Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd
Upload
32 views1 page

The Hobbit The Lord of The Rings: Gollum Is A Fictional Character From

Uploaded by

Regie Rey Agustin

This article is about the fictional character. For the animated being from Jewish folklore, see Golem. For other uses, see Gollum (disambiguation). "Smeagol" redirects here.

Copyright:

© All Rights Reserved
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt

The Hobbit The Lord of The Rings: Gollum Is A Fictional Character From

Uploaded by

Regie Rey Agustin
32 views1 page
This article is about the fictional character. For the animated being from Jewish folklore, see Golem. For other uses, see Gollum (disambiguation). "Smeagol" redirects here.

Original Title

Gollum

Copyright

© © All Rights Reserved

Available Formats

DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

This article is about the fictional character. For the animated being from Jewish folklore, see Golem. For other uses, see Gollum (disambiguation). "Smeagol" redirects here.

Copyright:

© All Rights Reserved
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
32 views1 page

The Hobbit The Lord of The Rings: Gollum Is A Fictional Character From

Uploaded by

Regie Rey Agustin
This article is about the fictional character. For the animated being from Jewish folklore, see Golem. For other uses, see Gollum (disambiguation). "Smeagol" redirects here.

Copyright:

© All Rights Reserved
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 1

Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.

He was introduced in the


1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important character in its sequel, The Lord of the
Rings. Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit[1] of the River-folk, who lived near the Gladden Fields.[2] Originally
known as Sméagol, he was corrupted by the One Ring and later named Gollum after his habit of
making "a horrible swallowing noise in his throat".[3]
In Appendix F of The Lord of the Rings, the name Sméagol is said to be a "translation" of the
actual Middle-earth name Trahald (having to do with the idea of "burrowing", and rendered with a
name based on Old English smygel of similar meaning).[4] Several critics speculate
that Beowulf's Grendel could have been an inspiration for Gollum due to the many parallels between
them – such as their affinity for water, their isolation from society, and their bestial
description.[5] Although Tolkien never explicitly stated this, he accredited Beowulf as one of his "most
valued sources" when writing The Hobbit.[6]
The Ring, which Gollum referred to as "my precious" or "precious", extended his life far beyond
natural limits. Centuries of the Ring's influence twisted Gollum's body and mind, and, by the time of
the novels, he "loved and hated [the Ring], just as he loved and hated himself." Throughout the
story, Gollum was torn between his lust for the Ring and his desire to be free of it. Bilbo
Baggins found the Ring and took it for his own, and Gollum afterwards pursued it for the rest of his
life. Gollum finally seized the Ring from Frodo Baggins at the Cracks of Doom in Orodruin in Mordor,
but he fell into the fires of the volcano, where both he and the Ring were destroyed.
Gollum was first introduced in The Hobbit as "a small, slimy creature" who lived on a small island in
the centre of an underground lake at the roots of the Misty Mountains. He survived on cave fish,
which he caught from his small boat, and small goblins who strayed too far from the stronghold of
the Great Goblin. Over the years, his eyes adapted to the dark and became "lamp-like", shining with
a sickly pale light.
Bilbo Baggins stumbled upon Gollum's lair, having found the Ring in the network of goblin tunnels
leading down to the lake. At his wits' end in the dark, Bilbo agreed to a riddle game with Gollum on
the chance of being shown the way out of the mountains. In the first edition of The Hobbit, Gollum's
size is not stated.[7] Originally, he was also characterized as being less bound to the Ring than in
later versions; he offered to give the Ring to Bilbo if he lost the riddle game, and he showed Bilbo the
way out of the mountains after losing. To fit the concept of the ruling Ring that emerged during the
writing of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien revised later editions of The Hobbit:[8] The version of the
story given in the first edition became the lie that Bilbo made up to justify his possession of the Ring
to the Dwarves and Gandalf.[9] In the new version, Gollum pretended that he would show Bilbo the
way out if he lost the riddle-game, but he actually planned to use the Ring to kill and eat the hobbit.
Discovering the Ring missing, he suddenly realized the answer to Bilbo's last riddle – "What have I
got in my pocket?" – and flew into a rage. Bilbo inadvertently discovered the Ring's power of
invisibility as he fled, allowing him to follow Gollum undetected to a back entrance of the caves.
Gollum was convinced that Bilbo knew the way out all along, and hoped to intercept him near the
entrance, lest the goblins apprehend Bilbo and find the Ring. Bilbo at first thought to kill Gollum in
order to escape, but was overcome with pity, and so merely leaped over him. As Bilbo escaped,
Gollum cried out, "Thief, Thief, Thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!"

You might also like