Tools of Characterization

Characterization in The Fellowship of the Ring

Props

Galadriel gives each of the fellowship members a gift to take with them on their journey. Legolas is given a special bow… that one's pretty straightforward: he's an archer. Pippin and Marry are given elven daggers, a sign of their bravery. They've gone from pilfering cabbages to slaying orcs in a matter of months, which is pretty dang impressive.

Sam is given a rope, which he is reasonably disappointed with. But the rope is a sign of Sam's pragmatism, and his usefulness and steadfast nature; just like elven rope, Sam will never let you down.

Aragorn isn't given a gift because he already has something that cannot be surpassed: the love and sacrifice of another, symbolized in a movie-exclusive (and highly marketable) piece of jewelry.

Gimli, overcome with embarrassment, asks for a strand of Galadriel's hair (it's not like he could really carry another axe anyway), showing that he can value the beauty of something other than gold.

Boromir gets ripped off. Galadriel, being able to see the future, probably didn't want to waste any of her precious items on a soon-to-be dead man anyway.

Finally, Frodo gets a phial with the light of a star, Eärendil, to guide him through dark places. We know he's going to Mordor, traveling through Emyn Muil and the Dead Marshes, but somehow "dark places" seems more like a metaphor.

Type of Being

Race in Lord of the Rings is used as a classic tool of characterization (and before you argue that "race" could be replaced with "species," remember that the offspring of inter-species conception are infertile, and we're pretty sure half-elves are still makin' babies).

Men are men: smart, ingenious, adaptive, ignorant, and destructive. Their good intentions easily turn into mistakes. Then there are elves: wise with age, fair and agile, in tune with the earth, arrogant and prideful. Dwarves are known to be a hardy, thriving people, expert craftsmen, and very stubborn, greedy, and Niffler-like in their desire of everything shiny. Finally, hobbits: they're not particularly wise (and certainly not adventurous), but they can be cunning, and loyal, and good of heart.

So really, you already know half of everything about Legolas, Gimli, and the rest of the fellowship just by looking at them and determining their race.

Of course, there are always those who break the mold… so our main characters might not be so stereotypical after all.

Actions

You see a small, golden ring on the table in front of you. You're told that this ring is evil. Do you a) suggest you should have the ring because being all-powerful sounds pretty sweet b) sit there and look at it, listening to it purr the sound of your name with its slippery, black tongue. c) smash it with an axe! d) start correcting peoples' mistakes and calling them names because they obviously know nothing about this ring (unlike you).

We probably don't need to tell you who each of these actions belongs to. The point is that the first time we meet many of Fellowship's main characters, we get a snapshot of their personalities based on how they respond to the Ring.