Name Your Hero Of LoTR

[bruce rerek]

Kelkhatan, good points and well taken. With Eowen, I found her plight had to do with more of heart-break than of dispair. Her father and mother dead out of season, to wait upon a dotard of an uncle, and forbiden to bear arms against her enemy. To have died a warriors death might have mitigated such pain, as well as the utter disappointment of Aragorn's rejection of her love. Her world shattered, to return in the capacity of woman in a male dominated society was what she saw for herself. How much can a heart bear? Yet, the heart, although vulnerable is a very strong aspect of one's soul. Faramir's courtley love was the healing balm that would bring her to her center.
One of Boromir's more endearing acts was on the slopes of Cahadaras when he used himself as a human plow to rescue the lives of the Hobbits. Such a soul who's might was found in strength and weaponry was ripe for the power of the One Ring.

[serinde]

This is a little late in the discussion, but I voted for Sam.

He has always been my favourite character, so my thought jumped to him first. To be the unsung companion of the One Appointed, to follow without hesitation, to be willing to go on alone ... truly a man who will take the next step despite the weariness, despite the danger, to encourage another to take that step; the 'everyman' who steps up to the plate to do what he can, even if it means just falling by the wayside

Perhaps I chose Sam because he follows Frodo as his servant and as his friend -- to the bitter end if need be

"the smallest person" -- I don't know if that phrase is in the book, but it describes Sam even more than Frodo -- as has been argued, Frodo has the support & approval of the greats (Gandalf, Elrond & Galadriel), but Sam just doggedly continues

[Merry]

Good points, serinde. When you think about it, Sam is probably the character who grew the most during the course of the story's events.

[serinde]

Good points, serinde. When you think about it, Sam is probably the character who grew the most during the course of the story's events.

Actually, the most happened to Sam -- the adventures & traveling, the ascent into the 'upper class' in the Shire (as opposed to being just the common working class), but inwardly growing -- he is still as loyal, as down-to-earth, as hard-working as ever. Now, Merry & Pippin grew into adults and became warriors; they changed. Legolas & Gimli grew in their tolerance, friendship toward each other. Gandalf grew into the White. Frodo grew out of his reclusiveness.

Only Aragorn & Sam stayed who they were at the beginning. Aragorn completed his quest and became King; Sam completed his quest and went home. (who do you envy?)

Serinde

[Iolanthe]

Sam !

I like the points you've made about Sam, serinde. You're a good advocate for him. Somehow all that happens to Sam just makes him even more himself.

[Merry]

I agree that Sam's good essential characteristics just deepened. But he left a servant and came home a mayor!

[Beren]

Hero comes from the Greek ἣρως, in mythology and folklore, an hero (male) or heroine (female) usually fulfills the definitions of what is considered good and noble in the originating culture.
Some scholars place the willingness to sacrifice the self for the greater good as the most important defining characteristic of a hero.
Most criticism of The Lord of the Rings trilogy emphasizes the most likely heroes in the tales: Aragorn, Frodo, Gandalf, and even Sam. From popular to scholarly literature, the women and "smaller" characters often go overlooked. But our notions of what makes a hero have altered since September 11, and sometimes the most unlikely people can come to embody all that we look up to and admire in a person. Merry, Pippin, Galadriel, Eowyn, Arwen, Legolas, and Gimli can all be considered heroes despite their relatively smaller roles.
They are the "unlikely heroes," the minor characters who catch our attention and earn our admiration because they embody some aspect of heroism, such as the character of Merry as the knowledgeable hero, Pippen as the youthful, impulsive hero, Eowyn as the action hero, and so on, and how we seek out those characters who embody what we sense we have, or lack, in ourselves.

From all these "unseen heroes" my vote goes to Sam. Sam Gamgee is often regarded as the "true hero" of Tolkien's story by Tolkien scholars. Tolkien himself expressed this view in one of his letters: Sam is referred to as the "chief hero", and special emphasis is placed on Sam's "rustic love" for Rosie.

The quest to destroy the Ring only succeeds because of Sam, who repeatedly saves Frodo from disaster (such as rescuing him at Cirith Ungol and carrying him up Mount Doom). He was one of two Ringbearers strong enough to surrender the Ring voluntarily.

The relationship between Frodo and Sam is, in many respects, at the centre of The Lord of the Rings. To the modern reader, it seems archaic — it is clearly extremely class-oriented. Sam's humbleness and "plain speaking" is frequently emphasized in contrast to Frodo's "gentility", and he often shows deference to Frodo, calling him "Mister Frodo". At the same time, a strong bond of love and trust grows between them, portrayed most poignantly during the events of Cirith Ungol, where Sam vows to return to his (apparently) dead master, to be reunited with Frodo in death.

Tolkienologists regard Sam as Frodo's batman. In the British Army, a batman was an orderly who acted as the personal servant of an officer. It was a role with which Tolkien (who served as an Army officer in the First World War) would have been familiar. Sam undertakes the typical roles of a batman — he runs errands, he cooks, he transports Frodo (or at least carries him) and he carries his luggage. Tolkien confirmed this interpretation when he wrote in a private letter that:
"My Sam Gamgee is indeed a reflexion of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognized as so far superior to myself" (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Humphrey Carpenter).

While my heart also goes to Eowyn, Sam is my true hero... he has qualities that I wished more people had. It would make this world a much nicer place.

[lyanness]

[quote="Cassandra"]it was Aragorns love for Arwen that was the driving force for Aragorn.


Sorry, Cassandra, but I don't think that Aragorn's love for Arwen was the driving force for him. Didn't Aragorn "desert" Arwen (in a way) by telling her to leave Middle Earth, and him, with the ship to Valinor? Yes, he loved her deeply (of which I am jealous as no man that I have ever met could love any woman that deeply), but so deeply that he knew that he was going to die and put her through pain ("I am Mortal, you are Elf-kind") hence, at Elrond's recommendations, he sent her to live with her own people and never know death. He also knew that the chances of him surviving that war would be negligible, hence she would be waiting for him in vain. PLUS, he knew that if there was any doubt in her mind that her father would most likely talk some sense into her.
According to Aragorn, he had left her. She had gone to Valinor. He loved her, yes, but she was gone. In a way, he even told Galadrial that. He never had any hope of seeing her again.

What I think the driving force for Aragorn was, was the fact that if he didnt fight for Middle Earth, something else would conquer it, something far worse - Orcs and Uruk-hai and an evil never seen since Melkor.

That is why I voted for Aragorn. In spite of the unlikely odds, he didn't back down nor think of himself. All through the book, he thinks of others - send Arwen away so that she never tastes death, give Frodo his chance even though it most probably means sheer destruction, and become king, even though he doesnt want to.
He really is my role model. To serve others.

[Merry]

Hi, lyanness (lovely name!), and welcome to this discussion.

You know, Aragorn's actions toward Arwen are different in the book and in the movies. (It's pretty useful to make that distinction whenever we're talking about LOTR, isn't it?) I think book Arwen has a bit less to complain about than movie Arwen.

[lyanness]

Hi merry.
You may be right. Unfortunately I know the movies backwards and sidewards, not the books yet - still working on that.

Thanx for the tip
lyanness

[Merry]

I still get the two confused often enough, lyanness! But as is being discussed in other threads here, the differences between the two are sometimes important.

I think Tolkien was aiming for a kind of courtly love between Arwen and Aragorn, which PJ and company didn't think would play to a modern audience.

[Beren]

While Arwen is nothing more then an appendix background information in the books, it becomes a central theme in the movies... so yes there is a huge difference. This is one of the changes I don't mind so much. It is good to have a love story in a movie, makes it sell better, touch a broader type of public.

Still if it could have been left out, I would have been more happy even.

[Kirill Leonov]

It's not just love that drives Aragorn in the books. That's where he's portrayed rather wrongly in the films: REAL Aragorn never even thinks of just forgetting about being the rightful heir of Isildur. His claim to the throne is as much a driving force as being able to be united with Arwen at last - and of course the desire to save Middle-earth from the Shadow, which he considers his responsibility as Isildur's heir.

And yes, another Aragorn fan here. He was my boyhood hero, and he still is.

[Merry]

I think all of these goals are the same for him: to fail in his task and then live in some post-apocalyptic world with Arwen is just unthinkable.

[Kirill Leonov]

That would be sort of like the Zion scenes in The Matrix, minus the techno music and machine thingies.