Does LoTR have a Central Character?

Erestor Arcamen · Nov 10, 2024

Deimos said:
Wrong-o Bucko 😉 ....It's still Sauron.
No Sauron, no Ring.
So there. 😁

With that logic then wouldn’t it be Eru? No Eru, no Morgoth, no Morgoth, no Sauron, no Sauron, no Ring.

Actually maybe Tolkien is the central character. No Tolkien, no Eru…

So there 😬

Elwing the White · Nov 10, 2024

Erestor Arcamen said:
No Tolkien, no Eru…

No Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Mabel Suffield, no J.R.R. Tolkien.

Tyelkormo the Fair · Nov 10, 2024

Elwing the White said:
No Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Mabel Suffield, no J.R.R. Tolkien.

What did I just walk into?

Radaghast · Nov 10, 2024

Tyelkormo the Fair said:
What did I just walk into?

Erestor Arcamen · Nov 10, 2024

Tyelkormo the Fair said:
What did I just walk into?

A TTF theology lesson….

Also, if we’re going deeper, then God #endthread

Tyelkormo the Fair · Nov 10, 2024

Erestor Arcamen said:
A TTF theology lesson….

Also, if we’re going deeper, then God #endthread

Before that, why don't we discuss atoms a lil? Don't rush it.

Erestor Arcamen · Nov 10, 2024

Tyelkormo the Fair said:
Before that, why don't we discuss atoms a lil? Don't rush it.

Ooh now it’s getting controversial, what came first, God or the atom? The atom or the quark?

Tyelkormo the Fair · Nov 10, 2024

Erestor Arcamen said:
Ooh now it’s getting controversial, what came first, God or the atom? The atom or the quark?

Sleep. Sleep always comes first.

Erestor Arcamen · Nov 10, 2024

Tyelkormo the Fair said:
Sleep. Sleep always comes first.

Not when you have a 6 month old, sadly

Deimos · Nov 10, 2024

Erestor Arcamen said:
With that logic then wouldn’t it be Eru? No Eru, no Morgoth, no Morgoth, no Sauron, no Sauron, no Ring.

Actually maybe Tolkien is the central character. No Tolkien, no Eru…

So there 😬

Yep see my response below 😄

Deimos said:
Yes... if you want to get down to brass tacks (which I often do)...Yes, Eru is THE Central Character. ...you'll get no argument from me about that 🙂
Everything begins and ends with Eru.

Tyelkormo the Fair · Nov 10, 2024

Erestor Arcamen said:
Not when you have a 6 month old, sadly

Or you're in uni. 🙂

I don't really remember the last time I've felt well-rested.

Radaghast · Nov 10, 2024

There is no single central character. That is impossible given the number of characters, the breaking of the Fellowship and subsequent storylines. Even among the party of Frodo, Sam and Gollum, there is no main character, but much if not all of the POV in these chapters is Sam's. And all but seven of the book's 62 chapters are shown from a hobbit's POV.

TrackerOrc · Nov 10, 2024

Radaghast said:
Oh, geez, not this again 😨 In any case, that is not really the case. Tolkien doesn't, per se, but others do. He is hailed as a hero in the Shire, while Frodo is mostly ignored.

I didn't say they alone are central, but the Hobbits as a whole are central to the story. The story is mostly told through their perspective.

Bilbo didn't steal it. Finders keepers.

There's obviously more to the story than the route on which the Ring is taken, so I can't really follow that logic. The book is named after Sauron but he barely has what you'd consider dialogue. It's not the most aptly named book but the title is probably the best option.

Well Sam is hailed as a hero by his fellow hobbits, no big surprise there; maybe if they knew what he did (and thought about) poor old Gollum they would have had second thoughts - the fact that Frodo is ignored tells us that they knew almost nothing of the wider story.

Frodo (aided by his sidekick Sam) are defionitely central to the story of the ring, Merry and Pippin much less so; they have a part to play, but it is in many ways tangential to the main story arc. The route that the ring takes isn't the point - it's who has direct control of the ring on the journey.

And of course Bilbo steals the ring; he finds it accidentally, but very quickly realises that it is Gollum's magic ring and doesn't give it back (understandably or not), and is then evasive about the whole episode to Gandalf and the Dwarves.

Radaghast · Nov 11, 2024

TrackerOrc said:
Well Sam is hailed as a hero by his fellow hobbits, no big surprise there; maybe if they knew what he did (and thought about) poor old Gollum they would have had second thoughts

Until they found out what Gollum did 😄

the fact that Frodo is ignored tells us that they knew almost nothing of the wider story.

This goes against your "fellow hobbits" point.

Frodo (aided by his sidekick Sam) are defionitely central to the story of the ring, Merry and Pippin much less so; they have a part to play, but it is in many ways tangential to the main story arc. The route that the ring takes isn't the point - it's who has direct control of the ring on the journey.

Again, the book is not solely about the path of the Ring. It tells other stories.

Elthir · Nov 11, 2024

The Tower of Cirith Ungol JRR Tolkien:

"At that rage blazed in Sam's heart to a sudden fury. He sprang up, ran, and went up the ladder like a cat."

If not for cats. . . 'nuff said 🐾

Squint-eyed Southerner · Nov 11, 2024

TrackerOrc · Nov 12, 2024

Radaghast said:
Until they found out what Gollum did 😄

This goes against your "fellow hobbits" point.

Again, the book is not solely about the path of the Ring. It tells other stories.

Oh yes, the story is broader than just the Ring, but the absolute corre of the story is always about the Ring, and the different ways it affects different people.

Idril Celebrindal · Nov 13, 2024

I'd say that Frodo is the min charachter since he was the only one who resisted (and, in my opinion, the only one who could have resisted) the Ring long enough to bring it to Orodruin. While there are some side stories, he is the one who has the main quest. I think Aragorn actually says something like "Ours is but a side-quest. It is in Frodo that the real mission lies" (I'm too lazy to look up the exact quote). Anyway, to me it seems like all of the main events revolve around Frodo and he is the charachter that is most written about.

Idril Celebrindal · Nov 13, 2024

Elwing the White said:
No Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Mabel Suffield, no J.R.R. Tolkien.

That logic takes us right back to Adam and Eve and then to God, if you think about it.

Elwing the White · Nov 13, 2024

Idril Celebrindal said:
That logic takes us right back to Adam and Eve and then to God, if you think about it.

Yes, but first you have to consider John Benjamin Tolkien and Mary Jane Stowe, as well as John Suffield Jr. and Emily Jane Sparrow.

Does LoTR have a Central Character?

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