The Lord Of The Rings: Compare Contrast Essay

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When adapting pop culture into different forms of media, it is necessary to change a variety of aspects to fit individualized nuances of each medium. The transformation of The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R.Tolkien, from a novel onto the screen is not an exception to this notion. However, Peter Jackson, the director of the popular film series, is known for staying fairly accurate to the original plot of the book. After all, when creating a film based off a novel, the director is not creating something completely his own, rather, he must stay accurate to the plot, in order to observe the wishes of the author and the expectation of his fans. While for the most part Jackson succeeds in his mission to fortify the narrative, rather than stray from …show more content…

Much of this character discrepancy stems from his contrasting reactions towards the Ring of Power, during the Two Towers. In the novel, he is portrayed as smarter than his brother and father, knowing almost immediately that he has no intention of taking the Ring. In fact, he states, “Not if I found it on the highway would I take it I said. Even if I were such a man as to desire this thing, and even though I knew not clearly what this thing was when I spoke, still I should take those words as a vow, and be held by them” (326). This statement, coupled with the fact that Faramir lets them leave Gondor directly from Henneth Annun, are strong indicators of Faramir’s personality. In both the novel and the film, Faramir puts himself at his father’s mercy, knowing that Denathor will be angry that he allowed the ringbearer to escape; however, the way it occurs in the book portrays him as more noble and much less conflicted. After all, in the Lord of the Rings series a marked trait of great leadership is a person’s willingness to give up power and do the right thing for the good of all, rather than the good of oneself. Faramir’s immediate rejection of the Ring places him in conjunction with Aragorn as a noble figure, versus in the film, where he almost ruins the plans of the