Visit The *EVEN NEWER* Barrow-Downs Photo Page |
|
03-03-2007, 01:33 AM | #1 | |
Shade of Carn Dûm
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: the Shadow Gallery
Posts: 276
|
Character Charisma
Here's where this rant started.
http://www.forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=13723 I hold that the original topic of the Movies thread called "Charisma" was probably acting ability. But I'm redirecting a rant along MatthewM's topic of the characters themselves because I find it interesting. Charisma in the Books To start us off, why would Tolkien even bother with the stories of Boromir, Legolas, or Aragorn if they were ordinary? Heck, if they were even just slightly para-ordinary, Tolkien probably wouldn't have bothered with them. I mean, let's look at the situation: Beregond is a fairly ordinary Gondorian who suddenly is forced into extraordinary circumstances by (a) his failing Steward, (b) a massive war, and (c) his love for Faramir. But though we might like his story, and he comes as a welcome addition to the story/plotline/Pippin narrative, Tolkien certainly doesn't choose to deal with Beregond's story exclusively. Why? Because he wasn't anywhere near as un-ordinary as Boromir, or Faramir. Same with Glorfindel. He's a great character: brave, wise, and good with rescuing Ringbearers , but he hasn't got the cheerful disposition and independent nature of Legolas, that seems to set him apart from the rest of the Elves. Perhaps that doesn't make Legolas extraordinary, but it certainly gives him a certain amount of charisma that, at least for me, makes him more interesting than Glorfindel. Quote:
To conclude my rant, I think that Tolkien wouldn't have even bothered with using more commonplace characters as his leaders in the Fellowship and other places. They're extraordinary because they're the main characters... and they're the main characters because they're extraordinary.
__________________
The answer to life is no longer 42. It's 4 8 15 16 23... 42. "I only lent you my body; you lent me your dream." Last edited by Beanamir of Gondor; 03-03-2007 at 01:37 AM. |
|
03-03-2007, 01:22 PM | #2 | |||||
Laconic Loreman
|
It's interesting you bring up Legolas. When you think of Legolas in the books, he seems to be a more behind the scenes character. He seems to be an ordinary elf, that becomes good friends with Gimli and Aragorn, and is just kind of there. However, you mention what he does when Gandalf dies...how about the way he picks up Aragorn after Boromir's death? Aragorn seems to hit this rough patch after Boromir's death, he's lost, doesn't exactly know what to do; but both Legolas and Gimli are there to pick up his spirits:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Another character in the books who I admire is Theoden. Theoden just strikes us as how a King should be...If you check in the dictionary I bet you a synonym of charisma is Theoden. Theoden, as we all knew fell into decline, but after being saved by Gandalf, he comes back restored, with renewed strength and was able to lead his people to victory. First when he is healed we see the impact of Theoden's 'renewal': Quote:
Quote:
Theoden dies in a flame of glory, in contrast to Denethor who quite literally goes down in flames. (sorry I just I had to throw that in)
__________________
Fenris Penguin
|
|||||
03-06-2007, 04:41 PM | #3 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: In hospitals, call rooms and (rarely) my apartment.
Posts: 1,538
|
I think that to say that all characters portrayed in the books are highly exceptional and charismatic is to forget what I percieve to be one of the main themes of LoTR. Even the most ordinary people, finding themselves in the most extraordinary circumstances (and way over their heads, I'd say) can change the world.
While Frodo was an extraordinary Hobbit, neither Sam nor Merry nor Pippin were all that unusual. Perhaps their love for Frodo led them to go out of their "comfort zone" and on to the unknown, where they found those "latent" attributes that helped them rise higher than any hobbit had before, but at the beginning of the tale, none of them were "great" and I wouldn't say they were too charismatic either. Now, most other important characters are very charismatic... but they are also seasoned military leaders. It goes with the job description that you need some sort of charisma to lead others. Whether it be under the guise of wisdom (Gandalf) military prowess itself (Boromir) or just that "something" that some people have (Aragorn I'd say), they are all great leaders and very charismatic. Same goes to Theoden, and we could guess that even Denethor was like that, before his fall. Yet I think that one of the underlying themes of the story is that ordinary people can do exceptional deeds. We have Bergerond as an example, the hobbits as mentioned before, perhaps Hama although we don't get much information about him... Now the stories themselves are all extraordinary... and some of the characters are as well. But there are some important characters that are just very much ordinary, and we should not forget that.
__________________
I prepared Explosive Runes this morning. |
|
|