Who is the hero of Lord of the Rings?

[Alcuin]

Who do you consider the foremost hero of Lord of the Rings?

[Earniel]

Well, define hero, I suppose. :p

If you look at what has passed for hero in literature before, the one who is the champion of good, who wins battles and hearts, and gets crowned king then Aragorn is your man. Little contest.

And for a long while Aragorn would have been my first answer, but as 'hero' and 'heroic' over time also acquired other definitions in my mind, I'd say there are other contenders.

If you consider a hero, not because he won due to physical or tactical prowess, but because he rose above his station, conquered personal challenges (which may be small compared to the scale of war or social revolution) who managed feats thought to be unachievable to him or her, then pretty much everyone one of the main characters becomes a contender. Sam and Frodo definitely come forward in that mind set.

Or do you like your heroes to be the sacrificial kind, then Boromir and Gandalf take a step forward.

Let's just face it, Tolkien had a hero for everything and everyone! :D

[Attalus]

I believe that JRRT said that Sam was the hero.:heart:

[Gandalf-the-White]

Totally agree with Eärniel,

I never considered there was one main hero in LOTR.

To me the books are centered around the story rather than one character.
That's what makes the books so great and immersive in my opinion (similarly to Asimov's Foundation in a way).

I clearly wanted to vote for Gandalf but that wouldn't be fair.
Too bad the poll doesn't have an option like "no primary hero"!

[Earniel]

Welcome to the Entmoot, Gandalf the White. :)

[kralizec]

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