Characters you love?

[Dynaviir]

Is their any character in Tolkien's books that anyone genuinely loves or cares about?

For me it has to be Sam. His dedication to Frodo during The Two Towers and Return of the King is very heartwarming in such a dark book, and I almost wanted to cry, because it was so emotional. Now I have a love for Sam as a character, because of his love for Frodo.

I also feel very sorry for Smeagol. His corruption was very sorrowful and painful, and even he didn't deserve all the events that happened to him. I've always cared deeply about Smeagol, because of his love for Frodo in the Two Towers.

I find it very interesting seeing my two favourite characters conflict and eventually cause Smeagol to be corrupted by Gollum. For some reason I felt very sorry for him from the moment I read about him in The Hobbit, though why then I'm not quite sure, although I feel it must have been pity.

There is also Eowyn, who I have a strong interest in because of her strength and courage, and because she was rejected by Aragorn. I find her one of the most interesting characters, because she is probably the lead female character in The Lord of the Rings, as Galadriel and Arwen do little, and because I seem to love to hate Shelob (in a good way). Her role is very important in my opinion, and I feel she represents peace throughout the entire story when she appears.

Does anyone else feel very strongly about any of the characters in the books? I'm sure this must have been discussed somewhere before, but I'm not sure if ever any thread about genuine attachment to characters was made, or if they were 'Who was your favourite character?' theads.