Absolute Good in Lord of the Rings

[Groin Redbeard]

Originally Posted by Gollum the Great

I don't believe in LOTR personified good, in and of itself. In ME Eru did, because Tolkien was no doubt following the Catholic principle (or whatever you call it) that God is goodness itself and therefore can have no flaw, no injustice, do no wrong, and that sort of thing.

You hit the nail right on the head, Gollum. In order for Tolkien to personify good in a certain character his works would become allegorical, and Tolkien specifically said he detests allegories (I think I'll go and look that quote up for y'all).

Frodo comes to mind as the one who resists evil (being the Ring) the most in the story. Unlike other characters, he is almost always susceptible to the corruption of the Ring, but he always comes out on top, except for the final task of getting rid of the evil. Of course Frodo was effected by the Rings power, but he shows more spunk in resisting it 9/10 times. Even he can't be described as the personification of good, Sam certainly fills the gap. When Frodo falls Sam is there to help him back up, but when Sam's temper gets the better of himself, and he treats Gollum ill, Frodo is there to treat Gollum as an equal. I think those two are the closest you get to "good".