Gollum is an addict of the One Ring. Gollum identifies with the Ring, calling both himself and the Ring “my precious”. Gollum’s personality has been nearly destroyed by possessing and being possessed by the Ring for hundreds of years.
Riddles in the Dark, by David Wenzel
I think most readers of The Lord of the Rings would agree with these characteristic statements about Gollum. They explain his extraordinary behavior and bizarre speech patterns. The identity of Gollum with the Ring is one of the driving forces behind the primary plot of the book: Frodo’s quest of Mt. Doom to destroy the Ring, in which he is guided for much of the way by Gollum, who treacherously hopes to recover it for himself. Gollum’s degradation and tendency to evil also shows us the danger that Frodo is in. If he succumbs to the Ring, he will become another Gollum – who was, originally, a hobbit!
But who remembers Gollum from the good old days? Back when the Ring was just a ring. Back when Gollum was just a scary but funny ghoul who ate passers-by, but loved riddles. Back when he would abjectly apologize for breaking a promise, and ever so politely show his guest the way out of his cavern. Who now has read the first edition of The Hobbit, written years before The Lord of the Rings was even thought of? In that quaint book, Bilbo’s ring is truly just a ring of invisibility, introduced into the story to better his chances of success as the world’s most unlikely burglar. And Gollum, as described above, was a lot more innocent – a mere figure of passing comic-horror in the same league as the three Cockney trolls, and the cattily hissing spiders. Continue reading ““It likes riddles, praps it does, does it?””
Eowyn71 writes: The folks at Mental Floss features this informative article on our beloved Professor: “10 Things You Should Know About J.R.R. Tolkien”. From a description of his lectures, I’d *love* to be one of his students at Oxford! More..
A well-loved Birmingham nature reserve acknowledged by JR Tolkien as the inspiration behind the mystical Old Forest in his world famous novels The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, has won a £376,500 grant* from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The project, which will be undertaken by The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country, hopes to both restore Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood Local Nature Reserve as a green space of exceptional heritage significance, improving access for people of all abilities to experience and enjoy. Many years of underinvestment – the site was destined for a fate as a landfill site – will be reversed with a comprehensive conservation management plan of its key heritage features and biodiversity. The site was renamed in 2000 after urban conservation campaigner Joy Fifer worked tirelessly in the 1980’s on the ‘Save Our Bog’ campaign to save the site from development and is now a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. It is home to a rich diversity of habitats, including the bog itself, various dry woodlands and a high number of species including birds, invertebrates and small mammals. In addition, the site also has important cultural and archaeological significance including two Bronze Age burnt mounds with Scheduled Ancient Monument status, and a former mill pool dam, a pond and a former water mill. Continue reading “Moseley Bog celebrates Heritage Lottery Fund win for ‘Tolkien’s playground’ Nature Reserve!”
Just why do the Dwarves not teach their language to other races? Join us on the discussion boards to see what theories the members come up with! [Discuss]
A Birmingham nature reserve that was a favourite childhood playground of Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien has been awarded a £376,500 lottery grant. Tolkien said Moseley Bog had inspired the mystical Old Forest that his Hobbit characters travelled through in the Lord of the Rings. The reserve is owned by Birmingham City Council and managed by the Friends of Moseley Bog and a wildlife trust. They said the grant would fund an outdoor theatre and restore hedgerows. More..
TheOneRing.net has received rock-solid information from an absolutely reliable source that the MGM financial situation is indeed what is behind the delays of the start of “The Hobbit.”
The venerable film studio behind James Bond and about 4,000 other titles is reported to be in about $3.7 billion in debt but holds the distribution rights for two “Hobbit” films that are under contract to be made by Warners Bros. The two studios have an agreement in place to produce and distribute the film but financial difficulties for MGM, including the potential sale of the studio and its holdings, including rights to the films based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien, has delayed the films.
The source inside the production has told TheOneRing.net that all of the wrangling with MGM is indeed a significant part of possibly pushing the films back.
