The diminshing of the characters

[Legolas]

I think you mean 'derogative' sense. I know - what he/she was saying is that The Silmarillion takes away the mystery that laid behind Gandalf, Sauron, and the elves as their unknown (yet alluded to) paths, and seems to belittle the characters in The Lord of the Rings by showing that they weren't the only folk to undertake a great mission.

The characters in each books have very similar but still very different motivations. Beren and Luthien did what they did for each other; the Noldor did what they did for themselves; and so on. I'm not being totally extreme - not *everything* the characters did was self-centered, but a good bit of it was, and often, that's what caused more trouble. Only the army of elves/Maiar were fighting for the good of the world. For the most part, The Silmarillion was more impersonal. The Lord of the Rings (as well as The Hobbit) were on a more personal level. The characters were more real to the readers because they were more like us. We could identify with them more.

The journey of Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Boromir, Gimli, and the hobbits was a sacrifice. Only Gandalf knew what they were getting into, but they all knew it might cost them they're lives. That did not hold them back. They did what they did for all the good left in the world.

[ January 17, 2003: Message edited by: Legalos ]