A very bizarre thought occurred to me this morning as I got ready to come to class. For some reason the relationship between the ring and its wearers was on my mind, you know your usual morning pondering kind of situation. Anyway I was think over the nature of Hobbits and it occurred to me that maybe their greatest ambition is to live forever. Let me explain, the nature of the hobbit is to live a comfortable life, eat good food, drink and smoke some pipeweed. Possible all they want is eternal life like Elves, so they can continue to enjoy these great things. We have also talked about in class how the ring is probably the only thing keeping Gollum alive at this point, maybe that’s why he needs it so badly, the only thing he is willing to loose his life fir is this ring, because it’s the only thing keeping him alive. We also know that Bilbo has lived a very long life compared to other Hobbits, when he parts from the ring he has to go live in Rivendell, which is a magical place. However, when he feels senile he asks Frodo to see the ring again. Finally we see Frodo is basically dying painfully slowly the whole way home. I think Sam’s relationship with the ring also supports my morning delusion, Sam doesn’t want the ring because he doesn’t want eternal life. Sam just wants to have a happy life, not an eternal one. Sam doesn’t have the comforts that Bilbo and Frodo had so he is content with what he gets. Sam also admires elves above any race. Having eternal life would break the enchantment of the elves, the magic behind them, so of course Sam who is a simple man with simple pleasures would not want this bit of magic corrupted.
3 comments:
This is a really interesting interpretation of the temptation the ring exerts on its bearers. Your ideas are very similar to the themes Tolkien clearly drew in the “Akallabêth” in The Silmarillion. While it’s about Men instead of Hobbits, Tolkien explored deeply the idea of the fear of death. Even with their longer lifespans, the Men of Númenor eventually begin to fear death and try to hold onto life as long as possible. Eventually under Sauron’s temptation they sail in completely futile war against the Valar in hopes of claiming the Undying Lands and endless life for themselves. This results in the destruction of Númenor. The idea that death is a gift is prevalent from the beginning of The Silmarillion, and there is also the concept that an extended lifespan is an unnatural stretching of one’s existence slowly dwindling to nothingness; mortal beings cannot have true immortal life even if their death is postponed by magic.
~Ulmo
Wow, what an interesting thought! I am not too sure what I think about this, but I agree with Ulmo's comment that Tolkien definitely presents death as a gift to Men, and not to Elves. I see where you are coming from with your idea that Hobbit's just want to live long lives. At least from what I have seen, they are not too caught up in the length of their lives and are more concerned about taking it slow and enjoying the time they have. This makes me think that they are not too concerned about their death, but it is definitely possible.
-Melian
I love your crazy train of thought (lol). I feel like most of the Hobbits are similar to Sam, as you describe him here. They want to live comfortable lives with food and pipeweed because they like it and because it makes them happy. This is why Frodo and Bilbo (I guess Merry and Pippin as well) are considered to be "those" crazy Hobbits who go off on crazy adventures and come back with strange mannerisms and stories. Most Hobbits like comfort for comfort's sake, but Frodo and Bilbo stepped out a little beyond the Hobbit norm to experience life a little closer to the edge. They both nearly lost their lives many times and, while we could say that Frodo did it for the Ring, Bilbo hardly felt the effects of the Ring throughout his story. So maybe they just like being comfy because...well...who doesn't?
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