Throughout its history, the One Ring comes to different people of many races. It tempts them all, preying on their individual weaknesses and ambitions. Some fall to its lure, some fear even to touch it. Yet two small Hobbits carry the Ring all the way to the heart of Mordor.
Thus, an interesting question arises: were Hobbits in general more resistant to the One Ring? And, if so, why?
More, does this extend to all the rings of power that the Noldor of Eregion forged in the Second Age?
The nature of Hobbit resistance to the Rings of Power
While Frodo and Bilbo each bore the One for a long period of time, the wisest (arguably) of the Wise — Gandalf, will not even hear of being offered the Ring. It clearly tempts Galadriel sorely, and leads Boromir to ruin as surely as it led Isildur to his.
A Hobbit in the Vale of Anduin named Smeagol once fell to the power of the One Ring almost instantly, while Men like Aragorn and Faramir hardly seem to aknowledge its existence. And even the strongest willed of the men who later become known as the Nazgul find the Nine rings too much for their mortal frames, while the dwarves proved legendarily resistant to the Seven.
Is there some common denominator to be found among all these stories? Were Hobbits truly more resistant than other races to the rings of power?
Join us in the Hall of Fire this Saturday at 6pm ET as we discuss these questions that lie at the heart of The Lord of the Rings.
Upcoming topics
October 4: ROTK Bk 6, Ch 6: Many Partings
Time zone conversions
Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. Alternatively, check our handy Event Announcer over on Time and Date for the correct time in your area.
America:
6.00pm EDT (New York)
5.00pm CDT (Chicago)
4.00pm MDT (Denver)
3.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)
Europe:
11.00pm BST (London)
Midnight CEST (Paris)
1.00am EEST (Helsinki)
Asia-Pacific
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
10.00am NZST (Sunday) Wellington
How long do your topic chats go for?
Our chats usually last from an hour to ninety minutes, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation! However, our main room, #theonering.net is open 24 hours a day. We don’t always talk Tolkien there, but if you have a burning question, you’ll usually find one or two of “the regulars” up for a chat!
Where — connection details
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. It is based on internet relay chat technology (that means it’s hella old skool). It’s a text-only, moderated chat room full of eccentric Tolkien fans. We’re open 24/7 (although some times are busier and more active than others).
There are many ways to connect to the chat server. However, the easiest is generally to use a browser-based client. We usually direct folks to Mibbit:
* TORn Mibbit Widget
* Mibbit direct (as opposed to the widget above, this allows you to see others joining and leaving)
If you’re more oldschool or technically adept, you can install one of the scores of standalone chat clients that available for desktop and mobile devices. Just plug in our server details (see bottom) into the client and connect.
* Xchat: http://xchat.org/ (Windoze PC and Linux. Free)
* mIRC: http://www.mirc.com/ (Windoze PC. 30-day trial)
* AndChat: http://www.andchat.net/ (Android app for mobile. Free)
* Colloquy: http://colloquy.info/ (Mac OS and Apple mobile devices. Free)
Our server details:
IRC server name: irc.theonering.net
Channel/room name: #theonering.net
Port: 6667 (6697 for SSL connections)
