Lúthien Foil

An example is when in the three movies and the book series, Aslan is portrayed as a noble and powerful creation of Narnia. In the movies, Aslan is portrayed as king, protective, loving and even noble which is part of his character. In the book series, he is portrayed as a father figure to every character, talking to animals, playful and even having a sense of humor. For instance in the book, the Prince of Caspian, Aslan is shown as humorous when he attempts to make the Trufflehunter have belief in him through the picking of the dwarf with his mouth and giving a big shake. In the Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan is portrayed as playful. This is seen immediately he comes back from the dead and begins playing with Lucy and Susan for them to try catching

Tolkien builds the characters through indirect characterization to provide the readers insight on the character. As Tolkien introduces Bilbo, he helps to build his personality. Bilbo's personality shows through when all the dwarves are entering his house and he wonders "whether they would stay [for] supper" (Tolkien 10). Through this you can tell that

Throughout history, women have been expected to fit into a rigid gender stereotype. Women in the early 1900s would be expected to care for children, be able to do household duties and obey everything their husbands instructed. Those women that did not fit the stereotype were looked down upon by members of society and were often alienated. Edna, the protagonist of the novel, had to battle her inner conflict of not wanting to conform to society's standards throughout the novel. Over, and over again, she was reminded of the fact that she was different and that society did not approve of her way of thinking. In the novel The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the author uses the characters and their actions in society to express the oppression and expectations society had towards women.

The Queen Guinevere's pride was wounded when she gets rejected by Lanval. Queen Guinevere offers herself to Lanval saying he could have anything he desires. Lanval rejects her by telling her he won't betray his king and that he

It would possess him" (70). After having said this, he tells Frodo how this ring of doom originated. Clearly, Gandalf is wise enough to know that behind all that power lies weakness and evil. Even if one might first use the ring for something good and meaningful to others, it will eventually possess that person and make that person the slave to the ring. Galadriel even knows this quite well. Frodo offers her the ring, since he believes she deserves it the most and also knows how to control it. When Frodo tells her this, Galadriel seems to be strongly tempted to take the power offered by Frodo. She tells him, "For many long years I had pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands, and behold!" (431). The exclamation point reveals to us how Galadriel might be really taken in by the thought of power at this moment and how raptured she is in this thought. But, she too is wise as Gandalf is. In the end, she even tells Frodo, "We will not speak more of it" (431). She knows that even speaking about such power can bring about destruction. Interestingly though, Galadriel seems to be almost crazy at this moment, presenting herself to Frodo while relating to him what "good" she could bring to her elves. The ring is so alluring. Too much of a good thing cannot last long. She is

Character traits are important to literary elements because they help the reader get an understanding of who they are reading about. Beowulf is a part of a medieval tribe called the Geats (Shmoop… Beowulf), he is represented as a heroic figure who puts everyone else’s safety before his own. He was willing to risk his life in order to save the city of Herot from the evil monster Grendel, who feeds off of the citizens. “That mighty protector of men Meant to hold the monster till its life Leaped out” (Beers #23). In this excerpt from Beowulf, Beowulf is fighting the monster Grendel in the town of Herot. He is risking his life to save all the citizens he possibly can from this monster who tortures this town daily. “Grendel escaped, But wounded as he was could flee to his den, Only to die, to wait for the end Of all his days.” (Beers #24). Beowulf was able to defeat Grendel after putting up a hard fight. Grendel flees from Herot back to his home to die. The morning after the victory the townspeople cheered on Beowulf (Shmoop… Beowulf) for saving them and honored his bravery for

Galadriel and Eowyn are two of the strongest and most notable women in Middle-Earth; however, they are being misrepresented throughout the text. There are many other notable women in The Lord of the Rings, such as Goldberry, Arwen, and Shelob, but their presence is not very consistent throughout the novel. Galadriel and Ewoyn both exhibit typically masculine qualities; however, these positive attributes are only mentioned when accompanied by sexualized accounts of their beauty. Galadriel is both wise and powerful, yet her beauty is her most prominent characteristic. Eowyn is very brave, but she is reduced to being a damsel in distress. This phenomenon can also be observed in the coverage of women’s sports within modern media, as the

Beowulf killed Grendal's mother just like Grendal. He fought again with no regards of the possible outcomes. He did it for the glory he would receive from the kill. Hrothgar compliments Beowulf after killing Grendal's mom by saying "forever you will be your people's mainstay and your warriors helping hand”. (Beowulf,1707-1709). Hrothgar is one who tries to understand a man's mortality. He informs Beowulf that he should "learn true values and he has wintered into wisdom”. (Beowulf,1722-1724). He alerts Beowulf to the notion that one day he will die. Hrothgar tells Beowulf that no amount of treasure or victories can gain a man's immortality. Beowulf is advised to not act as Heremod once did. Heremod's rule only brought "death and destruction to the Danish people.’(Beowulf,1712-1713). He killed his “fellow comrades” and vented rage on any who wrong him. (Beowulf,1713-1715). Hrothgar does not want Beowulf to be absent minded and ignore the "shape of things to come."(Beowulf,1752). It appears that Hrothgar wants Beowulf to be cautious of his actions. He tells Beowulf to choose "eternal rewards" and not "give way to pride."(Beowulf,1760). That is Hrothgar's approach to Beowulf about having and representing Christen behaviors. The course of all the advice given by Hrothgar was because he wanted Beowulf to accept his mortality. He told Beowulf that although his "strength is in bloom it will fade

Tolkien, let the story unfold: Unfettered by the chains of innovation and not blinded by its obscuration of reality, the story itself, had the characters tackle the battles, the triumphs, and the disappointments of the actual good and spiritual humans. That is the thing that great narratives do. The reader is especially attracted to the story in light of the fact that the reader gets the chance to know and admire the real, not cardboard, characters, and the characters are genuine in the light of the fact that they have souls, displaying fundamental goodness in the midst of failings and ready to settle on choices in spite of knowing that choices are however a piece of a bigger story. The reader partakes in a mythic universe of Middle-earth and experiences there—without allegory or specific

For instance, in The Odyssey, the protagonist was Odysseus, while in the movie, it was Ulysses. These two men are so similar that they could be replicas of each other: one from the past and one from the present. They both have a fatal flaw that results in difficulty in getting home. Odysseus’ downfall was his pride; he thought that the world revolved around him. Thus, this resulted in Odysseus not seeing the error of his ways and not making better decisions. On the other hand, Ulysses’ constant concern for his hair held back the group. It was Ulysses’ fault because he left behind a trail for the police dogs with his hair nets and hair gel. Without him, the crew would have made it home safer and

In the book After the Ending, Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh the two main characters, Danielle and Zoe, were foils of each other. Zoe’s brother, Jason, perfectly summarized the two when he described Zoe as “serious and pessimistic” and Danielle as one who “sees the glass half full.” Their appearances also balance each other out, as Jason pictured Danielle as “vivacious, with bright red curls,” whereas Zoe is “dark, but with eyes as bright as the ocean.” When Jason described the two girls, he illustrated that even though both their looks and personalities are completely opposite, these yin and yang qualities are what bonded them together and created their mile-deep friendship. In addition, those different attributes and how they are foils

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy implements problematic ideas of women. As noted by Glenn, Ginsberg, and King, "Often female characters are portrayed as inferior to male characters and are not represented proportionately. The Lord of the Rings is no exception to this unequal representation. The trilogy has only three significant female characters: Arwen, Galadriel, and Eowyn and not one of these women is part of the Fellowship. They also have very small roles. The trilogy is dominated by male characters who are deemed more significant in most ways." (Glenn, Ginsberg, King, 2008) The portrayal of female being inferior to their male counterparts is personified by the character of Eowyn. Throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy, all of the male characters are shown as

“Opposites attract.” This is a very cliché quote used by physicists and other scientific personnel, but it rings true in many different ways. In literature, the correct term for a character that sets off or enhances another character by contrast is called a “foil.” Pairs of characters that are foils to each other have very opposing views and personalities, but their presence with each other illustrates the qualities in a better light. The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a fictional novel which includes a main character named Okonkwo. Okonkwo has some very distinguishing features about him, but the fact that he has a foil in the novel

As more of a side character in The Fellowship of the Ring, we see hardly any of Aragorn’s inner feelings and emotion, just what Frodo himself perceives. However, through the appendixes, I know of the great love between Aragorn son of Arathorn and the Lady Arwen Undómiel; daughter of Lord Elrond and Evenstar of her people. Betrothed before the story starts, there is little seen through the Fellowship of the ring to even suggest a relationship between the two. Yet, with the information from the appendixes, much can be interpreted from the few mentions made of the lovers. For example, when Aragorn mentions his heart lies in Rivendell, or when he breathes Arwen's name to a flower upon Cerin Amroth- the hill in Lothlórien where they were betrothed

Arwen’s most prominent significant relationship is with Aragorn, which in itself is a conflicted one. While Arwen’s desire is to be with him, she puts her duties to her people and her father before him. However, in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation, she validates the significance of her relationship with Aragorn by gifting him the Evenstar in the form of a pendant, the object representation of herself (Arwen’s name means Evenstar), to be kept with