Friendship Tolkien Style/Cheerfullness with Merry and Pippin

I know a lot of people view Merry and Pippin as silly little characters who are just there for the sake of it. Although most of the time those people have only watched the movies. However Merry and Pip have a message to share just like the others.
These two are just so cute together and their actions and quotes make for good laughs, but they are so much more than that.

How they meet:
Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took have been close friends for as long as we know. They are quite the goofballs when together and love to get into trouble. (Like when they set off one of Gandalf's fireworks the wrong way)

What brings them close:
Although Merry and Pip are cousins and have been BFFs since little tiny Hobbits, they are immature in their friendship till the adventure. As they go through dangers and trials they start to realize how much they truly need each other.

Their friendship:
One very good scene is where Merry and Pippin have been separated for a while and Merry ends up getting hurt in a battle. Pippin finds him an comforts him. Merry asks if he's going to leave him and Pippin says no. I don't know yet if it's in the books too, I haven't gotten that far in the Return of the King. But the sweetest thing about that is Merry has always been the older cousin, looking out for Pip. I think this is where Pippin finally grows up a bit.

What I love about these two is they might not be great fighters like Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli, or save the world like Frodo and Sam, and they might not be as smart as Gandalf, and yet they have a purpose. Other than the few times they save each other and others I think what they're really there for is to keep everyone's hopes up. I mean, if those little hobbits hadn't of been there I think every one would of had some serious depression. Those two where funny, they goofed around together even when great danger pressed against them. They could have let fear grip and paralyze their hearts, but they had each other and they knew that together they could put a smile on and face whatever came their way. Sure they were immature, sure they had no clue how dangerous everything was, and sure they had no real qualifications for being on that quest, but they sure did make a difference.
These two remind me that even if I feel like I have no qualifications for being here, when I feel useless with no real talents, I remember that even Merrys and Pippins can make a difference. And nobody's here without a reason. :)

What do you think of Merry and Pip? Did I miss anything? And... Wait, they come in pints? Excuse me.

Brookie

Friendship Tolkien style/Self-Sacrafice with Sam and Frodo

I love the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. It's greatly inspired me in many ways. But one thing that really struck my heart was the friendships in them all. Most of all between Sam and Frodo.

Now I could go on and on forever about the friendships in these wonderful books. I won't, or at least I'll try my best not to. ;)

Now a lot of people say Frodo was a jerk and Sam should have been the real hero in the story. I don't believe that is so. If you read the books you'll be reminded a lot that the weight of the ring is almost unbearable, it gnaws at Frodo's self-control. Frodo has a hard enough time just carrying the thing. And it gets harder the closer they get to Mount Doom. Frodo has all he can bear carrying the ring, Sam is amazing, and Frodo might not have been the best friend at the time, but considering the circumstances I think we might be able to give Frodo a little slack.  Alrighty, now that I have that rant out of the way. (I might have sounded pretty calm while sharing that, but ask my little sister, I can really get annoying with my ranting on this subject!)

How they meet:
The Gaffer, Sam's father was Bilbo's gardener at Bag End, Sam and Frodo then took on their places. They are friends before the adventure, not super close though, but Sam feels a type of loyalty to Frodo.

What brings them close:
Gandalf tells Sam that he is to go on to Rivendell with Frodo. Then he makes him promise, "Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee." Sam promises and keeps that promise to the very best of his abilities. And he carries it out more than once, reminding Frodo of his promise. He takes on a real protective stance over Frodo.

Their friendship:
There are so many parts, but I'll stick to just a few.
When they're at Rivendell and Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mount Doom Sam has been hiding and keeping watch over Frodo, he then comes out and says that if Master Frodo is going, he is too.
At the end of the Fellowship of the Ring Frodo is taking off on his own without the rest of the group, Sam realizes while looking for him what he was probably doing. He runs back down to the shore of the lake and makes Frodo take him too.
When Frodo is kidnapped by the orcs Sam doesn't leave him to be taken to Sauron, but goes and rescues him.
Sam gives up much of his food and sleep to keep watch over Frodo from Gollum.
Then when Frodo is about to give up Sam carries him up Mount Doom.

For Frodo's part he doesn't do a whole lot for Sam, but you can clearly see how much he loves Sam and appreciates him. I want to share one of my favorite moments between Sam and Frodo.

“Still, I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We're in one, of course, but I mean: put into words, you know, told by the fireside, or read out of a great big book with red and black letters, years and years afterwards. And people will say: "Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring!" And they will say: "Yes, that's one of my favourite stories. Frodo was very brave, wasn't he, dad?" "Yes, my boy, the famousest of the hobbits, and that's saying a lot."
'It's saying a lot too much,' said Frodo, and he laughed, a long clear laugh from his heart. Such a sound had not been heard in those places since Sauron came to Middle-earth. To Sam suddenly it seemed as if all the stones were listening and the tall rocks leaning over them. But Frodo did not heed them; he laughed again. 'Why, Sam,' he said, 'to hear you somehow makes me as merry as if the story was already written. But you've left out one of the chief characters: Samwise the stouthearted. "I want to hear more about Sam, dad. Why didn't they put in more of his talk, dad? That's what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam, would he, dad?"'
'Now, Mr. Frodo,' said Sam, 'you shouldn't make fun. I was serious.'
'So was I,' said Frodo, 'and so I am.

What I love about these two:
Gosh, I just can't put my love for these two into words. They are such amazing friends. They care for one another more than they care for themselves. They would die before they saw something bad happen to the other and that is the ultimate friendship. :)

I hope you liked it and there's more coming!! Tell me what do you think about Frodo's and Sam's friendship? And if you dare, what do you think about Frodo's attitude towards Sam? Tread that ground very lightly around here, I warn you. ;)

Brookie

Frozen / Things we can learn from the characters / Elsa

Oh my gosh I have wanted to do a post on Frozen forever. I am finally doing it!!

Elsa: At the beginning Elsa tried to hide her powers. Then she let them slip and ran away. Then she used them excessively, not caring about anything anymore. She was as the song goes, 'Letting it go'. Then she accidentally hurt Anna. Anna eventually ended up saving her, and she sat back down, and got to work. 

What we can learn: 1) She was never happy hiding her powers. God gives us gifts to use for His glory, not to hide away.  2) When she finally let her powers loose, she let go of the reins and let the horse run wild. It's okay to let a horse run, but she let go of the reins. She not only didn't listen to the bad things people where saying about her, which was good, but she forgot all responsibility of being queen, older sister, and creature of God 3) Because of her lack of responsibility she hurt Anna when Anna was trying to help Elsa and Arendelle 4) Anna was the one who ended up saving Elsa from Prince Hans. When Elsa realized what true love was, and how to restore summer, she finally did the right thing 5) Elsa took back the reins and got her kingdom under control.

I'll be doing more with Anna, Hans, Christophe, and Olaf, and maybe Sven.

Hope you liked it. I'd really like some feed-back on how I can improve these posts, I don't feel like this was the best, but don't know how to make it better.

Brookie