Quote:
|
Originally Posted by littlemanpoet
I had Feanor lower, but people pointed out that he took on a whole squadron of Balrogs!  |
Bilbo took on Smaug. So why isn't he above Smaug? Bard killed Smaug. I dunno. THe whole point of good stories is the surprises. As long as these rules are "meant to be broken..." (are they?)
ps. Where IS Bilbo? ... And Sam defeated Shelob. Why's he so low on the list...? I guess I don't yet understand the logic.
Cheers, lmp, and enjoy!
EDIT post-script:
Okay. I think I see what bugs me. "Bur Frodo was not your average hobbit." The good stories are about the exceptions to the rules. But they are operating within the averages, aren't they? Bilbo (in Mirkwood) outsmarts numerous average spiders. (Bilbo is exceptional.) Gollum outsmarts lots of (average) orcses. (Gollum is exceptional.)
It seems to me you need --
scratch that, rudely put, sorry, rephrase. If I was tackling this, I would need (at least) two lists: First, a general hierarchy of races. Then hierarchies of the individuals within races. And I guess then, hierarchies of individuals that exceeded where their races were. Or something like that. (cue Underhill's Rock/scissors/paper analogy here; brilliant point IMO.) Anyway: to me it makes more sense to
--- graph this in at least 2-D, race-wise
--- distinguish between "average" and "exceptional" individuals
....must go. Wish I could linger.