Monday, February 4, 2008
Strider
I know this was a few chapters back... but I seriously love the way Tolkien made Strider appear to be an enemy at the inn in Bree when he's actually a good guy. In literature, dark colors almost always seem to represent evil and Strider dresses in dark green. As he sat and "watched the hobbits," "he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen." Yikes! Furthermore, the way he had earlier followed the hobbits over the gate entering Bree and later secretly followed the hobbits to their room at night. What a creep! My hair stood on end, but he turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to them. So far, that has been the best part of the story. Anyone agree?
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7 comments:
I don't know if you have watched the movie Danae, but when I first saw it and Strider appeared, I thought that he was the enemy. I was certain he was going to capture them or something when he jumped up after them. It's neat to see the way he is represented in the book too.
Strider seems to follow the classic "outlaw" hero mold. Someone who is good, but lives on the fringe of society. Think Han Solo in Star Wars.
This is one of the classic hero types in mythology.
I would agree with you here, that it does seems like Strider is the dark mystical hero, but I think that that is only 1/2 his persona. If you've read the books or watched the movies before, you see that he has another persona of the heroic king, or Aragorn. Might be a stretch, but I think his name, Aragorn, almost sounds pure.
I agree with megan I was thinking that Strider was going to be the ultimate enemy of the story. I think I may have connected Strider with evil because the black riders and their black hoods and then Strider with his hood. The book kept me interested to see who Strider was and why he was there.
I might be wrong, but after talking about Beowulf and the characteristics of a hero, Strider seems to fit that description. Somewhat "cocky" but not overly confident. After reading and the class discussion I get that similarity.
I'm not sure if I think that Strider was cocky or full of "hubris," instead I think that the introduction of his character was at first deceitful but very so neccessary in the manor. I believe that if Strider would have said from the begging who he was who he knew and what his true place was...it would have cause more than the uproar of them leaving Bree. After reading chapters 1 and 2 in book 2, you find that Strider had many names in many different places. Bilbo had another name for him and so on...I think for the safety of Frodo and the rest of the hobbits (since they talk too much) that the less they new, the better off they were.
now that the lectures on beowulf are through, i definitely agree that strider and Beowulf have striking similarities. Although Strider does not get to show the range of his power yet, i know that he eventually shows great power and courage continiously throughout the trilogy. this all with the help of the fallen kings sword of coarse. Beowulf has this type of man strength about him that seems unrealistic and magical. they both come off as possible enemies in each of the stories when they are introduced but this is only to get a reaction from the characters they meet. they both have to proove themselves through story and battle in order to prove to the characters they meet that they are indeed on their side. this is important when comparing the two characters and important when talking about the heros of stories and what is involved with the hero and their role.
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