Book Report: Drizzt Do’Urden Essay Example

the fact that he will likely outlive Cattie-Brie due to their differing lifespans. It should be noted that the character of Drizzt was created by R. A. Salvatore in 1987 by chance.

A manuscript was sent by A. Salvatore to Mary Kirchoff, who was managing editor of TSR's book department at the time, for his novel Echoes of the Fourth Magic in 1990. Kirchoff enjoyed it but requested that it be rewritten to take place in the Forgotten Realms. She provided him with Darkwalker on Moonshae by Douglas Niles, which was the sole novel set in the Forgotten Realms around that time. Salvatore proposed a sequel to Darkwalker, but Kirchoff replied with a vast map of the Forgotten Realms and requested a fresh tale set in a new region of the Realms. After two weeks of back-and-forth phone calls, Salvatore identified an open location on the map that hadn't already been reserved for another project and landed on Icewind Dale as the ideal spot for his new story.

Salvatore relocated his book to the Moonshae Isles, but after discovering the size of the Realms, he moved the story north by a thousand miles. Drizzt was a creation of Salvatore's in response to the pressure to create a sidekick for Wulfgar in the Icewind Dale series. Salvatore had initially sent an early version of The Crystal Shard, which would later become his first published novel, to TSR, and received a call from Kirchoff informing him that one of the characters could not be used during a marketing meeting she was attending.

Salvatore mentioned having a Dark Elf as Kirchoff was rushing to a meeting. Despite requesting time to consider

it, she was already late. Kirchoff initially had doubts, but Salvatore assured her that the Dark Elf's role would be minor. When Kirchoff inquired about the character's name, Salvatore responded with "Drizzt Do'Urden," unable to spell it upon request.

During an interview, Salvatore reminisced about how Drizzt came to be, stating, "I'm not sure where it originated from. I suppose it was due to Gary Gygax's excellent creation of the drow elves that something about them stayed with me. Thank goodness!" Despite assumptions from numerous readers that Drizzt was inspired by Salvatore's Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, this is not true. Salvatore's inspirations were found in classic literature and J's works.

According to R. R. Tolkien, Drizzt can be considered as a blend of Daryth from Darkwalker on Moonshae and Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings.

According to Salvatore, Drizzt is the Dungeons & Dragons series' most brave and fascinating character. He labels him as "the classic romantic hero" who remains misunderstood, adhering to a set of ideals even in the face of difficulty, and yet frequently receiving no recognition. This is precisely why I decided to write about him.