In-Class Exercise: The Two Towers, Book IV, Chapters 1-6

In this exercise, we discussed how Tolkien created and managed to include each character's perspective within his stories. It was really interesting to see that in ensuring that each character's, even if they are not main characters, point of view is shown we are able to understand all sides of the story and develop attachments to all characters. Tolkien's ability to do this is really amazing and just goes to show how great of a writer he was. For this exercise, our group decided to focus on Faramir's perspective. We decided that it's important to note that, in his actions and despite the fact that he could have taken the ring from Frodo to better his relationship with his father, Faramir respected Frodo and Sam's mission, helping them even. Clearly, he values doing the right thing, putting the interests of all of Middle Earth above his own. Also, his honorable actions kind of puts Boromir's character into perspective in that the two brothers seem pretty different. While Boromir was aware of the stakes of the Fellowship's quest, he remained prideful and attempted to take the ring from Frodo. Faramir, having no prior knowledge of Frodo and Sam's quest and no reason to trust them other than their word, allows Frodo to leave with the ring, even attempting to protect him from Gollum. All in all, it is clear that perspective is crucial to a successful, intriguing, and well-rounded story.