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mcmojo
Ossiriand
May 14 2020, 7:36pm
Post #1 of 5
(2669 views)
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How Hobbits Teach Us Courage
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LINK
Here's an article I collaborated on for Rambling Ever On. I'm sure there are many other examples of how hobbits teach us courage but we decided to write about five. Hope you all enjoy.
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mcmojo
Ossiriand
May 15 2020, 3:06pm
Post #2 of 5
(2579 views)
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Courage is Not the Absence of Fear
by Phill Lytle
That is an obvious statement and has been repeated many times, but its ubiquity does not make it any less true. One can be courageous or brave and still experience profound fear. A cancer diagnosis can be terrifying yet can still be faced in a courageous manner.
Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin teach this truth throughout The Lord of the Rings. At every turn, they are confronted with obstacles of such fierce horror, they would cause the bravest to give up. Yet, they don’t. They keep going. Keep fighting. Keep trying. They face down monsters, nightmares, and unfathomable evil and they are terrified. Even so, they do what is right. They find their courage in the middle of all that fear and it makes their small acts of bravery all the more powerful and memorable. We do not love them because they are too courageous to fear. We love them because they are courageous in spite of their fear.
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CuriousG
Gondolin
May 15 2020, 6:49pm
Post #3 of 5
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"Courage is Not the Absence of Fear."
I didn't really buy into that statement at the gut level until I was an adult and acted more or less bravely on one occasion despite feeling afraid (no, nothing heroic). It just sank in after the experience: "this is what courage is--doing your best while still feeling terrified." I think I'd spent my life prior to that buying into the Hollywood idea that real heroes NEVER experience fear. And that's pretty much what Boromir and Aragorn are like. Well, good for them, but I think most people are hobbits and act bravely while still feeling fear. For me it was quite an epiphany that is rarely talked about.
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CMackintosh
Ossiriand
May 26 2020, 8:25am
Post #4 of 5
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Some times I've just not had the imagination to be afraid. Other times I've been afraid and had to take a step back and assess everything before continuing. If courage is feeling the fear and getting on with the job, cowardice is the habit of submitting to the fear.
Might be worth pointing out that Gollum is another one who shows quite a lot of courage.
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the 13th warrior
Ossiriand
Jul 5 2020, 4:45am
Post #5 of 5
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hello cmac, a wise man or some old hippie in a bar, put the equation like this.
The brave man says I am not afraid and steps forward.
The courageous man says I am afraid but steps forward anyway.
I think many LOTR characters showed us this yin yang, dichotomy, as it were, in the book and or film portrayals.
The 13th Warrior - Left Field Caliphate
"From the scroll rooms of Gondor, Courage seems more human and humane, no bluffing, posturing."
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