#charactermap

The chart above shows the points of interaction from character to character and each respective character’s journey as The Lord of the Rings progresses. The key on the bottom left also highlights major battles or pivotal scenes in each of the movies. For example, in the picture below (a zoomed segment of the above picture):

The Council of Elrond marks a major event in the story because it signified the formation of the Fellowship of the Ring. Elrond of Rivendell and all who were summoned to the Council decided the only way to be free of Sauron’s evil was to cast the Ring back into Mount Doom. To everyone’s surprise, Frodo volunteered to take on this perilous task. All that agreed to accompany Frodo (Aragon, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir,....etc.) became what’s known as the Fellowship of the Ring.

Character List

The Lord of the Rings is one of the longest film and novel trilogies. Because of the length, the character list is quite sizable. Here’s a breakdown of only the main characters in Tolkien’s epic:

Aragorn 

The descendant of Isildur, and raised by the Elf King Elrond, Aragorn is the heir to the throne of Gondor, but at the beginning of the trilogy, he hides this identity and pretends to be a ranger named Strider. As the trilogy progresses, he shows himself to be a noble leader with a pure heart, ready to assume his role on the crown once and for all. 

Frodo

An ordinary hobbit, but protagonist of the trilogy, Frodo is chosen by Gandalf to return the One Ring back to Mordor. His mission to destroy the ring involves a treacherous journey and countless dangers such as orcs, wraiths, and volcanoes. However, his perilous journey to Mordor is not his only burdensome task. His real challenge is to bear the ring without giving in to its temptations. This resistance is Frodo’s inner journey, in which his pure heart is constantly under assault by his darker yearnings for power.

Gandalf

A grandfatherly wizard whose knowledge that Bilbo possesses the ring sets the whole trilogy in motion. Gandalf selects Frodo to carry the ring and Sam to be his protector. In the mines of Moria, he provides the other members in the fellowship the model for sacrifice as he fought Balrog to the death. Most assume he died in this battle, but Gandalf returns as Gandalf the White later in the trilogy. Affable, slow, and deliberate, but a skilled fighter, Gandalf shows remarkable wisdom and insight throughout the series to help the fellowship achieve its quest. 

Sam

Frodo’s most loyal and constant companion, Sam is a ordinary hobbit who was chosen by Gandalf to accompany Frodo on his journey to Mordor. Sam’s dedication to protect Frodo on his journey is comparable to Frodo’s dedication to destroy the ring. As the trilogy progresses, it is Sam who proves the most indispensable to Frodo, and the two are so isolated in their journey that they normally don’t know what the other members of the fellowship are facing. Though the other members of the fellowship make it possible for Frodo and Sam to continue their journey, Sam himself makes it possible for Frodo to carry on.

Gollum/Smeagol

Before becoming obsessed with the ring, Gollum was a hobbit named Smeagol. Once Smeagol laid eyes on the ring, he became obsessed with it, and years later, it became Gollum’s sole reason for living. His transformation into the disgusting Gollum serves as a cautionary tale of the evil effects of the ring. Once aware Frodo possesses the ring, Gollum follows him the rest of his journey. Though in the end Gollum becomes completely evil and obsessed with the ring, he struggles between good and evil as the series progressed. 

Sauron

In college I took a classical mythology course wherein we read a number of Greek tragedies. As with almost all my books, the margins are full of doodles. To help keep character relations straight and as a quick study tool before a quiz, I made a diagram of the characters of Sophocles' Antigone. And now, here's a cleaned up digital copy.

Spoiler alert: when your father accidentally marries his mother, expect lots of family drama in the aftermath.

If you're not familiar with the plot to Antigone, here's my abbreviated version (numbers correspond to the plot points in the image):

Before the play starts:

Oedipus unknowingly marries his mother. They have four children.

Once the incest is out of the bag, Oedipus blinds himself and Jocasta takes her own life.

In the upheaval that follows, their sons end up on different sides and fight one another to the death.

Creon, Jocasta's sister, takes the throne. He decides Eteocles should get a proper burial, but leaves Polyneices' body out on the battlefield to rot.

Within the play:

Antigone won't stand for it and, despite her sister Ismene being a wimp and not helping, she goes and gives Polyneices his funeral rights.

Creon, angry that he has been thwarted, first jails Antigone and Ismene, then orders Antigone buried alive.

Off stage and without anyone knowing yet, Antigone hangs herself in her tomb (beats a slow death by starvation or suffocation).

Teiresias shows up to warn Creon that he's pissing off the deities. Creon relents and orders Antigone unearthed.

Haemon, who was engaged to Antigone and argued for her release from his father, kills himself on discovering she is dead.

Eurydice kills herself when she learns her son is dead