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07-30-2007, 09:47 AM | #1 |
Itinerant Songster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: The Edge of Faerie
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Ironic Characters in Tolkien
Garm and Farmer Giles were ironic characters in Farmer Giles of Ham. Supposed to be heroes, Garm was a coward and Giles was an opportunist who got lucky; his mare was the real hero as Tolkien said.
Question: Are there other characters in other stories by Tolkien that are ironic? Who are they? How are they ironic? Why does Tolkien cast them that way? And if, by chance, there are no ironic characters in LotR or The Hobbit or any other of his writings, why not? |
07-30-2007, 11:32 AM | #2 |
Pilgrim Soul
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Well surely Bilbo is ironic, the bourgeois Baggins turns burglar....
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07-30-2007, 07:00 PM | #3 |
Itinerant Songster
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I expected ironic figures to pop up in "The Hobbit". What about his more serious works?
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07-30-2007, 10:42 PM | #4 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
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I would say Gollum is ironic. His whole purpose is to get back the One Ring, and when he finally gets it, he falls off into the lava of Mt. Doom and destroys it, thus fulfilling the Quest.
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07-30-2007, 10:52 PM | #5 |
Curmudgeonly Wordwraith
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I would guess that in a sense Saruman would be considered ironic, having become that which he was sent out to destroy, complete with a ring on his finger and an army of Orcs.
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07-31-2007, 12:43 AM | #6 | |
Princess of Skwerlz
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The character I thought of immediately as I read this thread is the herb-master in "The Houses of Healing", RotK. He knows so much theoretically, but he cannot give the practical help that is needed = the athelas. Aragorn and Gandalf's comments are humorous and bitingly sarcastic:
Quote:
Perhaps Ioreth can be included as another ironic character; she is the one who is looked down upon as an "old wife", yet her knowledge is coupled with a practical wisdom that plays a small yet vital part in the development of the story.
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