Peregrin Took
What is it that draws people to Pippin in THE LORD OF THE RINGS? Is it his fun-loving personality that people can relate to? Is it his cute red curls, funny accent, and delightful hobbit shortness? Is it his ability to break out in song and remain cheerful no matter what the situation? Or his pure love for his friends and the little things that remind us how big his heart is and how brave he really is? He is my favorite character in this movie and book for all of these endearing traits, and especially for his line, "I'm not likely to grow anymore - except sideways."
Gage Ironshanks
I know that you've never heard of him - only a select few have. He is a character I have created in a book I am writing that has no current title. This man hardly warrants the name, having seen only seventeen winters. Gage is an outcast, taken with fits of madness that lead him to do things even he cannot imagine. His scruffy appearance, piercing eyes, and dark demeanor render him almost inapproachable. His tattered cloak flies in and out of trees like a bird of prey. His continuous acts of violence and his frequent proof of a soft heart through it all keeps me, his creator, in suspense. The black sheet that seems to cover his character from my eyes exasperates me. I want to erase everything I have written about him, but it is impossible to do so. His two-sided personality eludes my pen with amazing dexterity as I try to pin him to the page. He is my enemy, yet I am somehow restrained from obliterating him. Perhaps I will one day overcome my forbearance with him and wipe him from the face of the earth.
Ok, whoa. That was WAY dramatic! But, oh well, it's true!!!:)
What is it that draws people to Pippin in THE LORD OF THE RINGS? Is it his fun-loving personality that people can relate to? Is it his cute red curls, funny accent, and delightful hobbit shortness? Is it his ability to break out in song and remain cheerful no matter what the situation? Or his pure love for his friends and the little things that remind us how big his heart is and how brave he really is? He is my favorite character in this movie and book for all of these endearing traits, and especially for his line, "I'm not likely to grow anymore - except sideways."
Gage Ironshanks
I know that you've never heard of him - only a select few have. He is a character I have created in a book I am writing that has no current title. This man hardly warrants the name, having seen only seventeen winters. Gage is an outcast, taken with fits of madness that lead him to do things even he cannot imagine. His scruffy appearance, piercing eyes, and dark demeanor render him almost inapproachable. His tattered cloak flies in and out of trees like a bird of prey. His continuous acts of violence and his frequent proof of a soft heart through it all keeps me, his creator, in suspense. The black sheet that seems to cover his character from my eyes exasperates me. I want to erase everything I have written about him, but it is impossible to do so. His two-sided personality eludes my pen with amazing dexterity as I try to pin him to the page. He is my enemy, yet I am somehow restrained from obliterating him. Perhaps I will one day overcome my forbearance with him and wipe him from the face of the earth.
Ok, whoa. That was WAY dramatic! But, oh well, it's true!!!:)
OK, this was WAY over the top....and delightfully so!! :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've read a "My Favorite Character" lesson quite like this one before. You presented it in a unique way that hooked me right from the start (Pippin).
And Gage Ironshanks (just the name intrigues me) is quite a creation. I think you're a lesson ahead of yourself, however, as Lesson 3&4 ask you to do exactly what you did with Gage--create your own character (make notes in lesson 3; a well-developed paragraph in lesson 4 from your notes). Obviously you are jumping ahead with leaps and bounds.
I had trouble figuring out if Gage is a character you like or don't like (enemy?)...hmm....
And as far as Lesson 1 is concerned (if this posts today), I wanted to comment that you stated your PROBLEM a little vaguely for readers who perhaps are not familiar with the series (i.e. "How is this ring a problem?"). However, because you expanded the problem in your PLOT, it worked out OK. Usually I ask the students(younger) to show me they understand their story's problem by making the problem clear: "Frodo and his friends must destroy the evil Lord Sauron's ring of power to keep Middle Earth from falling into his hands." or something like that.
Anyway, I LOVE your "voice" and your teachers at college are very lucky to get a chance to read your creations.
Looking forward to more lessons from you....