Thursday, March 20, 2008

Help needed

I need help understanding why Gollum is so willing to help the hobbits and why he isn't more aggresive at snatching the ring from Frodo. His precious is what he lives for and it's right under his nose! I know Gollum swore by the ring to "be very very good" and "never, never, to let Him have it. Never! Smeagol will save it" Is "Him" smeagol himself or was Gollum referring to Sauron? I guess Gollum stuck to the promise because he swore by the ring that owns him? Or he stuck to the promise because he is owned by the ring and will therefore obey its master??

6 comments:

Megan Becker said...

When Gollum says "Him" he is referring to Sauron. I think that he knows the power Sauron already has and what power he will have if he ever gets the ring. As for why he doesn't try to steal the ring, I think the reason for that at first is because the hobbits have threatened his life, so he swears by it. Also, there still is some good left in Gollum, and that side starts to show through. As you can see the progress through, you see the inner struggle Gollum is having, which I believe switches his reasoning for protecting the ring. I think that in the end, he is just looking for the most opportune time to snatch the ring and have it for his own again.

becky said...

I would agree that Gollum would or will attempt to snatch the ring. Currently though, it is (in my opinion) Smeagol who made the promise and Smeagol who is keeping the promise. I love how the good of Smeagol is "holding on"! Of course, I don't know the ending but am enjoying how Tolkien created Gollum's dueling personalities.

erin smith said...

An interesting thing about Gollum, is that I think part of him (some buried part of Smeagol) identifies with the hobbits. He used to be a hobbit, and so he would have no problem becoming one of their company. He never attempts to be near Elves or Men or even Orcs long enough to establish any sort of communication on his own will.
He even is said to have a connection to Frodo. In Two Towers, it says, in regards to Frodo and Gollum, "Yet the two were in some way akin and not alien: they could reach into one another's minds."

Editwright said...

I wonder, however, if the connection between Frodo and Gollum is caused only by the fact that they share the burden of the ring.

Gollum has certainly lost almost every characteristic that belongs to hobbits. He is more serpent-like or monstrous than Hobbit-like. He has an adverse reaction to sunlight. Even his digestive system (or at least his sense of taste) has been mutated by his long withdrawal from society and his embrace of darkness and primitivism.

The ring, however, affects the minds, as well as the physical forms, of those who carry it. I think that is the connection that Frodo and Gollum share. Both view the ring as the most important thing in the world. While Frodo knows that it's important because it could bring about the end of all that he knows in Middle-earth, it's the most 'precious' thing in the world to Gollum because it's been practically a physical attachment to him for centuries.

Just A Knit Wit said...

I think it's because he promised to help them and he swore on the Precious to do it. The ring is evil and if he betrays his promise it'll find a way to punish him.

allison said...

I think Gollum helps the hobbits not only because he fears what they will do to him, but also because the ring does mean so much to him. He swore on it and that means something to Gollum. Also, Gollum sees the good in Sam and Frodo and maybe remembers the way he used to be and he tries to get back to that. Still, the evil side keeps coming out.