Frodo's Role in The Two Towers

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Does Frodo actualy become useful in a fight in the 2 towers or return of the king? he seemed pretty useless in the movie of the fellowship of the ring.

 

Yeah, all he ever did was either come very close to dying or scream for help. But then again he's only a little Hobbit for the Shire, so don't to be hard on him .

 

hehehe i suspect that he's no ordinary hobbit though, or that could just be my imagination again

oh no... the voices are in my head oh my god HELP MEEEEEEEEE AAARRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH

 

He is never "usefull", but he does carriy the ring to Mount Doom. Few others could have done that.

 

Yep, that is his greatest deed. He is a hobbit that eats and makes fun but absolutely isn't used to adventure. He will become useful when he "charms" Gollum, in the fight with Shelob, in the fight with the Cave-troll in Moria. The other hobbits are more useful indeed... Frodo's power wan't in his strength and combat skills.

 

As I remember from the books, in FoR Frodo was actually the best fighter of the hobbits - not as good as the others in the Fellowship who were properly trained, but still able to hold his own. Later on, as he suffers more from the burden of the Ring, he is less able to fight (and conversely, the other hobbits gain more skill). I think the film missed out on this, assuming that it was more important to show Frodo as a "little person" undertaking a great task which you would think was beyond his means.

 

Frodo and Sam where both no adventurers at all and the courage that was deep inside them was only awaken by love for thing (for frodo by the love of his master for example)

Frodo had the best Sword maybe... but he wasn't the best fighter at all. Can you tell me where he does fighting in the book? Only against Shelob.. and that he lost without Sam.

 

I can't remember as much as I'd like to (as I haven't read the book for a while); but Frodo fights in at least two parts of FoR. On top of Weathertop he stabs the Witch-King with his barrow-sword - though it doesn't hit the wraith, or it would have been destroyed. In Moria, when the orcs are trying to enter the Chamber of Mazarbul, Frodo stabs the orc chieftain in the foot which is trying to open the door, forcing him to withdraw. Aragorn's quote is (something like) "One for The Shire! You have a good blade, Frodo son of Drogo." I think that he tends to back up Aragorn in that and similar fights, but can't remember more details. Obviously after book 1 Frodo can't fight due to the nature of the mission, and then the strain of bearing the Ring, but he's no coward.

 

Ehm, it is obvious that you haven't read the book for ages:

On the Weathertop, the hobbits and strider escape without a fight. Frodo has Sting, Merry has that sword but he stabs and damages the witchking in part 3 of the story, at the battle on the Pellanor Fields.

In the chambers in Moria where the Fellowship fights, Frodo stabs a Cave Troll that only with his feet and arms past the door (so not in a real fight) for the Troll disappears after that bite.

Frodo was no coward but again, he was no great fighter, not used to combat... his strength was in something else.

 

Um, Headbanger, the only thing he got wrong was the Moria-thing... Frodo does not have Sting on Weathertop, he has a barrow-sword, just like the others. They are in a fight there, and Frodo does stab one of the Ringwraiths, although he only hit it's cloak (the sword isn't destroyed). Then Strider comes to his help, fighting off the wraiths (who retreat because they think their task is almost accomplished) with two burning sticks.
And don't say I don't remember, I read this chapter yesterday.

But you are right when you say that Frodo's strength lies somewhere else.

 

Of course, it was a cave troll, not an orc chieftain; that came in later. Yet, of the four hobbits, Frodo is the one in FoR who who shows most courage and ability to stick up for himself, even though he isn't very good at fighting per se. As well as those two incidents, he has the presence of mind to call Tom Bombadil in the Barrow, and defies the Nazgûl at the Ford of Bruinen. I think Frodo must have gained by being brought up by Bilbo; I wonder how he would have developed if he hadn't had the Ring or gone to Mordor - Merry and Pippin did very well for themselves, starting off with even less skill and strength of character than Frodo.

 

As Strider clearly says after te weathertop incident, it was more Frodo´s invoking of Elbereth and Gilthoniel that hurt the Black Rider than his pathetic sword he found in the barrow downs.
And Sting, given to Frodo by Bilbo in Rivendell, was IIRC not given to Merry, the sword he uses on the battle on the Pellanor Fields, was given to him on behalf of his service to King Theoden, was it not ?

 

No, the sword wasn't pathetic - as Merry showed using a similar sword at Pelennor Fields. It was in fact forged when the Dúnedain were fighting the Witch-King 1500 years ago, and would have hurt him badly - if it had hit him. But the fact that the sword survived showed that Frodo hadn't made contact with the wraith (bold, desperate, but not enough skill for that battle).
Merry didn't receive a sword from Théoden - he is given a mail shirt and a shield, but Théoden cannot find a sword to suit his stature, so Merry offers up his own Barrow-sword to the King (with some flowery language).

 

Merry gets his own blade from Tom Bombadil, who found the sword in hte lair of the Ghost that captured them in the Barrow-Dawns, and with that he stabs the Witch King of Angmar, the leader of the Nazgul. The Barrow-swords aren't pathetic but indeed one of the best weapons against this evil. I can't remember anything about a fight on Amon Sul, the Weathertop though. The only thing I can remember is they saw signs of Gandalf and then also black riders but they where able to escape and later, later, in the forests they where attacked and Frodo was stabbed by one of the Ringwraiths but Frodo only puts on the ring and doesn't stab a nazgul iirc. But that wasn't on the weathertop but half a day later. Or did I forgot that part?!

Frodo had a barrow-sword until Rivendell, there he gets Sting and the Mithril Shirt from Bilbo.

 

There was a fight on Weathertop, at the same point where Gandalf had fought the Nazgûl on October 3. Gandalf led away four into the Ettenmoors, which is why only five attacked the hobbits and Strider. Frodo does stab the Witch-King, and Strider comments that it couldn't have hit him, because the blade is undamaged; that the only thing which hurt the Nazgûl was the name of Elbereth Gilthoniel, and "more dangerous to Frodo was this!", showing the Morgul-knife. The Nazgûl withdraw when Aragorn comes back with fire, then they aren't seen (except from a distance) until the party approaches Rivendell.
Yes, I think you forgot that part.

 

/me is ashamed.... I, considering myself as one of the biggest Tolkien-fans () forgot a part of a book I read 3 times. I will re-read it again tonight....

Have you all also read the Silmarillion? What do you all think of that book?

 

Why would the Sword Break if it touched a Ringwraith?

 

It's part of their nature - remember, these are very unnatural, evil, magical beings (even though they were once human). Any weapon which strikes a Ringwraith will dissolve into nothingness, and the wielder won't be in too good a state either. The weapon may still damage the wraith, if it has the right enchantments, but will always be destroyed.
Headbanger, I've got both The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales; in general I prefer the stories of Elder Days, though The Lord Of The Rings flows more than The Silmarillion, which reads more like a history book. I've also run role-playing games set in Middle-Earth, which means I'm _very_ familiar with a lot of the history and legends.

 

I also like the Silmarillion, I read it so many times that I suppose I know the tales of the old days, of Valinor and the first and second Era maybe even better then Lord of the Rings.

I read again yesterday and must comment something: I didn't forget the whole fight..... And the fight wasn't on Amon Sul, the Weathertop. When they see strange shadows, they leave the Weathertop on the north and Strider brings them to a place where thet can rest (about 6 hours they travel) and THERE They have a fight with the Black Riders and there Frodo stabs the Ringwraith indeed in the foot. I knew that fight well but some said there was a fight on the weathertop wich isn't true...

Weapons that hit a Nazgul desintegrates.. even the best anti-nazgul weapon would desintegrate when it hit a Nazgul (be glad that Aragorn didn't kill a ringwraith with Anduril in the book... )