Who's the real hero of "Lord of the Rings"?

[thingol]

i would supose that it was aragorn or gandalf

[thingol]

wow i thougth that the only ones from norway was me and frodo1990! anyway id supose aragorn or gandalf are the real heroes in lord of the rings

[RosieCotton]

I HAVE RETURNED TO THE ENTMOOT!
I couldn't stay away for too long. I am back
As most of you know, I am an avid Sam fan, so I think he is the hero.
However, Lord of the Rings is the type of story where everything has to go just right to get the outcome it did. You could say anyone is the hero. Shadowfax could be the hero. Farmer Maggot could be ther hero. Heck, Shelob could be the hero if you really think about it. Its just the way all the events worked out where the Ring was successully destroyed. But, heres my list.
1) Samwise
2) Frodo (carrying the Ring was a tough job)
3) Gandalf, Aragorn, Eowyn, and Thedon all tie
~Rosie~

[Entlover]

Originally posted by Sminty_Smeagol
I think Frodo is more of a leader, but Sam is a very essential sidekick.-~*Sminty*~-

I agree. I hope they manage to make Frodo's leadership qualities come out more in the movies to come. (and maybe improve his balance.)

[Ñólendil]

you must think that some of the characters in LoTR achieved more than the others. Ok, the good guys were all heroes in some way, but some of them were more heroic than others.

Sure, but I don't think that's any cause for labelling some of the heroes "real" (thereby implying others to be "fake"). Is Samwise Gamgee the real hero, and Frodo Baggins the fake one? What rubbish is that?

Frodo failed as a stereotypical hero, but he was a hero. I don't think Sam was any more a hero than Frodo.

The two first senses I have come across in the Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary are:

2 a : exhibiting or marked by courage and daring b : supremely noble or self-sacrificing

Does Sam exhibit more courage and daring than Frodo? Is he nobler? Does he make more self-sacrifices? I don't think so. In fact I think by these definitions Frodo is more heroic. People like Gandalf and Elrond feared to take the Ring to hide it and didn't like the idea of handling it too much either. Frodo Baggins bore it much longer than Sam ever did, and he took it all the way to Mount Doom, expieriencing severe moral, mental and physical torture along the way. He did the best he could and that was damn better than most, maybe better than anybody's best. Tolkien said that "maybe" no one else would have gotten so far. Gandalf would would have been vying with Sauron for the Dark Lord championship long before the time it took for Frodo to make it to the Cracks of Doom. Frodo is a hero and it's an insult to the character to call someone else "the real hero".

[The Ringbearer]

I think that by "real" it was meant that they did the most or something like that, not that everyone else was a "fake" hero.
But that post was beautiful!

[Ñólendil]

Thank you!

If it comes down to: who accomplished the most?, my answer would be Gandalf.

[Erawyn]

I think at the beginning of the book, Frodo definitely. He takes the ring when no one else will etc. But by the end (especially in the last book) Sam really is the one who i guess saves the day. And of course, Gandalf!

[Beleg Strongbow]

One word: Gandalf.

[Beruthiel]

Oh dear. I must agree, first and foremost it's Frodo.
But as I grew up, I learned that there is a hero in each of the characters. (Barring the baddies.)
Each character is meant to appeal to a different type of person, I think. Note the characters diversity! Smart ones, dumb ones, young ones, old ones, men, dwarves, elves and hobbits, grand wise old wizards - women - it runs the whole spectrum. There is a hero there for all of us to identify with.

I attached onto Aragorn and Galadriel as my personal favorites, but Frodo of course is the sweet little heart grabber of the books.

[RosieCotton]

Originally posted by Beruthiel
Each character is meant to appeal to a different type of person, I think. Note the characters diversity! Smart ones, dumb ones, young ones, old ones, men, dwarves, elves and hobbits, grand wise old wizards - women - it runs the whole spectrum. There is a hero there for all of us to identify with.

I agree completely. It depends on your point of view, just about everyone in the books could be considered a hero.
~Rosie~

[cassiopeia]

Maybe a bad guy could be called a hero, from Nolendil's definition. Perhaps the orcs and evil men.

[Ñólendil]

But Orks and evil Men are not noble.

[barrelrider110]

Many in Lord of the Rings performed heroic acts. There is but one "hero" of the Lord of the Rings -- it is Frodo Baggins of the Shire.

As Ñólendil so well stated:

In fact I think by these definitions Frodo is more heroic. People like Gandalf and Elrond feared to take the Ring to hide it and didn't like the idea of handling it too much either. Frodo Baggins bore it much longer than Sam ever did, and he took it all the way to Mount Doom, expieriencing severe moral, mental and physical torture along the way. He did the best he could and that was damn better than most, maybe better than anybody's best.

add to the list the fact that it was Frodo's choice to spare Gollum, the ultimate destroyer of the ring.

Gandalf was his advisor, Aragorn was his champion, and Sam was his friend and squire.

You could call Sam Frodo's hero, the wind beneath his wings so to speak, and I love him dearly, but I do believe the mantle of The Real Hero of the Story belongs to Frodo.

[RosieCotton]

Heck, you could consider Sauron the hero if you wanted. Without him there would have been no adventure and Sam, Frodo, and Gandalf wouldn't have become as heroic in our eyes. We would never even know about them! You could call the Balrog a hero...he took Gandalf away from the company, causing necessary things to happen, and then when Gandalf came back he was tougher, he was Gandalf the White.

[barrelrider110]

All those characters are villains, antagonists, bad guys, etc. which rules them out (unless your last post was intended to be sarcastic).

I thought that the purpose of this thread was to debate on who is the one singular individual whom you consider to be the hero of the story. If everyone who did something heroic could be considered "the hero" we wouldn't have a debate, would we?

[RosieCotton]

Originally posted by barrelrider110
All those characters are villains, antagonists, bad guys, etc. which rules them out (unless your last post was intended to be sarcastic).

I thought that the purpose of this thread was to debate on who is the one singular individual whom you consider to be the hero of the story. If everyone who did something heroic could be considered "the hero" we wouldn't have a debate, would we?

Sorry, barrelrider. You're right. My vote goes to Samwise Gamgee, with Frodo in a close second. I read somewhere that a definition of a hero is the person who grows through the most changes as a person (their personality, how they look at things, ect.) I have to vote for Sam.

[LuthienTinuviel]

Melkor is the hero. without him sauron would never have come about his evil ways..

[RosieCotton]

Originally posted by LuthienTinuviel
Melkor is the hero. without him sauron would never have come about his evil ways..

Now there is a new way to look at things There's no story without that rebellious Melkor.
~Rosie~

[Elenka]

I haven't finished the third book yet so I"m not in a position to make my full opinion, but at the time being, I would say Sam. He has a hero's heart. He stuck with Frodo until he thought Frodo died, and then he decided to continue the journey by himself. Very brave.