it's just his nature. He never claimed any credit for himself, and it never occured to him that he deserved any.
The passage describing Sam carrying Frodo always moved me to tears.
Posts: 1080 | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by BandoCommando: Sam strikes me as the true hero of LOTR because he is the ONE person to have born the Ring who remained free of its temptation, even knowing the terrible power he could have unleashed. When he needed to give it back to Frodo, he did, without hesitation and nary a thought of himself; concerned only that Frodo may not be able to bear the burden. Talk about altruism! Not sacrifice, no, but certainly altruism.
I was going to say this. Of all the people who possessed the ring, Sam is the only one who came to his own decision, after the typical delusions of ganduer, that he didn't want it. (Yes, I know Bilbo did give up the ring, but he had to be coerced.) Sam is the most noble character in the story, and he doesn't even know it - it's just his nature. He never claimed any credit for himself, and it never occured to him that he deserved any.
The passage describing Sam carrying Frodo always moved me to tears.
Yes...something along the lines of, "I may not be able to carry it, but at least I can carry you!"
Posts: 1099 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I just finished listening to Lord of the Rings on audio tape, and its given me a whole new appreciation of some of the minor characters, and a whole new appreciation of the arguments that Tolkien is not a great writer.
Tom Bombadil is not the odd out of place thing I thought he was. Prince Imrahil was overlooked when I read it, every time. Farmer Cotton was I read as a gruff old crank, not a heroic wise old farmer.
I highly suggest the tapes or cd's. While listening I couldn't skip the more boring parts, and what I thought were boring characters.
I would like to say favorites not mentioned...
The Gaffer. Cotton and Merry.
The original prelude to the book has part of Merry's "On herb lore". It was only recently that I realized that Merry wrote that book in honor of the talk he never had with Theoden.
Posts: 1941 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Darth_Mauve: I just finished listening to Lord of the Rings on audio tape, and its given me a whole new appreciation of some of the minor characters, and a whole new appreciation of the arguments that Tolkien is not a great writer.
Tom Bombadil is not the odd out of place thing I thought he was. Prince Imrahil was overlooked when I read it, every time. Farmer Cotton was I read as a gruff old crank, not a heroic wise old farmer.
I highly suggest the tapes or cd's. While listening I couldn't skip the more boring parts, and what I thought were boring characters.
I would like to say favorites not mentioned...
The Gaffer. Cotton and Merry.
The original prelude to the book has part of Merry's "On herb lore". It was only recently that I realized that Merry wrote that book in honor of the talk he never had with Theoden.
Maybe it's just the version I just got, but the WHOLE time on the audio track, the producers put a looped recording of the "Shire/Hobbit" music from the FOTR movie. It's really out of place to hear that skippy, upbeat-oriented music while Frodo is being attacked by the Nazgul on top of Weathertop...
Posts: 1099 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Gollum. Tolkien understood his nature and conflicts perfectly, and his final scene is spine-tingling (ruined in the movie, IMO). All his scenes with Frodo and Sam are compelling.
Posts: 867 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Beorn is a great character. Nice one, Launchy.
Wow, was Tolkien great at characters or what? I'm amazed at the list that appears just in this thread. So many good ones.
I don't usually have favorites, but I really liked Smeagol's story, and I enjoyed the Ents. Hobbitwise Sam was indeed the least annoying character. Gandalf was mysterious and terrible, I loved him.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I love that when I feel like the dorkiest person alive, all I have to do is visit Hatrack. This is a compliment, believe it or not.
I am glad I'm not the only Smeagol fan! Also, I think what people have said about Sam is spot-on. I've often argued that he's the real hero of the series. He's someone I think I would like knowing in real life.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Frodo. Although when I was younger I really liked Glorfindel. I don't know why, he really only appears once or twice.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I was always a fan of Gimli, though my second would be Beorn. Third and forth would be Merry, then Pippen.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by String: Mine is Sam Gamgee. Is that weird? I guess I just think he sacrificed the most and had the least to gain by it. What do you guys an girls think.
Why does that make him your favorite character?
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I think my favorite moment is when Merry and Pippen are sitting and eating on the ruins of Isengard and the Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli ride up with the Eorlingas after the battle of Helm's Gate, and Merry addresses King Theoden and the company. "My companion, who alas is overcome with weariness (here he gives Pippen a dig with his toe)..." That was such a wonderful joyful moment. Do you remember?
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
