[00:00:01] So I am reading Lord of the Rings for the first time and I am on the Fellowship of the Ring where we first get introduced to Strider. And as soon as I finished that chapter I was a bit shocked and I actually had to re-read it. Because the whole chapter was confusing to me. Just kind of with how Aragorn was acting, he just seemed a bit strange. And he was just this man that I admired for my whole life, especially after watching the movies. I thought he was the prime man of all cinema.
[00:00:32] The ultimate human being and manly man, the person I admired to be one day. But in the books, he is deeply lonely. And he lives a brutally difficult life. And the reason I had to re-read it was because Aragorn seemed to be all over the place. And when I read this one line at the end of the chapter, it seemed to have everything else fall in place a bit and give me actual understanding to Aragorn's character.
[00:01:00] The line was when Aragorn says, A hunted man sometimes wearies of distrust and longs for friendship. And I want to talk about that for the rest of this essay. And just a warning, this essay is almost too unorganized because I am still processing through who Aragorn is because he is vastly different from the movies. And I don't have quite a good grasp on him after reading just one chapter.
[00:01:26] So let me know in the comments below too what you kind of think of Aragorn and what you think of the book versus movie depiction. But after reading this chapter, I actually said I'd probably rather not be Aragorn. Even though I love him and I think the world of M'Buk Aragorn is a bit less secretive with his emotions and a significant amount more secretive in his lifestyle. I'll explain it as we go on.
[00:01:51] But again, if you want more of my musings on each of the chapters that I'm reading, make sure you subscribe because this channel is all about first reads and loving literature and amazing stories and all the things that we love about these things. And we do some kind of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Brandon Sanderson, Lord of the Rings stuff. Just a few other tidbits of content whenever they come up. So I think you'd like it and I think you should subscribe because I'm going through Lord of the Rings chapter by chapter and essentially just publishing an essay every single chapter.
[00:02:18] But the first time we meet Aragorn is when he sneaks after the hobbits when they enter Bree. The book says, The man, which is the gatekeeper, stared after the hobbits for a moment and then went back to his house. As soon as his back was turned, a dark figure climbed quickly over the gate and melted into the shadows of the village street. Now in that moment, you kind of think that this could be one or two people. At least I did.
[00:02:44] I thought it could be Gollum, who it surely couldn't really be because Gandalf said he was kept prisoner in Mirkwood. Or what I really thought was I thought this was the Black Rider, which is terrifying. But later, it's revealed that this is actually Strider. And he followed the hobbits as soon as they left the presence of Tom Bombadil. He was actually looking for them. And after this little bit of sneaking around, Strider is just brooding with his hood up and watching the hobbits almost exactly how the movies have it.
[00:03:12] But before Frodo puts the ring on, he actually goes over to Strider and has a short conversation with him. Then Frodo tries to stop Pippin from blabbing about his name. The ring slips on his finger. And when he takes it off, they all try to scamper out of the bar and into their rooms. The next line that we get is the start of the chapter titled Strider. And this is the paragraph. Frodo, Pippin, and Sam made their way back to the parlor. There was no light. Merry was not there.
[00:03:41] And the fire had burned low. It was not until they had puffed up the embers into a blaze and thrown on a couple of... that they discovered Strider had come with them. There he was calmly sitting in a chair by the door. He's like the butler in Mr. Deeds. He's very sneaky. And this is exactly why I think he's a lot more sly and clandestine in the book. He seems to be able to actually avoid being seen if he wished, rather than he just says it in the movies.
[00:04:09] He has a weird knack to be hidden too, but as soon as they all get into this conversation, Aragorn seems to open up a bit. He laughs, he broods, he talks about the dangers, and calls Butterbur a fat innkeeper who only remembers his own name because people shouted at him all day. Rude. But Aragorn seems like he opens up when he talks to the hobbits. He seems like a man who rarely gets in conversations like this, and number one, loves them, and number two, doesn't really know how to behave or converse.
[00:04:37] In the books, he just seems all over the place to me, much less one-track-minded and serious than Vigo plays him. But also, Vigo plays the serious side of Aragorn perfectly, because Aragorn does have a lot of severity to him. But again, throughout this conversation with the hobbits, he seems to talk about everything. And the main thing he is trying to do is to convince them to take him on as their guide. He says this in the beginning of the conversation.
[00:05:12] And what will that be, pray, said Frodo. He suspected now that he had fallen in with a rascal. And he thought uncomfortably that he had brought only a little money with him. All of it would hardly satisfy a rogue, and he could not spare any of it. No more than you can afford, answers Strider, with a slow smile, as if he guessed Frodo's thoughts. Just this. You must take me along with you until I wish to leave.
[00:05:42] Then the rest of the chapter, he essentially tries to convince them. It isn't until the barman delivers a letter from Gandalf, where the letter tells them to trust a friend of his called Strider, that the hobbits relax a bit. Except Sam, who is kind of always skeptical, which is one of the reasons why I love him. Then this book has this line that we just talked about that crushed me. It says,
[00:06:58] I don't really think of Aragorn as a lonely person. And I don't really think he is, but I kind of see myself in him a bit. And I don't know how to explain this that well, because I've been thinking about this myself for years, and I haven't figured it out. But it's like Aragorn seems like an introvert. He is off in the country on his own. He has jobs to do, and things he must attend to. He likes his alone time, but his responsibilities and jobs have put him in a strange position
[00:07:24] of people having these perceptions of who he is, rather than actually getting to know him. And so now I see Aragorn as this man who desires friendship, but kind of gives up on it a bit because he has a harsh appearance. And because all these people in Bree and all these surrounding areas have a bad perception of him. And it made me so sad to look at this chapter, that I actually had to reread it with the lens that Strider just wants to make friends with these hobbits, and that is essentially the explanation for his behavior in this chapter.
[00:07:53] It made this chapter intensely more sad to me, because Aragorn is laughing when there are tense moments. He is trying to tell stories with the serious face. He jokes about his appearance with the hobbits, and then cracks jokes at the varmin's expense. I know this might be a stretch, but Aragorn to me seems like a kid who can't fit in. And when I thought of the scene when he made fun of the varmin, I couldn't help thinking that when he cracked a joke, maybe he looked back at the hobbits hoping that they would laugh or crack a smile.
[00:08:21] It actually reminded me of a scene from one of my favorite movies, Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl, when this kid named Greg doesn't really have friends, and tries to push people away because he's afraid of getting hurt, and he sits with some of his new friends during lunch, and when an awkward situation pops up, he makes fun of someone, and the situation just gets so much worse from that point on. Aragorn seems like a more deeply flawed person than his movie counterpart. And maybe flawed is the wrong word, but maybe longing is the one that I'm looking for.
[00:08:51] He seems to long for friendship, and he's a bit awkward when it evades him, and he has to prove that he's trustworthy to these hobbits. And his longing is seen in different ways too, because Strider flirts between wanting to befriend these hobbits, and knowing that he must protect them and essentially do a job for them, namely get them to Rivendell. And so as he's joking around and talking about friends, his personality slips quickly back into seriousness,
[00:09:19] because he gives this beautiful line about how he will protect them. The book says, He stood up, and seemed suddenly to grow taller. In his eyes gleamed a light, keen and commanding. Throwing back his cloak, he laid his hand on the hilt of a sword that had hung concealed by his side. They did not dare to move. Sam sat wide-mouthed, staring at him dumbly. But I am the real Strider, fortunately, he said, looking down at them with his face softened by a sudden smile.
[00:09:49] I am Aragorn, son of Aerithorne. And if by life or death I can save you, I will. I love that he says that with a smile here. That his face softens. Aragorn isn't always this hardened person who is an incredible warrior and just the toughest person you can ever imagine. In the books, he very much seems in touch with his emotional side too, which maybe makes him an even greater man. But his loneliness here and his desire for real friendship
[00:10:18] seems to be an everlasting theme in the Tolkien universe. It's like the creatures of the darkness are the ones that lie in isolation. And even if you're in isolation, the people who are honorable and good in the series all desire deep friendship. But also, that little sword that he holds at his side that was concealed made my jaw drop. I see, he laughed Strider. I look foul and feel fair. Is that it? All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost.
[00:10:47] Did the verses apply to you then, asked Frodo? I could not make out what they were about. But how did you know they were in Gandalf's letter if you haven't seen it? I did not know, he answered. But I am Aragorn. And those verses go with that name. He drew out a sword. And they saw that the blade was indeed broken a foot below the hilt. Not much use is it, Sam, said Strider. But the time is near when it shall be forged anew. Strider pulling out the broken sword of Narsal
[00:11:16] that he just carries with him was insane to me. It's this weird dichotomy that I see in Aragorn that I was talking about before where he has this perception that people have of him that he just can't seem to get rid of. And even him carrying the sword around feels like he is so much more ready to take the throne of Gondor. But also, it just seems like he wants a good friend as well. He seems to long for that.
[00:11:45] And to be honest, it makes Book Aragorn a much more deep and complex character. It gives him a little bite, to be honest. And, I have to say, even though Aragorn seems a little lonely in the book, even though he seems a little bit more kingly, I find him a much more compelling character in the book than in the movie. Even though I love Viggo Mortensen with all my heart and still think that he is the greatest actor
[00:12:13] and this is the greatest role that anybody has ever played. So, I'm just very conflicted. And this essay is just essentially me talking about my conflicted feelings for the movie versus the book of Aragorn. Anyway, I hope that you liked it. I hope that you dealt with my unorganized thoughts in a good way. And I'll see you in the next one. Make sure you subscribe and like the video too, if you can. See you in the next one. See you in the next one.