"…There was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."

Today, the birthday of our own dear, illustrious Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, marks the beginning of Hamlette's annual Tolkien Blog Party of Special Magnificence!  Click on the link to find out all the juicy details, and for directions to enter her giveaways!  I, for one, think it's all monstrous exciting;)


To kick it all off, Hamlette has put together a super list of questions for participants to answer on their blogs.  Let the festivities begin!

1. What draws you to Tolkien's stories? (The characters, the quests, the themes, the worlds, etc.)



The hope.

2. What was the first Middle Earth book you read and/or movie you saw? What did you think of it?
That would be The Fellowship of the Ring, non-extended edition.  Oh, dear.  Must I tell?  I've mentioned it in other posts, but I was shamefully unimpressed by the movies the first time I watched them.  I have repented, have no fear!

3. Name three of your favorite characters and tell us why you like them.
Faramir--because he's my favorite;)  I actually have difficulty describing exactly why I love him so, but I know it has to do with the fact that I pity him deeply (I always tend to love the characters I pity), and I admire him greatly.  He's had a pretty awful life, and still he remains strong yet gentle, firm yet compassionate.  Gah.  I JUST LOVE HIM, OKAY?

Galadriel--her backstory is fascinating.  (Go read The Silmarillion or Craig Bernthal's Tolkien's Sacramental Vision if you don't believe me.)  Originally an antiheroine, lustful for power and embracing conflict, Galadriel erred greatly in the untold centuries before the Age of the Ring, and since then has spent the interminable years in waning Lothlorien, regretting her misdeeds and struggling to conquer her power-hunger.  And she ultimately succeeds, becoming a beneficent beacon of hope, true strength, and radiance to the Fellowship and many others.

Frodo--you can read more about why here.  Not all of what I said in that post still applies, but I do think Frodo is slightly undervalued as a character, by me as well.  And since Hamlette kindly said three of and not your three, I can include him:D

4. Are there any secondary characters you think deserve more attention?





Maybe;)

5. What Middle Earth character do you relate to the most?
According to a Myers-Briggs chart I found on Pinterest, Galadriel, but I'm not sure how accurate that is.  I think I might actually relate to Faramir the most (not the whole father mentioning he'd rather I'd died instead of my brother, of course).  There are reasons, but we shan't go into them now:)  And if not Faramir, than the four hobbits, taken collectively.

6. If you could ask Professor Tolkien one Middle Earth-related question, what would you like to ask him?
"Where, in the cuckoo's name, did you learn to write?  I protest 'tis marvelous!"  (Yeah, I just recently reread The Scarlet Pimpernel.  This is what happens.)

7. Are there any pieces of Middle Earth merchandise you would particularly like to own, but don't?
Erm…none come to mind, but when I see Middle-earth merchandise I immediately gravitate toward it, of course.  I already have the Evenstar necklace, so I think my deepest craving has been fulfilled;D

8. What battle would you absolutely not want to be part of?
Eccckk--I dunno, maybe the Battle of Helm's Deep?  Or Aragorn's initial face-off with the Undead Army?

9. Would you rather eat a meal at the Rivendell or Bag End?
Well.  That's not impossibly hard at all, now, is it?:-P  Sheesh, I don't know!  Probably Rivendell.  Because, ya know, it'd mean I was in Rivendell.

10. List up to ten of your favorite lines/quotes from the books or movies.







Thank you so much, Hamlette!  Don't forget to click on the link at the beginning of the post to get in on all the Middle-earth fun!










Comments

  1. I need to get my answers together for this! I love yours though! Faramir tis amazing and yes Eomer needs more screen time!

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    1. Can't wait to read them, Lois!:D Thank you! I love Faramir and Éomer <3

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  2. Sniffle. Love that quote of Haldir's. Makes me feel like crying every time.

    Awww, Faramir. I do love him, both in book and film, although he made some bizarre choices in the film for TTT. Anyway, he's a noble and admirable man, well suited to be a hero and an excellent match for Eowyn.

    Hmm, yeah, Eomer could use some more story time, couldn't he? My sister would definitely agree with that.

    Yes, I totally agree that Frodo is undervalued. I absolutely adored him when I was a teenager. I've since grown past my Frodo phase, but he will always hold a special place in my heart. I can't imagine bearing his burden.

    I said The Battle of Helm's Deep too! There is no way I would want to be there, although I wouldn't have wanted to be charging Osgiliath with Faramir either. I think that is what is known as a fool's errand, although he didn't have much say in the matter.

    Such a fun party that Hamlette is hosting! Love it and I'm so happy to be participating this year!

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    1. Right?! It's just...gah. It's amazing.

      Thank you. It always makes me happy when people appreciate Faramir, even if he might not be their favorite character:)

      Yup. Éomer's pretty awesome.

      I know what you mean--going into it, I was convinced that Arwen would be my favorite character, and she's still very special to me:D

      Yes! Ooh, yeah, I didn't think of Osgiliath *shudders* I shan't talk about it, because if I talk about that incident for too long I become boiling mad:P

      I agree!

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  3. Okay, your answer for the first question gives me goosebumps. Well done! Well done, indeed.

    More Eomer would never be amiss :-)

    Helm's Deep is my answer as well. Blech, what a horrid place!

    BTW, you haven't added your post to the linky thing -- would you rather not, or have you just not gotten to it yet? Either way, I'm so glad you did the tag! I've greatly enjoyed reading your answers :-)

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    1. Yay! That makes me happy; thank you:)

      That's what I say;D

      Yes! I mean, I don't mind rain, but I wouldn't want to fight hordes of Orcs in it in the dead of night. Plus that battle never really "appealed" to me like some of the others have.

      Yes, about that--I just haven't gotten to it yet. I plan to, though!:) Thanks so much!

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  4. I like your answers for the secondary characters question(particularly Eomer). Beregond will always be my favorite minor character(partially just because nobody talks about him besides me). ;p Good post! :D

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    1. Thanks! Yeah, I was debating using Beregond--I'll always like him because, duh, he's one of the few decent-minded individuals in Gondor who treats Faramir well:D Thank you! Shall you be doing the tag?

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    2. Yup, I'm actually heading over to my blog to work on that now:)

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  5. Oooh!!! Your answer to question #1 is perfect. *happy sigh*

    Eómer. I like him a lot. He's a great contrast to Faramir *insert another happy sigh for Faramir* and I love his friendship with Aragorn. The most heartrending part with Éomer in the book is his response to Theoden's (and supposedly Éowyn's) death: "He stood a moment as a man who is pierced in the midst of a cry by an arrow through the heart;and then his face went deathly white, and a cold fury rose in him, so that all speech failed him for a while...'Éowyn, Éowyn!' he cried at last. 'Éowyn, how come you here? What madness or devilry is this? Death, death, death! Death take us all!"

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    1. Thaaaaaanks;D

      YES. Oh mah word, yes. That part--I can't--too many feels!

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  6. Oh yes!!!! I am about to post my answers!!!

    FARAMIR!!!!!!!!!!!!

    You have just increased my desire to read The Silmarillion!

    I can tell you have been reading TSP!!!!

    I loved your answers!!!

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    1. Yay!

      YUUUUUUSSSS!

      Oh, yes, I do recommend it! It's rather long and dry and a bit difficult to get into, but there's some awesome history in it and a couple really cool stories. Plus it makes one feel very well-versed in Middle-earth to have read it;)

      Haha, yup. I forgot how hilarious Sir Percy is!

      Thanks! I look forward to reading yours!:)

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  7. Okay, so I read this and I wasn't quite sure what to comment, because, even though it was lots of fun to read, I don't KNOW very much about LoTR and so I was thinking I couldn't contribute much to the discussion . . . but then I decided to read your Frodo post, too. And the photo at the bottom really made me smile :) Because, you see, I do know enough about LoTR to understand that, and it's just so cool. That's exactly what he did.

    It also reminded me of something I saw on Tumblr a little while ago, which, as a fellow INFJ, I think I should share with you:
    "INFJs CAN simply walk into Mordor."
    I really loved that, because it reminds me that it's good to be an INFJ--even though we're different in a lot of ways and that can be tough, just BEING so different allows us to do some things that nobody else can.
    Like simply walking into Mordor. :)

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    1. Haha, I'm so glad you decided to comment after all! Yeah, I had fun writing that post;D

      Ohhhh! Thank you! I love that. Hehe, I was on Pinterest, and I found a meme that had a picture of Vizzini, and the caption was something like: "Never go up against an INFJ when a philosophical argument is on the line!" And it made me smile:)

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    2. It's the truth, too :) Philosophical arguments are one of the few things that have the potential to make me really mad--which confuses a lot of my friends, because they think of me as a pretty quiet and even "mousy" sort of person and they don't see why I should get so worked up about ideas. To me, it makes perfect sense. I mean, ideas are one of the few things that really, truly matter. Why SHOULDN'T we be passionate about them? :)

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    3. Haha, exactly! I haven't been in that many philosophical arguments with people, but I have many in my mind. I'm nervous that when those opportunities to come up, all my well-processed thoughts will go right out the window:P But I'm sure God will help me:)

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    4. He will! He's helped me with that a lot throughout my college career :) It's also the sort of thing that gets way easier with practice, so don't be discouraged if you feel like you don't do very well the first couple of times. The most important thing, I guess, is just stay calm and try to really listen to what the other person says, so that you can respond effectively but nicely at the same time.

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    5. That's so encouraging! Thank you:)

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  8. I like your answer to the first question. The hope. YES!!
    Faramir, he's so awesome, sweet, kind, and more!! :)
    I like all of your quotes!! :D

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    1. Thanks!:)
      YUSS. He is. I wuvs him:D
      Thank ya kindly!

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  9. Oh, I love this muchly. All the pictures, everything. Seriously, I have nothing to say because you've said it all. :-P Speechless - that must be a first for me!
    Oh, and I love Faramir. And Eomer NEEDS more time in the book and movie. Galadriel is amazing. I'm learning to appreciate Frodo a lot more. Yes, and yes and yes. 'Nuff said.
    ~Miss Meg

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    1. Haha, thank you, Miss Meg! It's so nice to have so many fellow fans:)

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  10. Okay, first off, I ADORE that first picture.
    You have made me so darn excited to read more about Faramir/see him in the movies!!!!!
    Oh wow...didn't know that about Galadriel! I need to put The Simarillion on my to-read list.
    That question for Tolkien is perfection. Ha! You read TSP! How did you like it??
    You have Arwen's necklace.....I won't jealous. I won't.

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    1. SQUEE I KNOW RIGHT?! (Psssst: it's Faramir and Éowyn in the extended RotK.)

      Yay! That makes me happy:D

      Yeah, neither did I! It kind of surprised me...

      Heehee, thank you, I had fun with it;) Yeah, I hadn't read it in a while so I thought it was about time for a re-read:) In some ways I enjoyed it more than the first couple times I read it, and in other ways I didn't. What about you?
      Hee;D So it's actually a really sweet story--we do this Secret Santa kind of thing with we siblings, and my brother was mine, so he very secretively ordered it for me. And then it didn't come until after Christmas, and when I opened the package and saw the Ring logo on it I started to freak out, and then there it was!!!:) But I didn't think I'd ever get it, so you might still yet!

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    2. Heehee, thank you. I'm SO excited for the next movies!! I just need to finish reading TTT. (And RotK, of course)

      Awww, that is SO sweet! You must have a really great brother. ;)

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    3. SQUEEE I can't wait to hear what you think of RotK especially:D

      Yeah, I do;)

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  11. Bravo!!!! Lovely answers! I love Faramir as well. =D

    I have yet to read the Scarlet Pimpernel, (It has been highly suggested by my sister and friends) but I will this year for school!

    ~Jacqueline

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    1. Thank you, Jacqueline! Faramir forever <3

      I'm sure you'll love it! It's great fun:)

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  12. Faramirrrrrrrrrr! I <3 him so much! =D Will have to do this tag and fun fact a friend who mine (who is studying acting) actually got to meet and work alongside the guy that played him!

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    1. Yuuuuuuussss! *gasp* NO THEY DID NOT! That's so cool! Oh, yeah, he's Australian, isn't he? That's so fun; thank you for telling me!:D

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    2. *gasp* Yes they did!! I know right!
      I nearly fainted when I got the text "heya, so um pinch me I just met Faramir. Hhehe?"
      XD Yes yes he is, no worries!

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    3. That's just...mindblowingly awesome:D

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