Legolas and Gimli did not get a big enough part in the three books do you agree?

[Legolas_BowKing]

I dont think that Legolas and Gimli got enough time in the book as perhaps they deserved.
We did not here nearly enough about there growing friendship and there idears on the world. All the stuff that was learnt about them was just a Elf, Dwarf stero type.
So do you think that the true personality of these to wonderful beings was not put across all that well in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy?

[Legolas]

Well, in fact you're right, fellow from Mirkwood. But, I liked Legolas most just because he's so secretive and so little there is written about him.
BTW, Legolas seems to be very popular. I think there are about 4 Legolases on the boards.

[Mirkgirl]

Actualy Legolas has always recieved enough attention from the readers.

But poor Gimli!

[Radagast]

I think dwarves should have gotten a larger part generally.

[sbpollo1]

It is strange to me that as I read the books when I was younger, Legolas and Gimli seemed to have a much larger role than when I read again and again. Odd how your mind's vision changes with time.

[markedel]

Dwarves are always shafted. Tolkien doesn't give them enough space. And he never tells us what happens to them either.

[CardenIAntauraNauco]

And look at the corpus for the dwarven language as compared to the corpus of Quenya. We know about 13 impractical words in Khuzdul and 1000 or more (including suffixes and plurals and such) in Quenya.

I really wish the dwarves would have more history and background.

[Laurelyn]

Well, the lack of dwarvish language in the books is due to the fact that dwarves taught their language to just about nobody!

[mrs legolas]

I think that Legolas and Gimli had enough parts in the books...though I am only starting the 2nd...so I'll let you know what I think when I'm done...but so far they do have more parts than they do in the movie...poor Legolas hardly got any lines in the movie....:(

[CardenIAntauraNauco]

Exactly, I wish he would have given them there own language not just a "secret" language that they only used in places not described by the book.

[Ñólendil]

I never felt Gimli and Legolas got snubbed. I think we got enough of them alright and I certainly don't think we only got 'stereotypes'. There's two kind of Gimli/Legolas stereotypes I know of: the first is the one they had for eachother as characters, which was put away with altogether in Lothlórien. The second is the Dwarf/Elf stereotype other people outside the story give them, including Peter Jackson.

[Foul_Dwimmerlaik]

Remember that there was no Dwarf/Elf stereotype until The Lord of the Rings.

[Wayfarer]

Begone, Foul dwimmerlaik, ere I smite you!

Or something... ;)

Actually, tolkien did use a large amount of background information from other sources. Thus his dwarves are smiths, and his elves are fair and powerful. His world is certainly quite similar in many respects to various legends, and the current stereotype didn't arise for what, forty years after the publishing of LOTR?

[FrodoFriend]

I think they get enough of a part. To me, their friendship was always very powerful and an important part of the book, and that's shown really well.

[CardenIAntauraNauco]

I think Legolas and Gimli got a big enough part. I would like to have more information about the dwarves. Why do you suppose Tolkien didn't give them a very big part as compared to the Elves?

[Wayfarer]

I think it was because ME was predominantly an 'elvish' work. Tolkien wasn't interested in the dwarves in the same way... the were part of the legendarium but he didn't develop thier language, history, and etc in the same way.

[Legolas]

As I from some posts, a language forum is much needed. There we may discuss Tolkien's languages, and some linguists may provide better info and some thoughts about more words in 'secret' langs.
Do you agree?

[Ñólendil]

It's been suggested to me a couple times. Maybe. I'm not sure the forum would get enough posters.

[FrodoFriend]

I would go, but probably just to listen in. (Don't speak Quenya or Sindarin - yet!)

[Legolas]

Thiat forum wouldn't of course mean that you must speak Quenya or Sindarin or Khuzdul or any other Tolkien lang to post there. There might be some great threads for ones who learn Quenya etc, to polish their skills.

[Mithrandir]

I think Tolkien did a great job to included them once and awhile but not go far into detail about them. Tolkien gave the reader just enoguh information about Legolas and Gimli to leave you wondering about them and what sorts of adventures and travels they would take. I especially liked how they each promised each other to travel and see all the great sites one day. Beautiful stuff :)

[Nariel Starfire]

I think that they had fairly small parts in the books (okay, UNfairly small parts). They were not given enough credit and were just seen as extras, you know to make nine.

In the movie, however, they were largely ignored. I mean what's that all about anyway- Legolas kills the troll and they all focus on Frodo, who wasn't even hurt that badly. I do hope they have that scene in the Two Towers where Gimli and Legolas are playing their little morbid game of "Whack-an-Orc". Speaking of which, wouldn't that be a cool arcade game?

[barrelrider110]

Originally posted by Legolas_BowKing
I dont think that Legolas and Gimli got enough time in the book as perhaps they deserved.
We did not here nearly enough about there growing friendship and there idears on the world. All the stuff that was learnt about them was just a Elf, Dwarf stero type.
So do you think that the true personality of these to wonderful beings was not put across all that well in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy?

I would be more interested in exactly how they went from antagonists to friends. It's evident that the emnity between the two stems from ages of racial strife, and I think the Professor was trying to make a point here, (that we can all live together in spite of our differences) and could have gone a bit further.

The book says they became inseparable in Lothlorien, which is an unlikely place to me. They fought together in the pitched battle in Moria and I thought that they would have bonded then and there. However upon entering in Lothlorien, it's apparent that they still bear some of the old grudges of their peoples.

I don't think that Gimli and Legolas necessarily deserved more time, because their frienship did not bear the burden of the quest as Sam and Frodo, although I would have liked to have read more about the metamorphosis of their friendship.

[Radagast]

Don't you all love Dwarves? :D

[Legolas_BowKing]

You have all came up with some great points.

[Ñólendil]

The book says they became inseparable in Lothlorien, which is an unlikely place to me. They fought together in the pitched battle in Moria and I thought that they would have bonded then and there. However upon entering in Lothlorien, it's apparent that they still bear some of the old grudges of their peoples.

I think it had a lot to do with the words exhanged between Gimli, Celeborn and Galadriel. Legolas must have observed the error of Racism.

[Araethirion]

Well, I think Tolkien didn't include thm in as much, and I would have liked them in more. Legolas and Gimli's main role in the book was to really teach a lesson: No matter race, height, history etc., you can associtate and become friends with them, no matter what others say.