The LOTR Movie Site October 2, 2000 Silly Questions Can Have Real
Answers In response to the Lady of the Golden Woods, the "silly
question" of who is the hero of the Lord of the Rings was initially asked by those
silly poll masters. It was, in fact, the sheer ridiculousness of the question that
actually started the debate, but since then, I think we've moved beyond this to ask what
exactly it is that makes each of those many characters a hero (or not a hero, whichever).
That, to my mind, is not a silly question, and the fact that so many people are responding
indicates to me that there is a real issue here. Each of us harbors a certain idea of
heroism, and we look for an expression of that idea not only in our fantasy lives
but also (and perhaps in vain) in the real world. And that matters far more than who we
define as the hero of LOTR, though our choices in that area help us to identify our
particular definition of heroism. |