Courage
Courage in the face of certain defeat is a recurring theme in Tolkien's literature. As he wrote in The Monsters and the Critics, Tolkien was inspired by the apocalyptical Norse legend of Ragnarök where the gods are doomed in their final battle for the world but they and their allies do not mind their death. This "northern courage" as he called it is seen in the fate of Frodo and Samwise who have little prospect of returning home from their mission to Mount Doom and in Aragorn's decision to march to the Black Gate to divert Sauron's forces from the two Hobbits.
Another kind of courage was defined by Tolkien in the difference between humility and the arrogant desire for glory. While Sam follows Frodo out of loyalty and would die for him, a trait that Tolkien has praised in an essay on The Battle of Maldon, characters like Boromir are driven by pride and would risk the lives of others for their personal glory. Likewise the rejecting of the ring by Sam, Faramir, and Galadriel can be seen as a courageous rejection of power and glory and of the personal renown that defeating Sauron would have brought about.
Read more about this topic: Themes Of The Lord Of The Rings
Famous quotes containing the word courage:
“We joined long wagon trains moving south; we met hundreds of wagons going north; the roads east and west were crawling lines of families traveling under canvas, looking for work, for another foothold somewhere on the land.... The country was ruined, the whole world was ruined; nothing like this had ever happened before. There was no hope, but everyone felt the courage of despair.”
—Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968)
“The courage of a soldier is found to be the cheapest and most common quality of human nature.”
—Edward Gibbon (1737–1794)
“Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery, if inscribed over human ashes, is but a just Tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a Dog.”
—John Cam Hobhouse (1786–1869)