Unorthodox Heroes?

[Anguirel]

That's not my point. What I'm saying is that Tolkien likes Sam, admires him without reservation. This makes him an "orthodox" hero; his humble background adds to, rather than detracts from, this; everyone is meant to love the chap who strikes a blow for the little man. An unorthodox hero is one Tolkien to some measure disapproves of; that can range from Gollum to Feanor to Gorbag to Maeglin. Some characters, like Galadriel, are of course so heavily revised that it's difficult to tell what the author's final orthodox view of them is. This allows the aesthetic choice to decide instead; (eg we can decide that we prefer the version where Galadriel defies the Valar).