I am honored to have the amazing Angela Ackerman as a guest today. Angela and Becca Puglisi have given the writing community a treasure, The Emotion Thesaurus. It's a master class on show don't tell.
Their blog The Bookshelf Muse is also one of the best writing resources in Bloglandia.
Angela indulged my Lord of the Rings obsession to answer the following question:
If you were Frodo and
had to bring the one ring to Mordor, who would your 5 companions from
literature be and which character trait would each represent?
Angela: First off, BEST QUESTION
EVER.
Leslie: Ah, shucks ma'am, thanks.
Angela: Second, this really
made me think about what character traits the original companions embodied. Each
had a special intrinsic quality that added to a greater whole, and because of
this, the venture succeeded. So, with that in mind, here’s who would be on my
Dream Team of Five:
Roland of Gilead (Stephen King’s The
Dark Tower). This Gunslinger is tough--stringy tough, skilled and
emotionally hardened, but the trait he embodies most is tenaciousness. Roland never gave up on his quest to find the Dark
Tower, not when loved ones died, nor when some crazy-ass giant lobster ate his
fingers off, or even when his reality split and caused his own mind to
fracture. No matter what life threw at him, Roland kept going.
Astrophil (Marie Rutkoski’s The
Cabinet of Wonders). Now while Astro might be only a tin spider who hides
in the main character Petra’s hair, he is wise and resourceful. Most of all, he
is incredibly loyal. On a trip to
Mordor, I’d need someone who would stick by me no matter what. Besides, who
wouldn’t want a tin spider to come along?
Katniss Everdeen (Susanne Collins’ The
Hunger Games). I’m sure no one is shocked to see Katniss on my list. She’s
dedicated, selfless and has great instincts. Most of all, she is a born hunter
and skilled in adverse environments.
Taking on the Hunger Games arena is no easy feat, and perfect training ground
for Mordor.
Mat Cauthon (Robert Jordan’s The
Wheel of Time). Matrim is a trickster, gambler and trouble loving
character, adding levity in a dark time as the seals on the Dark One’s prison
begin to break. Always in trouble of one sort or another, but loyal to the
core, Mat’s antics cost him part of his memories, replacing what is lost with a
battle-hardened warrior, transforming him into a formidable strategist and
unparalleled leader. These are all great qualities, but it is Mat’s cleverness that earns him a seat on the
bus to Mount Doom.
Merlin (too many sources
to name). No matter what fiction piece he featured in, Merlin was an advisor, a
wieldier of magic, and scholar and
protector of the people. One quality stands out more than any other however,
and that is wisdom. To successfully infiltrate
Mordor and destroy the ring, wisdom is key.
So, the ideal traits
I’ve gathered for this journey are tenacious,
loyalty, skill, cleverness and wisdom.
Who would be on
your Team Mordor? Would you choose to feature the same traits, or different
ones? Tell me about it in the comments!
What fun--thanks Leslie for asking me to do such a unique post!
No, no thank YOU, Angela for hanging out and assembling a kickin' team. Frodo doesn't know what he is missing.
JOURNEYS OF WONDER
until Tuesday night
