Who do you feel sorry for?

[Isowen]

I'm not sure if there's a thread like this anywhere else. But, I am a newcomer so I guess I could put it here.
Which lotr character (in the films or the books, it matters not) do you pity the most and why?
I expect most people would say Gollum or Frodo but it would be interesting to read what you all think.
Thanks

[Morsul the Dark]

I feel bad for Sam he does all the work he saves Frodo lotsw of times he sacrifices his own food and water and then everyone says Frodo is the hero of the story just because he carried the ring "Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam" darn tuttin'! Without Sam Frodo would be chained in Bardur and Sauron would be making his hobbit slaves feed him because he would rule ME

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Out of all Tolkien's characters I would say Turin, but from The Lord of the Rings I think I might say Eowyn, because she suffered a lot in her early life.

Probably Boromir, because he repented his sins, realised that he had brought everything to the brink of wreck and ruin, because he was unable to fight or control his desire for the ring. He was a noble man, powerful and strong, who was corrupted by the power of the ring, and could not do anything about it.

As Gandalf said, (paraphrasing) alas for Boromir....it is good that I foreced Elrond to allow Merry and Pipin to come along, at least for Boromier's sake.

Every time I read the breaking of the fellowship chapter a tear comes to my eye, as when I watch that scene in the movie.

I feel a different kind of pity and sorrow for Gollum and for Frodo, but they (at least in my mind) did not ever realise that what they had just done could have resulted in the death of everyone they loved, subjection to slavery of their people and betrayal of their friends.

[DarkRose]

Originally Posted by Morsul the Dark

I feel bad for Sam he does all the work he saves Frodo lotsw of times he sacrifices his own food and water and then everyone says Frodo is the hero of the story just because he carried the ring "Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam" darn tuttin'! Without Sam Frodo would be chained in Bardur and Sauron would be making his hobbit slaves feed him because he would rule ME

Actually, Sam ends up getting more fame and appreciation from the Shirefolk when he returns than Frodo does. He even becomes mayor, while Frodo is basically unappreciated.

Anyway, for that reason, along with others, I pity Frodo. He goes endures so much and undergoes so much inner-turmoil.

[Boromir88]

Shia'tan, I would have to agree with you about the Boromir thing. But, in the almost wreck and total destruction he helped Frodo make an important decision that would have surely led to his doom. If Boromir hadn't of "gone mad" Frodo would of never realized he had to get out of the Fellowship. Boromir was only the first to fall to the ring the others would have fallen eventually, Boromir made Frodo realized he had to get out of the Fellowship before it tore them apart.

Yes, for me I would have to say that is the most tragic point. Even viewing the movie, I knew what was going to happen, but it's the only part in the movie where I almost cried.

[Lachwen]

Out of all of Tolkien's characters, I'd say I pity Túrin the most. His life was like a classic Greek tragedy: by the end, everyone was dead. The Tale of the Children of Húrin is without a doubt the most depressing thing Tolkien ever wrote.

From The Lord of the Rings, though, I'd say Faramir. Though he loved his brother Boromir, he was always in his shadow; no matter what he did to try to please his father, Denethor always dismissed it, basically saying "Your brother could have done it better." Then Boromir gets sent off on this quest, so Faramir is stuck back home trying to do the work of himself and his brother and still can't make Dad happy. After getting serriously poned by the Orcs in Osgiliath, he gets chased across the Pelennor by the Nazgûl. Then he gets the great news that, hey, guess what! Boromir's dead. That doesn't improve his standing in his father's eyes, and so in the attempt to live up to his brother's standards, Faramir goes off to retake Osgiliath, only to be shot and fall under the Black Breath. He nearly dies, and can you even imagine what it must have been like for him to wake up and be told that his father had gone totally bonkers and burned himself alive? Poor Faramir basically got stuck with living in an Endorian soap opera.

[Meela]

Denethor. He gets misunderstood because not many people see both sides of his character. He used to be a decent man, but the books don't cover that. And he's suffered more than anyone should have to suffer. He thought Faramir was dead; that would have been his whole family he'd seen slip away from him.

[Lady Gamgee]

I've got 2 actually. First is Boromir. The ring took hold of him, but he soon realized that what he'd done to Frodo, or tried to do, was wrong and could've put the entire Fellowship in jeopardy. His death bothers me, although I know he fought a good fight, with honor & pride ... defending the little ones until his death. I wish in some way that he'd still be alive, but I know his death also helped shape the story.

Secondly, I feel sorry for Gollum. I was truly hoping that he would take control over himself, be free from the ring, & stop deceiving Frodo & Sam. There are times when you believe he truly wants to do good, but the obsession with the ring takes over. It's sad to see someone in that shape ... to let something so evil have such a hold on them that they can't do anything about it.

[Isowen]

Thanks, I would have to agree with all of them. Especially Morsul in the Dark about Sam. For all those reasons you mentioned but also because Sam does all that work and when they are almost at Mordor, he gets sent home by Frodo! And still he carries him on to mt doom! Well done Sam!

[Calathanien]

hmmmmm i would say arwen because she has to give up her emmortal life and her family all for one man (okay she loved him but still one man) and it must have been such a hard desision to make and either way she would have had to make such a great sacrifice, either loose the man she loves or loose her family and emmortal life.

[Elianna]

I feel sorry for all the elves who suffered the long defeat. And for Frodo who couldn't enjoy the Shire he'd set out to save.

[Tuor of Gondolin]

Yes. We notices how many likes the nassty, fat hobbit. But what about poor Smeagol, who only wants to please the nice hobbit and was about to really help him until the mean hobbit ruins it all!

"Gollum looked at them. A strange expression passed over his lean hungry face. The gleam faded from his eyes, and they went dim and grey, old and tired. A spasm of pain seemed to twist him, and he turned away, peering back up towards the pass, shaking his head, as if engaged in some interior debate. Then he came back, and slowly put out a trembling hand , very cautiously he touched Frodo's knee-but almost the touch was a caress. For a fleeting moment, could one of the sleepers have seen him, they would have thought that they beheld
an old weary hobbit, shrunken by the years that had carried him far beyond his
time, beyond friends and kin, and the fields and streams of youth, an old starved pitiable thing. But at that touch Frodo stirred and cried out softly in his sleep, and
immediately Sam was wide awake. The first thing he saw was Gollum-'pawing at master', as he thought. 'Hey you!' he said roughly. 'What are you up to?'
'Nothing, nothing,' said Gollum softly. 'Nice Master!' "I daresay,' said Sam. 'But
where have you been to-sneaking off and sneaking back, you old villain?'

[Boromir88]

Tuor, I think we need to show pity for Gollum, Gandalf points out in I believe "The shadow of the past," "The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of men." Which it obviously did, since Gollum is the hero of all middle-earth, without him losing his place and stumbling into the lava who knows what would have happened to the ring. So I think Gollum deserves a lot of pity.

For a movie character to pity, we definately have to give pity to Eomer. Heck PJ just basically tells Eomer, "ahh ya stand in the background there (puts Eomer behind a post) there thats perfect." Eomer gets credit for nothing, heck Theoden doesn't even name him king, they don't even explain the reason for Eomer becoming King. So for a movie character he is one we have to pity.

I might get booed for doing this but Otho Sackville-Baggins, poor old hobbit never got to see his lifetime dream of living in Bag End. Poor chap died before he could move into Bag End.

[Tuor of Gondolin]

Not a bad point about the S-B's.
Really rather sad about the whole family, even the bitter-sweet final days of Lobelia, who, it turned, out, was a bit of a heroine, and did reconcile with the Bagginses.

[The Perky Ent]

Definitly Turin! It truly is a shakespear tragety! Also, Frodo a little. Being the only hobbit with 9 fingers...unless someone is born with a deficiency. I doubt it though

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I guess I also pity Barliman Butterbur, because this is one of the most normal examples of sorrow we see in the book. This is just a regular old man who runs an inn and he clearly goes through a lot of fear and fright. I see how its easy to forget about him in the grand scheme of things but its definitely an example that I can easily relate to. Sure, we all feel pity for the guy who saves the world with much trauma, but we should also feel pity for the regular man who is bullied.

[Encaitare]

Certainly Turin... getting kidnapped and then finding out you killed your best friend ca kinda put a damper on your day.

And Grima, but you all knew that already.

[Lhunardawen]

Hurin. Imagine being held captive by Morgoth, seeing your wife and children experience so much suffering just because you cursed him, and he cursed your children in return. It was enough being in the Dark Lord's presence, but seeing his curse come to life was most unbearable.

[Neferchoirwen]

Originally, I would have felt sorry for Sam, thinking him as a person who lost all his friends in a war, but that was bit off.

But I really feel sorry for Saruman. He wasted his wisdom and his power on a cause wasn't so worthy of a war. With that in mind, he was also tricked into thinking that he will gain power of middle earth, when in fact he was just being used, and his part of the power bargain will be entirely forgotten. The way he ended wasn't even worthy of an Istari.

Poor guy.

[Isowen]

Great! These are all great. I can't decide on who I agree with more. I feel the same way about all of them. Maybe pity has a lot to do with the fate of the ring?!

[Iris Alantiel]

Despite the fact that I think Sam is completely underappreciated at times (he probably would prefer it that way), I think the character I pity the most would have to be Faramir. Just try to imagine how terrible that would be, to always be treated as second-rate in spite of such fine characteristics as honesty, nobility, and bravery; to very nearly go to your death in an effort to serve someone who showed you little love at all; and to have your own father discover some kind of affection for you only at the very end of his life, causing him to go mad. And then on top of all that, he had the bad luck of falling in love with Eowyn while she was still attracted to Aragorn and, although that situation was happily resolved, it probably caused him some measure of suffering while it lasted.

[Morsul the Dark]

Sam and Faramir come to me as being quite alike


Both did great deeds yet were under appreciated until the end
and both lost their best friends or brothers boromir and Frodo

and certainly upon reading this thread hurin seems sadly pitiful

I do not gollum I do pity smeagal
.... I love and hate him as he hates and loves himself...

Gandalf as well
He nearly carried the entire weight of ME by himself being abandonned by his fellow Isatari...then he nearly played chess with his friends and allies to put your own friends at risk....think of the choice

[ohtatyaro]

Fili and Kili (just reminded by the thread of 'favvie dwarves')

[Elianna]

ohtatyaro: Right on about Fili and Kili. They were my favorite of the 13 and so, of course, they're the ones who die (along with Thorin, duh).

[Gelmir]

I feel bad for Gelmir. He killed many orcs, and in the end the orcs capture him, take off his sword arm and hit him with it then his right arm and eat it (well probably) then take his legs off. And leave him in pain for a while and chop off his head. Aww, I feel bad for me.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

him with it then his right arm and eat it (well probably) then take his legs off. And leave him in pain for a while and chop off his head. Aww, I feel bad for me

Don't you feel bad for his brother and the other Elves who had to watch all of this happening?

After reading these post , I realized that all these characters suffered (some more,some less) because they were in the middle of a terrible and horrible War! , so I rrally feel sorry for them all, because any of them wanted to be part of such dreadful situations(specially the hobbits!).

[Isowen]

oh good point elvenstar, and all of you. I guess most of the people we feel sorry for are in the third age, with all the bad times etc, but obviously not all of 'em are.

[Laitoste]

I can't really decide...I felt sorry for different characters at different time, like I felt sorry for Grima in The Scouring of the Shire, and for Gollum in the quote that Tuor so kindly provided. I guess I feel sorry for Turin, but since he tends to anger me, not much. I'm not sure...

[The Perky Ent]

Here's someone I really feel sorry for: Aredhel! She was foced to marry Eol, who she didn't love, let alone know! Then, she gives her life to save Maeglin, and how does he repay her? He destorys the city she knew, loved, and protected!

[Isowen]

good good good......keep it coming people! I personally feel sorry for Denethor. I mean, he lost Boromir and his wife, he thought he'd lost Faramir. He cannot be king of the city which he loves so much, only the steward and Minas Tirith is under seige and there is nothing he can really do about it! Poor old Denethor and to top it off he goes and burns himself alive, but that's msotly stupidity

[Mad Baggins]

I would probably say Grima as well. He had to have had a good heart at one point, but was corrupted. The woman he loved did not love him back; she loathed him. His master (Saruman) treated him cruelly with no respect whatsoever. He was offered a chance at a new life but was so intimidated by Saruman that he feared his wrath and therefore did not take the offer. At the end of the book he got his revenge by murdering Saruman, but even then he was not free because the hobbits shot him down with their arrows the minute he began running.

[Encaitare]

::shakes Mad Baggins' Hand::

I pity Grima also. He was offered two chances of a new life: the first by Gandalf, who said that if he wanted to leave Saruman then he should just do it, and then again by Frodo who offered him shelter for awhile. Unfortunately for him, he either refused or was denied these offers, and lost his life because of Saruman's intimidation.

[Vanwatholiel]

I would say Aragorn. Everybody talks about him being dirty and not taking baths and being afraid of water. I think that that is seriously wrong. Aragorn has neither the luxury or the time to take a bath. He does when he can, but noticing his occupation, as a Ranger of the North, soap isn't really readily available. So I just wanted to say that people really need to stop talking about Aragorn and his appearance in the movies. It is really not his fault. I'm not as serious as I sound. I'm a really fun loving person!!!!

[Isowen]

I have never in my entire life heard anything about how 'dirty' aragorn is. But now that I have.......I am mortally offended, I assure you that I shall not stand for this. Nobody cares if he takes a bath or not, 'cuz just look at all the neat stuff he did in lotr. Really, it would be dangerous to take a bath, as stupid as that sounds, because what if the fellowship were suddenly under attack and they needed their best defences...i.e Legolas, Gimli, Boromir and ARAGORN!!! Yet, they cannot have aragorn because he's too bothered about hygiene and he's in the stupid bath!
He would probably look less manly in a way aswell, like "Oh my god everyone, we must stop! I have mud splattered all up my leg!"
But that's beside the point, what I mean is....it really doesn't matter what anyone thinks of anyone......as long as Aragorn was happy to be dirty and smelly, not that you would think about taking a bath if you were in the Middle of nowhere, you could be attacked at anytime, and you were thinking always about enemies and such like.

I have 2 that I feel sorry for. First I would have to say Faramir, because his father obviously loves Boromir more, but then he has to tell Faramir it right to his face that he would rather have Faramir dead than Boromir. I mean come on, you don't just tell your own child that!

Secondly, I feel sorry for Sam, because he chooses to go to Mordor with Frodo, but everyone gives all the credit to Frodo. I mean Sam's the one who got Frodo through all of that. He saved him so many times. I know Frodo does give him a lot of credit, but others just don't understand how much Sam really did.

[Neferchoirwen]

At first, I thought Grima was as smart as I thought he would be, but he was exactly like Saruman. He dreamt of getting it on to the easy street to power (pretty much like his boss Saruman), but he got nothing out of it in the end, dying tragically. Like Judas. *sniff*

[Saurreg]

I felt for Boromir

Boromir was a true patriot who loved his land and its people. Indeed he has given much to preserve what he could and I would even go on to say that he had given his all. What Boromir did, he did it all for the love of his country and he did what he thought was the best Fate dealt him a cruel hand by having his father send him on an unsuitable errand that was to spell his doom and to have to face the menace of the ring during his moment of desperateness and weakness.

He did not "sin" when he tried to take the ring, the fates were toying with him. Boromir did not deserve to die like a hunted animal.

[Mithalwen]

Boromir was a warrior by inclination and he was redeemed by his heroism in defending Merry and Pippin... I think realistically all the Fellowship would have been as grubby as Aragorn .... it just seems odd that Aragorn is such a state while Boromir, who is on exactly the same journey always had clean hair and a tidy beard .......