Sunday, January 27, 2008

Tom Bombadil

Is this guy quite possibly the weirdest character in the book or what? Somehow, he knows everything and is everywhere. He skipps around the forest singing about the color of his boots and taking a bath. He is married to a super hot elf and has mysterious magical powers. Frodo calls him "Master". Then for some crazy reason, Frodo gives him the ring. Does anyone else find this odd? The character of Tom Bombadil kind of reminds me of a Father of Time character. From what Tom has said, it seems like he could be very, very, old. What do you think?

8 comments:

Megan Becker said...

I LOVE the character of Tom Bombadil. I think that he is one of the most interesting characters in the book. He seems so wise and all knowing..I think that is why the hobbits seemed so quick to trust him and why Frodo gave him the ring. I think that he knew that he wouldn't use it for anything. I love all of his songs and stories. I would have liked to see Peter Jackson recreate his character in the movies. It would have been interesting to see how they have betrayed him.

Emily said...

I agree that Tom Bombadil was a good character. I also watched all three movies this past weekend, and was really let down that Tom wasn't a part of them. It seems odd that there were almost two chapters devoted to this intriguing character and he didn't make a second of the movie.
I think too that he is a sort of Father Time character. It seemed that he had been around for a long time and he knew what was happening. I think that is also why the hobbits trusted him.
It's crazy that he put the ring on and nothing happened. I want to know who he was. They never really adressed if he was a man, elf, or what.
It would be great to know what everyone else thought he was.

joe donaldson said...

Tom Bombadil is God- straight up. In Tolkien's creation myth he says all was created by a song- (the creator, the first singer) Later in the story, the idea is proposed to just give Tom the ring instead of heading off for Mt. Doom, but Gandalf insists Tom would just lose it since it has no power over him- also Elrond will later say 'If ALL else is conquered, Bombadil will fall, Last as he was First.'

mrs.hendo2b said...

After our conversation in class, I truly believe that Tom Bombadil is God. As Rocky said, everyone calls him Master. His character is just confusing when it comes to some of the things said about him. Like I mentioned in class, he has humanistic qualities and godly qualities. So what does that make him? Joe's closing statement is a good place to start. He was first and he will be last. That seems like a total reference to him being God. (You know the Alpha and the Omega...come on how much clearer does that need to be as a God reference). I guess the reason I feel that he is God so strongly is the how everyone keeps calling him Master, and not just Master of his home, but Master of the whole Old Forest.

Phil F said...

After looking over the chapters a little bit I kind of agree with Tom being god. I would not say directly "Tom is God", but more so Godly like we discussed a bit in class. I think he just represents the leader (so to speak) of the good side, while Sauron does the same for Mordor being the bad. Tom even says himself in the book on page 167..."Out east my knowledge fails."

Dan Thouvenot said...

Basically, it puts what we had talked about in class before into perspective. The north and west are considered good (heaven) and the south and east are bad (hell). Therefore it could be saying that Tom has power in heaven but doesn't control anything in the east. I would assume Sauron would be the same in that he wouldn't have power in the West.

seth swanson said...

Tom Bombadil is not necessarily God per say. i think that tolkien definitely put him in here for a reason and that reason was not for the plot but for the reader. He wanted us to see that even though he never introduces religion in the trilogy, through his eyes as a person there is a higher being that has unlimited power. This to us signifies god through Tolkiens eyes. Although there is a highest power for both good and evil represented by the good hearts of mens and their side and evil sauron who created the ring, there is still a being who created everything and everyone. this person is bombadil. people say that he had humanistic features in the book but that was there only as a cover up, somewhat like a humanistic form in order for him to come in contact with the hobbits. Of course he didnt care what went on, he already knew the outcome of everything. he knows how all things will fall and come together in the end so he serves as an ode or a positive sign to the future of the hobbits. once the reader has finished the storyline they can look back and see that bombadil knew what would happen all along so he just hangs out in the forest and sings his songs without a care. similar to a god in the real world he is all knowing yet still lets the people make their choices. Maybe its a stretch... but i have to blog!

allison said...

After reading about Tom Bombadil, I was also disappointed that he was not featured in the movies. I mean, he played quite a big role in the book, and to just leave that out of the movie seems odd. As far as Tom being God, I really don't know. Just something to be left for the imagination.