1) Author:
JRR Tolkien. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. His father died when he was 3 years old, while Ronald was in England visiting his grandparents with his mother and brother. His mother decided to stay in England. They moved to Sarehole, a small town near Birmingham. In 1900, the family moved to Birmingham so the children could go to school. Ronald had a flair for languages. His mother teaches him in Greek, Latin and French. He also thinked up his own languages and he was very fond of myths and fairy-tales. His mother died when he was twelve years old. It wasn’t rather a surprise when Tolkien, with his love for languages went to Oxford to study English. He has fought in the First World War and there, in the trenches he began to write a book: the Book of lost tales. He was married with his young love Edith Bratt and had three children. Two boys (John and Cristopher) and one girl (Priscilla). He was professor at Oxford, and he wrote many books. He died in 1973 because he had a gastric ulcer. He was 81 years old. He didn’t have the chance to finish his lifework, the Simarillion. His son Cristopher wrote the end of this book. Unfortunately, this book is so difficult and boring that hardly anybody reads it.

2) Title:
Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers.

3) Title explanation:
Lord of the Rings: Sauron is The lord of the rings, because he made the One Ring. He is the only one who has control over it.
The Two Towers: this title refers to the tower of Barad Dur (Saurons place) and the tower of Orthanc (where Saruman lives). There is an alliance between these towers. Together they try to take power over Middle Earth.

4) First published:
1954 by George Allen & Unwin, Great Britain.

5) Genre:
Fantasy, because the story can’t be true. There are monsters, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards and small hairy-footed Hobbits in it.

6) Perspective:
Third-person narrative
Page 25: “Only Legolas still stepped as lightly as ever, his feet hardly seeming to press the grass, leaving no footprints as he passed; but in the waybread of the Elves he found all the sustenance that he needed, and he could sleep, if sleep it could be called by Men, resting his mind in the strange paths of elvish dreams, even as he walked open-eyed in the light of this world.”
Page 75: “Holding the Hobbits gently but firmly, one in the crook of each arm, Treebeard lifted up first one large foot and then the other, and moved them to the edge of the shelf.”

7) Time:
The book doesn’t mention when the story took place. I found it in another book (The Silmarillion). The story takes place in the third Era.

8) Place:
Middle Earth: Frodo, Sam and Gollum are going to Mordor. The rest of the characters (Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Gandalf et cetera) are most of the time in Rohan.
Page 154: “The sun was already westering as they rode from Edoras, and the light of it was in their eyes, turning all the rolling fields of Rohan to a golden haze.”
Page 272: “Frodo looked straight into Gollum’s eyes which flinched and twisted away. ‘You know that, or you guess well enough, Sméagol,’ he said, quietly and sternly. ‘We are going to Mordor of course. And you know the way there, I believe.”

9) Describing of the main characters:

Frodo: He is a Hobbit, friendly, young, naive, inexperienced, generous, nice, he is the hero but the Ring is slowly taking power over him, he has pity on Gollum.
Page 281: “We must take a little food,’ said Frodo. ‘Are you hungry Sméagol? We have very little to share, bur we will spare you what we can.”

Sam: He is a Hobbit, very careful, kind, he is the best friend and gardener of Frodo, he tries to protect Frodo and the other Hobbits, he likes to eat and hates Gollum.
Page 325: “Don’t you drop off, while I’m nodding, Mr. Frodo. I don’t feel too sure of him. There’s a good deal of Stinker- the bad Gollum, if you understand me – in him still, and it’s getting stronger again. Not but what I think he’d try to throttle me thirst now. We don’t see eye to eye, and he’s not pleased, O no Precious, not pleased at all.”

Aragorn: He is a Mortal Men, a warrior, has travelled a lot, he is a little bit unsure of himself but he is very brave in a fight, he thinks that he has failed because the Fellowship split up, he could become a king but he thinks that he is to weak.
Page 6: “Alas!” said Aragorn. “Thus passes the heir of Denethor, Lord of the Tower of Guard! Thisi is a bitter end. Now the company is all in ruin. It is I that have failed. Vain was Gandalfs trust in me. What shall I do now? Boromir has laid it on me to go to Minas Tirith, and my heart desires it; but where are the Ring and the Bearer? How shall I find them and save the Quest from a disaster?”

Legolas: He is an Elf, He is the ears and the eyes of the Fellowship because he can hear and see very good, immortal (Elves can only die in a war or because of a broken heart), he prefers to fight with bow and arrow.
Page 129: “Speak, Legolas!” said Gandalf. “tell us what you see there before us!”

Gimli: He is a dwarf, very proud, rude, he hates the fact that he is very small.
Page 112: “Saruman!” cried Gimli, springing towards him with axe in hand. “Speak! Tell us where you have hidden our friends. What have you done to them? Speak, or I will make a dint in your hat that even a wizard will find it hard to deal with!”

Gandalf the White: He is a wizard, he is the head of the wizard-order (since a short time), wise, powerful, he is very tight-lipped.
Page 238: “Can I? Good! But he’s closed isn’t he? Not changed at all.”
“Oh yes, he is!” said Merry, waking up a little, and beginning to wonder what was bothering his companion. “He has grown or something. He can both be kinder and more alarming, merrier and more solemn than before, I think. He has changed; but we have not had a chance to see much, yet. But think of the last part of business with Saruman! Remember Saruman was once Gandalf’s superior: head of the council, whatever that may be exactly. He was Saruman the White. Gandalf is the White now. Saruman came when he was old, and his rod was taken; and then he was just told to go, and he went.”

Saruman: He was the head of the wizard-order but he is fallen in the hands of Sauron, once he was a great man now he is angry and dangerous, you can fall under his spell if you listen to his voice.
Page 229: “I did not give you leave to go,” said Gandalf sternly. “I have not finished. You have become a fool, Saruman, and yet pitiable. You might still have turned away from folly and evil, and have been of service. But you choose to stay and gnaw the end of your old plots. Stay then! But I warn you, you will not easily come out again. Not unless the dark hands of the East stretch out to take you. Saruman!” He cried, and his voice grew in power and authority.”

Sauron: he is pure evil, he wants the power over Middle Earth, he is The lord of the rings, he has made the One Ring, the Ring listens to Sauron alone. Sauron wants his Ring back, so he can cover all the lands in a second darkness.
Page 301: “No, no master!” wailed Gollum, pawing at him and seeming in great distress. “No use that way! No use! Don’t take the Precious to Him! He’ll eat us all, if He gets it, eat all the world. Keep it nice master, and be kind to Sméagol. Don’t let Him have it.”

Merry (Meriadoc) Brandybuck: He is a Hobbit, very young, brave, likes adventures. His best friend is Pippin.
Page 46: “Merry and he had drawn their swords, but the Orcs did not wish to fight, and had tried only to lay hold of them, even when Merry had cut off several of their arms and hands. Good old Merry!”

Pippin (Peregrin) Took: He is the youngest Hobbit of the Fellowship, likes adventures, honest, curious, loyal, he sometimes is a fool, he is very much like a kid.
Page 243: “A fool, but an honest fool, you remain, Peregrin Took.”

Théoden: He is a Mortal Men, king of Rohan, he has fallen under the spell of Wormtongue (who works for Saruman), Now Saruman can do everything with Rohan what he wants, When Gandalf released him of this spell, he becomes a strong men who wants to protect his people.
Page 145: “Nay Gandalf!” said the king. “You do not know your own skill in healing. It shall not be so. I myself will go to war, to fall in the front of the battle, if it must be. Thus shall I sleep better.”

Gollum (also called Sméagol): He was a Hobbit once, before he found the Ring (he has lost it again, now he wants the Ring (‘My Precious’) back, the Ring has now become an obsession for him, he is very skinny, pitiful, a liar, a thief, and very schizophrenic.
Page 269: “He was getting lower now and the hisses became sharper and clearer. ‘where iss it, where iss it: My Precious, my Precious? It’s ours, it is, and we wants it. The thieves, the filthy little thieves. Where are they with my Precious? Curse them! We hates them!”

10) Summary:
This is the summary of the second book in the trilogy Lord of the Rings. At first I would like to tell what happened first. In the first book (the Fellowship of the Ring) Frodo heirs a Ring. Frodo learns from the wizard Gandalf that this is the One Ring from the Dark Lord Sauron. Sauron can take power over Middle Earth, if he finds his Ring again. The Ring must be destroyed. But that is only possible in the fire where it was made once. Frodo and his Fellowship are going to Mordor. The Fellowship consist of Aragorn, Boromir (both Men), Legolas (an Elf), Gimli (a Dwarve), Gandalf (the wizard), Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin (Hobbits). The journey begins…

The Two Towers

Part 3:
It begins with a battle between the Fellowship and the Orcs (the army of Sauron). After the battle, Boromir is killed and Merry and Pippin are kidnapped by the Orcs. Aragorn , Gimli and Legolas don’t know what to do. They are looking for Frodo and Sam, but Frodo has decided to go to Mordor alone because it is his task. He doesn’t want to bring the rest of the fellowship in danger. He has taken Sam with him. Aragorn understands Frodo’s decision.
Page 6: “which way did they go? Was Frodo there?” said Aragorn.
But Boromit did not speak again.
“Alas!” said Aragorn. “Thus passes the heir of Denethor, Lord of the Tower of Guard! This is a bitter end. Now the Company is all in ruin. It is I that have failed. Vain was Gandalf’s trust in me. What shall I do now? Boromir has laid it on me to go to Minas Tirith, and my heart desires it; but where are the Ring and the Bearer? How shall I find them and save the Quest from disaster?
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli decide to rescue Merry and Pippin. The Orcs are bringing Merry and Pippin to Saruman, because they believe that these Hobbits have the Ring.
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are moving through Rohan. They are running very fast, but the Orcs are going much faster. Especially Gimli is very tired. They decide to take a rest and eat some Lembas (Elvish bread). Then they meet the riders of Rohan. The riders tell them that they have defeated some Orcs and that they didn’t see any Hobbits. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are very disappointed.
What they don’t know is that Merry and Pippin have escaped while the Orcs where fighting.
Page 50: “for the moment Pippin was unwatched. His legs were securely bound, but his arms were only tied about the wrists, and his hands were in front of him. He could move them both together, though the bonds were cruelly tight. He pushed the dead Orc to one side, then hardly daring to breathe, he drew the knot of the wrist-cord and up and down against the blade of the knife. It was sharp and the dead hand held it fast. The cord was cut!”
They fled into the Fangorn Forest. In the forest they meet Treebeard (he is an Ent). An Ent is very much like a normal Tree, but he can walk and talk. Treebeard carries them to the Entmoot (a council of the Ents). The Ents are going to decide whether they are going to attack Saruman or not.
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli have already found out that the Hobbits are in the forest. When they are in the forest to look for them, they see an old, hooded man with white clothes. At first they think it is Saruman, but then Legolas sees that it is Gandalf.
Page 112: “There he stood, grown suddenly tall, towering above them. His hood and his grey rags were flung away. His white garments shone. He lifted up his staff, and Gimli’s axe leaped from his grasp and fell ringing on the ground. The sword of Aragorn, stiff in his motionless hand, blazed with a sudden fire. Legolas gave a great shout and shot an arrow high in the air: it vanished in a flash of flame.
“Mithrandir!” he cried. “Mithrandir!”
This is rather a surprise, because they thought that Gandalf was dead. Gandalf has returned from his battle with the Balrog. Now he is Gandalf the White, head of the Wizard-order. Saruman was the head first, but he is fired because he has betrayed them. Gandalf says that Merry and Pippin are safe now. Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are going to Edoras (the capital of Rohan). They are going to visit Théoden, the king of Rohan. When they arrive in Edoras the find out that Théoden’s adviser, Grima Wormtongue, is in the service of Saruman. Grima is poisonong the kings mind. Gandalf sends Grima away:
Page 139: “he raised his staff. There was a roll of thunder. The sunlight was blotted out from the eastern windows; the whole hall became suddenly dark as night. The fire faded to sullen members. Only Gandalf could be seen, standing white and tall before the blackened hearth.”
Théoden recovers again and decide to fleet to Helms Deep with his people. He thinks that the woman and children will be save there. The Orcs are coming and will try to destroy the people of Rohan. But the Orcs come to Helm’s Deep too. The battle is very hard for Rohan, but they finally win.
Gandalf decides to go to Isengard, that is the place where Saruman lives. Théoden, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are coming with him. In Isengard they meet Merry and Pippin again. The Ents have defeated Saruman and taken him prisoner. They have very much to talk about because they haven’t seen each other for a while. Then they visit Saruman. Gandalf knows that it is useless, but he wants to give Saruman a last chance. Gandalf warns everybody for the voice of Saruman. If you listen to his voice, you can fall under his spell. Saruman doesn’t want to listen to them, he is too much influenced by Sauron. Gandalf takes the staff of Saruman and break it in two pieces. Saruman is no longer a Wizard.
Page 229: “he raised his hand, and spoke slowly in a clear cold voice. “Saruman, your staff is broken,” There was a crack, and the staff split asunder in Saruman’s hand, and the head of it fell down at Gandalf’s feet. “Go!” said Gandalf. With a cry Saruman fell back and crawled away.”
After that, the palantir (a round boll, with magical powers. Sauron can talk to Saruman through this stone) falls down. Pippin picks it up and give it to Gandalf. Gandalf doesn’t know that Pippin looked in it, and heard Sauron speaking. They turn back to Rohan.
That night Gandalf catches Pippin, while he is looking in the Palantir. Gandalf is very shocked, but not angry.
Page 241: “So this is the thief!” said Gandalf. Hastily he cast his cloak over the globe where it lay. “but you Pippin! This is a grievous turn to things.” He knelt by Pippin’s body: The Hobbit was lying on his back, rigid, with unseeing eyes staring up at the sky. “the devilry! What mischief has he done – to himself, and to all of us?” the Wizard’s face was drawn and haggard.”
He explains what the Palantir is and how dangerous it is. Pippin must promise Gandalf that he won’t do it again. They travel further…

Part 4:
The Hobbits Frodo and Sam have decided to go to Mordor alone. Now they try to climb over the hills, and that is not very easy. And Gollum is still following them. Gollum wants to take the Ring from them. Gollum used to be a Hobbit, named Sméagol. But after he got the Ring, he became bad. He began to steel things from his friends. They send him away, and gave him the name Gollum.
The Hobbits are climbing over the hills. It is so dark, they can’t see anything and suddenly Frodo slips away. He falls on a rock and Sam can’t reach him. Then Sam remembers the rope that Galadriel gave him in Lothlorien. Now it is much easier for Sam to climb down and to find Frodo.
After that, they find a place to rest. Suddenly they hear somebody coming. It is Gollum.
Page 269: “He was getting lower now and the hisses became sharper and clearer. ‘where iss it, where iss it: My Precious, my Precious? It’s ours, it is, and we wants it. The thieves, the filthy little thieves. Where are they with my Precious? Curse them! We hates them!”
He finally found them, and tries to take the Ring. But the Hobbits are much stronger. Gollum surrenders and makes a promise. He will lead them to Mordor and won’t steal the Ring. Sam doesn’t believe him, but Frodo wants to give him a chance.
So Gollum keeps his promise. Nevertheless, Sams aversion to Gollum is growing and he still doesn’t feel comfortable with Gollum. He is afraid that Gollum will strangle him when he sleeps.
Gollum leads them to the Dead Marshes. Suddenly, Frodo is suddenly disappeared. He has fallen in the water. Sam pulls him out. Then Sam sees dead faces in the water. Gollum says that that are Men, Elves and Orcs. They died in a battle, long ago. Now they lie deep in the water and are holding little, burning candles in their hands. You must not look in the light of the candles. Otherwise you can become just like them. Frodo has followed the lights but he is saved in time.
They leave the Dead Marshes behind and move further. Frodo feels that the Ring is getting more heavier, because they are coming closer to Sauron. He is afraid of Sauron. Gollum is getting more obsessed by the Ring. Sam notice that and is afraid that Gollum won’t hold his promise. Sam would love to kill Gollum, but Frodo is against that. So Sam waits patiently.
Then they reach the black gates of Mordor. But it is very hard to go through the gate. The gate is closed and there are Orcs everywhere. Then Gollum says that there is another way to go into Mordor. He didn’t tell it because they never asked for it. He is afraid that Frodo will bring the Ring to Sauron.
Page 302: “Another way!” said Frodo doubtfully, looking down at Gollum with searching eyes.
“Yes! Yes indeed! There was another way. Sméagol found it. let’s go and see if it’s still there!”
But Sam thinks that Gollum betrays them and leads them to a wrong way. Frodo still has faith in Gollum. So they move on.
The Hobbits have little food left. When Gollum catch a few rabbits, Sam is very happy and makes everything ready to cook the rabbits. Gollum doesn’t like that, he wants to eat them raw. While Sam and Gollem are arguing, Frodo is fast asleep. But Sam wins and after the Hobbits have finished the dinner, they hear some voices. It is Faramir, captain of Gondor, and his men. Faramir was the brother of Boromir. Gollum is suddenly gone. Faramir takes the Hobbits captive, because he doesn’t know whether they are good or bad. He takes them to the capital of Gondor.
They have long conversations with Faramir. Especially about Boromir. One night Faramir wakes Frodo. His man have found Gollum. Gollum is swimming in the Forbidden Pool. The Men kill everyone who enters this pool. Frodo bags Faramir not to shoot.
Page 363: “Shall we shoot?” said Faramir, turning quickly to Frodo. Frodo did not answer for a moment. Then “No!” he said. “No! I beg you not to.” If Sam had dared, he would have said “Yes,” quicker and louder. He could not see, but he guessed well enough from their words what they were looking at.”
Faramir listens to Frodo, but he takes Gollum captive. Now Gollum thinks that Frodo has betrayed him and that he can’t trust Frodo anymore.
A few days later, Faramir sets Frodo, Sam and Gollum loose. Gollum has faith in Frodo again and he promise to lead them further.
The days are getting darker, there is hardly any sunlight. The power of the Dark lord is still growing. It is now very difficult to follow Gollum.
They climb up some stairways and walk into a tunnel. What Frodo and Sam don’t know is that Shelob (an enormous big spider) lives in that tunnel. Shelob is a friend of Gollum, but he doesn’t like other visitors. The Hobbits are in great danger. Suddenly Gollum is gone. Frodo and Sam walk further through the tunnel. Then they see the big spider. Now they know that Gollum has tricked them. A fight follows, between the strong Shelob and the Hobbits. At last Sam kills Shelob. Frodo has passed out, but Sam thinks that he has passed away. He leaves Frodo behind with the intention to destroy the Ring alone.
A few hours later, he hear some Orcs say that they have taken a Hobbit captive. Then he understands that Frodo is not dead, but alive!
Page 439: “Clang. The gate was shut. Sam hurled himself against the bolted brazen plates and fell senseless to the ground. He was out in the darkness. Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy.”
He takes all his courage and goes to rescue Frodo.

Do you want to know how this story ends? You can read it in the third part of the trilogy: The Return of the King

11) Theme and motives:
The story is about courage.

Frodo’s courage to destroy the Ring.

Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf have the courage to fight with Orcs, although they think it is hopeless.

Théoden finds courage to ban Grima out of his life and fight.
These are just a few examples. Every character in this story has a different kind of courage.

12) Intention of the author:
I already told you that Tolkien was a great fan of myths and fairy-tales. The problem is that England has no typical English mythology. The only one that everybody regard as typical English is the story of King Arthur, but even that is actually coming from France. So he tried to make a story that is very much like a myth. He created a ‘second world’ (Middle Earth), it’s languages and thousands years of history. Tolkien spend his entire life making this world.

13) My opinion:
I think it is a good book. I had high expectations of this book, because I had seen the movie already. I like it because the difference between absolutely good (the Hobbits) and pure evil (Sauron and his Ring) is so huge. A lot of people say that this book is very boring, but I don’t agree that.

H1: beschrijf de goede en slechte kanten van het boek.

Goed aan het boek:
Ik vind het boek wel goed. De film had ik al gezien, dus ik had grote verwachtingen van het boek. Ik was wel bang dat het een vreselijk moeilijk boek zou zijn, het is tenslotte literatuur. Niets is minder waar. Er staan weinig moeilijke woorden in, en de zinnen zijn ook niet te lang. Het leest eigenlijk best makkelijk. Een heleboel mensen vinden het boek erg saai, maar dat valt best mee. In het begin is het wel even slikken. Als je eenmaal aan Tolkiens manier van schrijven gewend bent, wordt het boek steeds leuker. Het beste aan het boek vind ik dat het verschil tussen goed (de kleine Hobbits) en kwaad (Sauron, Saruman en de Orks) zo groot is.
Verder is het boek enorm gedetailleerd. De steden, gebouwen, gebieden en de karakters van de personages worden uitvoerig beschreven.
Page 128: “Before them stood the mountains of the South: white-tipped and streaked with black. The grass-lands rolled against the hills that clustered at their feet, and flowed up many valleys still dim and dark, untouched by the light of dawn, winding their way into the heart of the great mountains.”
Dat is wel handig, want je kunt je dan een veel betere voorstelling van Middle- Earth maken. Toch laat het boek (gelukkig) ook nog wat ruimte over voor je eigen fantasie.
Één van de belangrijkste motieven is dat er, hoe slecht de omstandigheden ook zijn, altijd hoop is. Het is een verhaal waar mensen hoop uit kunnen putten. Dat het goede uiteindelijk overwint. Dat vind ik wel mooi.

Slecht aan het boek:
Over de slechte kanten van het boek moest ik wel even nadenken. Misschien is het boek af en toe wel een klein beetje langdradig. Het had allemaal best ietsje korter gekund. Vooral de liedjes, die de personages tussendoor zingen, zijn moeilijk, saai en overbodig.
Page 143: “His voice rang clear as he chanted in the tongue of Rohan a call to arms.
Arise now, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Dire deeds awake, dark is it eastward.
Let horse be bridled, horn be sounded!
Froth Eorlingas!”
Er komen ook bijna geen vrouwen in voor, alleen Arwen, Galadriel en Éowyn. Hun rol is bovendien erg klein. Dat vind ik ook wel jammer. Het is een echte mannenwereld. Het boek is af en toe ook wel erg gewelddadig (dat zal dan wel bij de mannenwereld horen). Er wordt ook wel eens gezegd dat het thema van Tolkiens boeken ‘de dood’ is.
Page 6: “Boromir is dead,” said Aragorn. “I am unscathed, for I was not here with him. He fell defending the Hobbits, while I was upon the hill.”
“The Hobbits!” cried Gimli. “Where are they then? Where is Frodo?”
“I do not know,” answered Aragorn wearily. “before he died Boromir told me that the Orcs had bound them; he did not think that they were dead.”

H4: het boek vergeleken met de film.
De film lijkt in veel opzichten op het boek. Persoonlijk vind ik de film veel leuker. Er zit wat meer humor in, en de rol van de vrouw is (iets) groter.
Er zijn, net als de boeken, 3 films. De films hebben ook dezelfde titels.
In de film the two Towers zijn natuurlijk een hoop scènes weggelaten of verschoven. Het begin van het boek (de scheuring van het reisgenoot-schap) wordt al in de eerste film getoond. Het einde is ook anders: het gevecht met Shelob is te zien in the Return of the King. Ook het stuk dat Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli en Théoden naar Isengard rijden (en wat daarna komt, zoals Pippin die geobsedeerd raakt door de Palantir) is verplaatst naar de volgende film.
Page 220: “Do you indeed?” said Gandalf. “Well, I do not. I have now a last task to do before I go: I must pay Saruman a last farewell visit. Dangerous, and probably useless; but it must be done.”
Een paar scènes, zoals de logeerpartij bij Treebeard is, zijn weggelaten. Dat is op zich wel jammer, maar anders zou de film natuurlijk veel te lang gaan duren.
Page 90: “Now I am going to stand up and take a little sleep. Where will you stand?”
“We usually lie down to sleep,” said Merry. “We shall be all right where we are.”
“Lie down to sleep!” said Treebeard. “Why of course you do!”
Het grootste verschil zit ’m in het gedeelte waarin Frodo en Sam gevangen worden genomen door Faramir. In het boek is Faramir aardig en vriendelijk tegen hen, en voeren ze lange gesprekken over Boromirs dood. In de film is Faramir erg bot en probeert hij zelfs de Ring van Frodo af te pakken.
Zoals ik al eerder zei is de rol van de vrouw groter. In het boek komt Arwen zelfs helemaal niet voor. In de film wel, ze vraagt zich af of ze haar onsterfelijkheid op zal geven voor Aragorn, de man van wie ze houdt. De film is dus ook veel romantischer. Ook Éowyn kom je in de film vaker tegen. Ze is bang om opgesloten te worden in een glazen kooitje en zou het liefste met de mannen mee gaan, om te vechten tegen het kwade.
Bovendien wordt ze verliefd op Aragorn, maar die is al bezet.
Page 140: “Go Éowyn sister-daughter!” said the old king. “The time for fear is past.”
The woman turned and went slowly into the house. As she passed the doors she turned and looked back. Grave and thoughtful was her glance, as she looked on the king with cool pity in her eyes. Very fair was her face, and her long hair was like a river of gold. Slender and tall she was in her white robe girt with silver; but strong she seemed and stern as steel, a daughter of kings.”
De rol van Saruman is ook groter. In het boek komt hij amper aan het woord. In de film zie je hoe hij zijn Uruk-Hai’s (een kruising van Orcs en Aardmannen) fokt, en hoe hij ze aanmoedigt om te gaan vechten.
In de film wordt geen aandacht besteed aan de gedichten en liederen. Dat vind ik ook wel een verbetering.