My favorite character is and always has been (since I first read the books)
Samwise Gamgee. I know I have said so before here on the ‘Downs, but it’s been a long time.
Sam is my favorite character for his love, honesty, and loyalty, mostly. There are many, many other things that I like about him, too, but those are the main ones. His love and loyalty towards Frodo can be seen through the entire book. He loved many other things in Middle-Earth, but because he was loyal to Frodo, he was willing to leave and give up everything in order to see Frodo through to the end. This is shown very clearly in the chapter The Mirror of Galadriel.
He’s honest and blunt, and I like honest and blunt people because then you don’t have to worry about them lying to you when you ask them if you look good. Also, this same honest bluntness gives a lot of humor to the books. He’s the character who makes me laugh the most. . .and cry the most.
Those are few reasons. I’m afraid I blunder a lot when I try to explain why I like Sam. This is something like my fourth draft of this explanation - they all are different an they all try to say the same thing. There are so many aspects of his character and I love them all. . .it’s impossible for me to say, in a short enough post that people will actually read it, why I like him. He’s loveable, what can I say?
Second favorite character is probably Frodo. I wouldn’t have said that until after I read it the last time I did (I think it was my fifth reading). It wasn’t really until then that I actually connected with him and realized the depth of his struggle and pain. All the previous times reading it, I had been distracted by other things, other characters, different happenings. But by the fifth time reading a book, I really got to see Frodo in a different light. He was noble and brave and utterly self sacrificing. Yes, he failed in the end, but that makes his story all the more pathetic and, for me, brings him closer still. What’s more, Sam loved him, and that’s a good reason to like him, too.
Third favorite character. . .I don’t know. Eowyn is cool, she’s noble and fierce, and I am very much like her in many ways. Faramir is neat - he’s noble, pure, kind, and Boromir’s younger brother. Boromir is neat. I’ve always liked him, regardless of what other people say to try to prove to me how wicked he was. Merry and Pippin both went through a lot of character development but never lost their merriness. I really enjoyed reading about them, too, this last time. Tolkien put a lot of work into those two and I wish the movies had given them better character developments.
Good gracious, if I keep going at that rate, I’ll name all the other characters!
Anyhow, Matthew, I hope that satisfies you. Good thread. I like it. I love (trying) to explain why my favorite character is my favorite character.
-Folwren