Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Your Favorite LOTR Character
Darktania
Member Posts: 805
I know this has been done a million times on the official forums but it's always fun to see people's answers.
What is your favorite LOTR character?
Before the movies came out my favorite character was Aragorn. But in the movies Peter Jackson seemed to surround Aragorn with too much melodrama. It has been a while since I read the trilogy but I dont remember so much emphasis put on Aragorn's love affair with Arwen.
My favorite character now would have to be Faramir with Boromir running a close second. I chose Faramir because he had a chance to take the Ring for himself but instead remembered his promise and assisted Frodo and Sam.
Also I admired his bravery and loyalty despite impossible odds. For example when ordered by Denethor to take his troops and retake Osgiliath from Sauron's forces. He disagreed with the plan because he knew it was foolish but obeyed his orders none the less.
"Then farewell!" said Faramir. "But if I should return, think better of me!"
"That depends on the manner of your return," said Denethor.
The Return of the King "The Siege of Gondor," p 90
Comments
The real answer is that it changes based on my mood but here are a few of my favorites.
Eomer: Loyal to a fault and willing to do what is best for his people even when they do not understand or even support him. The ultimate soldier for his people and while less nuanced than someone like Aragorn there's nothing not to respect about someone who holds his oaths even when it likely will mean his death.
Saruman: Hate him all you like but he was a self made power in middle earth who focused on the dangers of the ring and Sauron's return hundreds of years before any other leader and while that hippy gandalf was pickin daisy's with the Hobbits. The living embodyment of "Fortune favors the bold" in Middle Earth.
Smeagol/Gollum: By far the most complex character in the books or the movies. I fear to watch him but I cannot look away.
Farmer Maggot: Owns his own land and strong proponent of personal property rights. Consorts with Bombadil and runs Nazgul off his property with guard dogs. What's not to like?
These are the ones that fit my mood today. Ask me tommorrow and it may be 4 others....
Wow great choices. I especially agree with your selection of Eomer. A paragon of Duty, Honor, and Personal Sacrifice.
Now the Farmer Maggot one was a surprise at first but you made a good point there. He may be cranky but he sure did stand up to those Nazgul. A strong character for sure and definitely overlooked.
"First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me...Blow."--Ash, "Army of Darkness"
If it wasnt for those qualities Frodo would have never reached Mount Doom. His unwillingness to give up truly became apparent when he rescued Frodo in the Tower of Cirith Ungol.
"Sam looked at him and wept in his heart, but no tears came to his dry and stinging eyes. "I said I'd carry him, if it broke my back," he muttered. "and I will".
"Come Mr. Frodo!" he cried. "I cant carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he'll go."
The Return of the King: "Mount Doom," pg. 218
Absolutely!
There are other characters that really intrigue me, Grima for one, I'd always wanted to hear a bit more about his downfall. And as mentioned, Faramir and Eomer, a pair of valiant Men to the hilt.
"First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me...Blow."--Ash, "Army of Darkness"
Grima Wormtongue is another interesting choice. Back in the Official LOTRO forums I listed Grima as the one character I despised the most. It was the way he manipulated Theoden with lies , and rhetoric. To me Evil that deceives is much worse than Evil that is blatantly open about it. Much like Palpatine in the Star Wars series.
I was watching the movie (The Return of the King) the other day and a question was raised. The question was about a scene where Pippin is digging around in the water and finds the "Palantir of Orthanc". Now why would this object of importance be simply laying on the ground. Well I did a little research and it was our good friend Grima that threw it out the window. In the movie you dont know that. So as much as we love to hate that little worm of a man he ended up unintentionally helping Gandalf.
For sure. And it's the path that interests me. Grima was once a noble man of Rohan, not unlike Eomer in certain ways, far less courageous of course, and to have sunk so low.
There's a smallish hint in the flick, expanded a bit in the book, that Grima was somehow promised by Saruman to not only have a controlling interest in the lands of Rohan after all was said and done (lies, of course), but also to own that which he most desired....Eowyn.
Do you think Tolkien used Grima as some sort of example of the dangers of too much desire and envy? Or is Grima a handy and effective plot tool?
"First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me...Blow."--Ash, "Army of Darkness"
My feelings about Grima are actually mixed. I mean I despise him for helping Saruman cast his spells of control on Theoden. He was almost the perfect traitor to his people.
But then I reflect on Grima's life and I start to feel sympathy for him. For starters he's a grotesque looking man. And secondly his life was a life of being ridiculed and mocked. Saruman even bullied him around. Finally it was his love for Eowyn that drove him over the edge. He pledged his fealty to Saruman so that he could one day have what he could never have in a real life. What he wanted was Eowyn's love and the acceptance of others.
Both the desire for a woman and the want to be accepted made him weak and he was easily corrupted by Saruman and the Dark Lord. So in a way this simply makes him a puppet who had little control of his own actions. How many characters in the LOTR could've resisted both Saruman and the Dark Lord? Frodo almost succumbed and Gandalf didnt even want to risk touching the ring for fear of just that.
Anyone who has ever been bullied, short changed, or been lonely should relate with Grima. Anyone who is different or unpopular with the cliques' should relate.
Could it be that Grima actually had a good heart? In the movie Grima sheds a tear as Saruman sends his army to attack Rohan. Reflections of sorrow and regret were all over his pale face. Unfortunately when no one would accept him he turned to the only ones that would.
Personally, and im going by the books, boromir is my favorite. It's the character i can identify with the most. He's strong, and loves his country and would do anything so that it would survive. But he also has his faults, which are much more obvious then any of the other characters i can think of(note its been a good while since i read the books). All the other characters weakness's aren't as apparent. And as we find out as strong as boromir is he still gives into the temptation of the ring and does try to take it from frodo. Even though if he did somehow get the ring i believe he wouldve become evil(just cant be stopped) he honestly thought Gondor could be saved with it ands that what he thought he would use it for. For that i have no grudge with boromir. However he redeems himself later on when he sacrifices himself to save the hobbits at Amon Hen. That just struck a button(a good one for me) and made him my favorite. The other part of that was(i was fairly young i guess when i read lotr) i never heard of a important character really dieing in a story. And it really touched me that he gave up his life like that in the end. It was just a really sad and touching moment, even if he did fail to save the hobbits.
Out of the evil characters, even though next to nothing is known about him i would have to go with....Khamul, Shadow of the East,Messenger of Sauron and 2nd of the Ringwraiths ^_^. C'mon you know it sounds cool!I really would've liked some more information on him, but thats all tolkien really divulged. Im a bit rusty on my knowledge of him but i believe he was a Dark Numorean(i cant remember the name they were easternling numoreans or something. Ill have to look it up later.)
Khamul wasn't a Numenorean, but you are correct in saying that he was an Easterling. Since there is so little 'official' info given on him, anything else is an assumption. Given that we know that the Nine Rings were given to Nine Kings of Men, it's safe to assume that Khamul was a King of Men from the East.
We do know that Sauron long had dealings with the Men of the East, whether Haradrim or others.
"First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me...Blow."--Ash, "Army of Darkness"
i have to agree with slagg sam is probably the strongest willed charicter. he stickes with frodo till the end despite what happened through it all.
Also i like boromeir i relate to him alot. he's loyal and does whatever he can to help his country, and when he did something wrong he tried to make up for it.
I agree about Gimli. He never faltered throughout the trilogy. Now like you it's been a long time since I read the books so I'll also make an observation based on the movies. In the movie "The Two Towers" Legolas confronts Aragorn and argues with him about pointless and hopeless the battle of Helms Deep would be. Was this a weak moment for Legolas? Or did Legolas have a valid point? After all their primary goal was to serve the needs of the Fellowship. Helping King Theoden defend Helm's Deep had little to no bearing on their mission.
The point I was getting at is that Gimli followed Aragorn faithfully and without question.
Books: Either Tom Bombadil or Galadriel....both are such powerful characters that help save Frodo on his quest
Movies: Haldir and Sam...Haldir cause he's just the man no specific reason realy and Sam because Peter Jackson immortalized him with all the times he had to carry Frodo(basically made it seem like Sam's quest not Frodo's)
Chu...Duty with Loyalty
Gi...Justice with Morality
Makoto...Sincerity with Actions
Rei...Courtesy with Politeness
Jin...Compassion with Benevolence
Yu...Courage with Cause
Meiyo...Honor with Honesty
Well, my two favorite characters were Beorn and the Witch King. Both are very minor roles but I have always enjoyed the more "fantastic" creatures and whatnot in the books.
Beorn actually doesn't appear in LoTR, but The Hobbit. He was a shapeshifter, only to a bear though, and lived in a massive wooden cabin and was friends and could talk to the animals. He was the one who gave Gandalf his speedy horse, I forget the name.
Witch King was just a baller with that huge mace he carried. I was heartbroken when that damn girl killed him with the hobbit's help. So smooth.
"First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me...Blow."--Ash, "Army of Darkness"
Beorn ate no flesh. Milk, honey, wheat...his animals were his servants and friends, he did not eat them. Shadowfax was probably never ridden by Theoden as he had Snowmane who was also of the Mearas, or lord of horses, though not of the ancient, great stock like Shadowfax.
Oh, and thinking on this topic and now to this subject, Shadowfax as a character has been left out but he is noble, intelligent, and proud and deserves to be named amongst the great of Tolkien's characters (not Jackson's)
Hehe, I know, just making.....fun.
And you are correct about Theoden never having rode Shadowfax. In fact, if I remember correctly, Gandalf was the first to ride Shadowfax. I see I alluded that Theoden rode Shadowfax. My mistake and not my intention to say so.
"First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me...Blow."--Ash, "Army of Darkness"
Well, my favourite character is probably Tom Bombadil. I'm surprised by the number of real Tolkien afficianados who seem to dislike him, and I'm always disappointed when he (and my favoutite chapters - from the Old Forest to Fog on the Barrow Downs) are omitted from adaptations of JRRT's masterpeice (such as Jackson's films and the otherwise superb BBC radio series). Tom has an strangely earthy-yet-otherworldy quality about him and Middle Earth seems less magical without him.
After Tom, I love the character of Samwise - loyal, resilient, optimistic and fond of potatoes.