Heroes

[Ilúvatar]

Who do you think is the "hero" of the book? Why? What makes a hero?

[Isthir - RifCoral]

The hero of the entire series? I would love to say Gandalf, but he is the best, not the hero. Many may say that Frodo is the hero, not in my mind. To me Frodo is the weakest character in the series, just more headstrong and addicted to The One. In all reality, Sam is the hero. When all things seemed impossible Sam found a way to move on. When Frodo faltered, which he did many times, Sam picked up the slack.

Just my thoughts.

[Boromir]

No, I believe it would be Frodo. He is, of course, the main character. He chooses to take the task of destroying It. He endures It, not forever, but longer than most. And he takes It to Mount Morannon. He saves Middle Earth. Sam, is his strength. Sam doesn't let him quit. Though Sam did very much in helping, he did not take The Ring to Mordor and destroy it.

[Isthir - RifCoral]

Boromir said:

No, I believe it would be Frodo. He is, of course, the main character. He chooses to take the task of destroying It. He endures It, not forever, but longer than most. And he takes It to Mount Morannon. He saves Middle Earth. Sam, is his strength. Sam doesn't let him quit. Though Sam did very much in helping, he did not take The Ring to Mordor and destroy it.

Sam actually did take up The Ring for a while, yet you may have a point. However, I still hold Sam as the hero, though an unsung one. As well, if you remember, Frodo did not destroy the One either, it was destroyed in the struggle between he and Gollom.

*Shrugs* Sorry if that came off as harsh, it was not meant to be. I do appreciate that which you have to offer and look forward to further discussions.

- The Tanomanar

[radagast]

i wouldnt say that frodo was the hero, because althogh he did get the ring to mount doom, it wasnt he who actually threw it in, and if it wasnt for gollum, he would have taken it for himself just like isildur, and we don't consider isildur a hero do we. I'm not saying gollum is the hero, but that all the characters are. None of them did any one deed that saved middle earth.

[Boromir]

Well thank you, Dr. Malcolm, but I think things are a little different than we expected.

[radagast]

yeah I know theyre a lot worse

[vacin8r]

i think one of the best things about LOTR is that more than one hero is necessary to the sucess over sauron. gollum, frodo, sam, gandalf, faramir, aragorn, elrond, legolas, gimli, merry, pippen, and even to a point people like baromir, remove any of them from the story, and the victory is lost.
-don

[Boromir]

Being the "hero" of the story and being essential to the storyline are two different things.

[Ilúvatar]

I definately think that the hero is intertwined with the supporting characters, but maybe there is more than one hero?

A hero with the Ring.

A hero in battle.

A hero in overcoming obstacles.

Wow - I've got somemore to think on.

[vacin8r]

for just the LOTR i would say the heroes are frodo, aragorn, and gandalf with the others being secondary proponents of the story. however it is difficult to clarify the term hero in a setting that switches focus as much as LOTR does.
-don

[Boromir]

I would totally agree with your choices.

[Lady of Light]

Me too!

[Legolas]

the whole fellowship are heroes

merry/pippin - convinced treebeard to get isengard
frodo/sam - brought the ring to mount doom
boromir - saved merry/pippin
aragorn - saved the hobbits a few times, made diversion
legolas - helped gimli get through lorien, was good in battle
gimli - stayed with the fellowship, good warrior, helped people like gondors, rohans.

[Kitoky]

There are alot of ways to be a hero.

Boromir - he won Osgiliath over for his city, he'd do anything to have his people be known, he died to save Pippin and Merry.

Gandalf - He was the only Istari to complete the mission that the five Istari were sent to Middle-Earth for. He died to keep the Balrog at bay from the Fellowship.

Aragorn - Classic hero, he doesn't initially want to be the King of Gondor but he will if he must.

Legolas - Another classic hero, hey, he's an elf, also claimed 'hott' to many fangirls. First cold to the dwarf but starts to willingly work with him

Gimli - Started off hot-tempered a more distant to the group except for Gandalf in which he has known for many years. Starts to willingly develop his relation with elf.

Merry - Helped Gandalf figure out the riddle outside the gates of Moria, not Frodo in the movies.

Pippin - Helped the citadel, Bergil, all of them in the Return of the King.

Sam - He could not be more dedicated to Frodo, he would die for Frodo, he encounters alot of traumatic events, he defeated Shelob in her lair.

Frodo - Alot of people believe that Frodo's a wimp and is not a hero. But he is. He did not have to take up the burden to carry the Ring at the Council of Elrond, but he did. Though he isn't a hero in a sense that he can fight, you don't have to be strong just by wielding a sword.

In the Return of the King when Frodo's hanging at the side of the cliff in Mount Doom, did you see the look in his eyes? The look of someone who has seen to much for such a small person...