Heroic Characters in The Lord of the Rings Saga

Throughout literary history, heroes are usually described as being good looking and tall. People who are categorized as heroes need to have a distinguished courage and heroes are often rewarded for their courageous and noble acts. A hero needs to be liked by the inhabitants of his or her country because he or she committed a heroic act such saving a child who has fallen into a well. In many books, the character with all of the heroic qualities is often the main character. Although some characters from the Lord of the Rings saga perfectly fit this description like Aragorn and Boromir, most heroic characters in this novel are quite unlikely. Frodo and his friends are unusual creatures called Halfling, more popularly called Hobbits. Before Frodo set out on his journey, an Elf lord named Elrond formed a group of elites to follow, protect and serve Frodo on his journey to Mount Doom. This group is undoubtedly a queer group of people. And, throughout the novel we encounter many odd characters who—in the long run—were great help and great heroes in their own way such as the jolly Iarwain Ben-adan (Tom Bombadil).

First of all, Hobbits. Absolutely no history tells of how or when the Halflings, one of the shortest people in all of Middle Earth, entered this world. What the readers do know is that Halflings, or Hobbits, are close relative to men. Even though they are closely related to men, when the race of men was rising in power Hobbits were little to no use since they were approximately half the size of an averagely statured man and are fairly weak. All Hobbits whether male or female, share many similar characteristics. Every Hobbit measures averagely between two and four feet in height. Hobbits are well fed and jolly people who have curl...

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...likely heroes even though they might not have the physical attributes of a hero. The unconsciously help people which is quite heroic.

In conclusion, the novel Lord of the Rings is chalked full of unlikely heroes that all contribute to the destruction of the one ring—except Sauron, obviously—and these heroes can be found all around Middle Earth. Be it the small Hobbits from the shire, or the fair Elves from the middle of Mirkwood forest. Unlikely or strange people play huge parts in the novel. Starting with The Hobbits from the shire, small weird creatures and then a group of friends that call themselves the fellowship of the ring; and ending with smaller unlikely characters such as Tom Bombadil and Barlima Buttbur. The message that J.R.R Tolkien sends us is that heroes do not always have to be tall, smart, good-looking or handsome they come in all shapes and sizes.