Characters


	Aragorn is the heir to the former king of Gondor, Isildur. In the books he is more different than he is in the movies. You may think he is younger, looks about 20, but he is actually 87 (which is young for Dunedain, who live to about 150). His father died when he was two, and Gandalf sent him to live with the elves in Rivendell. Elrond gave him the name Estel to hide from him his identity. Later he was given his identity by Gandalf, who he soon befriended. For sixty some years he used the identity of a ranger named Strider. Later he meets with Frodo and agrees to escort him to Rivendell. He follows the fellowship until the death of Boromir when the fellowship fails. The story is continued without many differences from that point on in the movies. When Aragorn becomes king of Gondor, he is renamed to King Elessar.
	Legolas is one of the elves from Mirkwood, A.K.A the woodland realm. Legolas being elf-kind is immortal, and is mentioned in the hobbit before the time of the movies. Seeing as he is never to die he is skilled in everything, (which if I was immortal, would be too.) He follows Aragorn until the chapter in the book called The Steward and the King, when Legolas walks away to journey to the Grey Havens, which is where elves originate from. Being friend to Gimli, Legolas brings Gimli's after the time of the movies.
	Gimli son of Gloin is part of the fellowship, and also a dwarf. Gimli in the movies is surprisingly 139 years old, and of the dwarves, who live to be around 250, is middle aged. In the books he is part of the fellowship, and follows Aragorn. Later in the journey he becomes a friend to Legolas the elf. Thusly on the family tree he is Gimli, the elf friend. He later has a son which Legolas takes to the Grey Havens.
	Gandalf is 7000 and very wise, although hated among the people of middle earth. Of the many nicknames he has is stormcrow for the bad news he constantly brings to Rohan. He is Mithrandir to the elves, for his magic, and the gray pilgrim is what they call him as he travels middle earth. He states he had many plans he had weaved throughout the many ages of middle earth, all to destroy Sauron. These traps are actually the battles that take place during the books. Finally with his planning done, Gandalf leaves to go to the grey havens with the elves.
	Frodo is the most important character in the books, for he carries the one ring to mount doom, the only place it can be destroyed, and to rid middle earth of sauron's evil. Frodo is 50 in the books, which is older for hobbits. In the books as Frodo comes nearer and nearer to mount doom the becomes heavier and he is burdened by it heavily. In the return of the king he loses his mind, and gives way to the evil at the crack of doom. I won't give away the ending, so you are going to have to read the books, or watch the movie. Later Frodo travels tot he gray havens with Gandalf, and Bilbo.
	Sam is 38, and follows Frodo on his entire journey, and keeps Frodo in tact with reality, and away from the ring's power. Later Sam saves Frodo from Shelob, and Cirith Ungol by alone fighting the orcs, Uruk-hai, and even Shelob. That is Sam's most memorable moment in the books. Later Sam finishes Frodo's book, and lives out life in the shire as the mayor.
	Pippin in the books is 28, the youngest in the fellowship. He is mainly just caught up in the quest to destroy the ring, he didn't choose to go, or not to go. Pippin is mainly for the purpose of comedy releif, and is rarely in the books for anything else. Later on Pippin becomes more of a warrior in the chapter that the movies left out called The Scouring of the Shire. Afterwards he becomes the mayor of the Shire, and then he later gives the position to Sam.
	Merry is 36, and is a close friend of Pippin. The books and the movies both followed the path of Merry accurately. Merry is the only one of the hobbits who actually becomes a warrior, for he fights in the front-lines with the Rohirrim (the men of Rohan.), and fights with Eowyn to kill the witch king. Later on Merry helps to free the shire in a chapter called The Scouring of the Shire. After the battles die down Merry is granted the title of Meriadoc the Magnificent by king Elessar. Merry then leaves the shire to travel abroad.
	Sauron in the books is the antagonist, and is immortal, as he was one of the elves that came from the grey havens in the first age of middle-earth. Sauron turned traitor, and made a fortress called Mordor. For the first age their was the creation of the rings, then nothing but wars between the dwarves elves, and men. The second age brought about the last alliance and the death of Sauron. The third age marked the regeneration of Sauron as an eye. The end of the third age was the end of Sauron, and the age of king Elessar.