by Joseph Brown

Created on: July 12, 2008

The best character of the brilliant trilogy is Samwise Gamgee, followed closely by Faramir. This is because practically everyone in the fellowship is strong enough and skilled enough to not die so you know what's going to happen to them (except for Boromir's death which took me totally by surprise). All the hobbits are young and naive, and Frodo knows enough about Middle-Earth to not get in danger too much. Take Legolas for example. He has excellent sight, and hearing, a great bow and great in combat. With a profle like that how could he fail. Same thing goes for Gimli as well. Aragorn also is like this except he has more character development then the other two as he has Arwen to think about. He is also the heir of Numenor so he is afraid that the past will pass judgement on him and not for what his ancestors did. But still he is strong and intelligent enough to survive and this is obvious, therefore you know that he isn't going to die, making a poor character. A good character you don't know what is going to happen to him/her, and it's all a mystery until the end.

Sam is quite like Merry and Pippin except in the fact that he grows and learned quickly. Sam doesn't know much about Middle-Earth yet he journeys far and wide across it's lands with his undying loyalty to his master Frodo, who gets most of the credit for this work. But Sam is unlike Frodo as when he took the ring from Frodo when he thought he was dead, he returned it to him. According to Tolkien giving up the One Ring willingly is not something to be taken lightly. Frodo was practically screaming at everyone when they wanted the ring. Even in the land of Mordor he still put on the ring thinking it will save him. Sam on the other hand kept it hidden and safe, and carried Frodo up the volcano as he knew that Frodo would kill him if he took his ring again. And even when Frodo turned and in the Crack of Doom took the ring for himself, he still stayed with his master to the end, even though betrayed, saved his life in the end. He was constantly overshadowed by Frodo, but Sam has got to be the best character.

Faramir is like Sam in many ways, such as being overshadowed by Boromir his whole life. And his undying loyalty to his father even after his father admits that he'd rather have Faramir dead is priceless. He doesn't just ride into death when he tries to retake Osgiliath, he knows he is riding into certain death at Osgiliath. Yet he sticks by his family to the end, eventually until his father is dead. And even though his brother Boromir gets so much more than him, he sticks by his father. And not only that, but he actually gives up a chance in taking the One Ring from Frodo, which is saying alot. Like his better brother Boromir, he was given a choice, take the ring from Frodo, or let him have it. Boromir took the first choice which soon led to his death. Faramir however, took the noble cause and let Frodo have the ring despite his father's wishes. Faramir loved his brother much and wanted to be like him, but in this one way he would not be like Boromir. He would not bring the One Ring to Minas Tirith as he knew that path led to certain doom.

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