[00:00:00] So I am reading through Lord of the Rings for the first time. And make sure you subscribe to the channel if you want more of my unorganized thoughts on some of the chapters and some of the things that are going on in the book because I'm going to publish more videos about all of the things that I think about all of the characters and chapters in Lord of the Rings.
[00:00:19] And I'm in Chapter 2 right now so I'm not that far in but I have to say out of everything I've seen in the book so far, one of the things that surprised me the most was the sadness, hopeless, possessed story of Smeagol. AKA Gollum.
[00:00:39] I mean it's a book so obviously a book is going to go into more detail than a movie does but I found myself insanely more creeped out by Gollum and at the same time I pitied and felt bad for him much much more than I did in the movies. He's both a terrifying character as well as a tragic victim and I think how the second chapter fleshes out his story is magnificent writing. Because while he may be terrifying, I mean there's a section in Chapter 2 that sent a shiver down my spine when it said,
[00:01:07] The wood was full of the rumor of him. Dreadful tales, even among beasts and birds, the woodsman said that there was some new terror abroad. A ghost that drank blood. It climbed trees to find nests, it crept into holes to find the young, it slipped through windows to find cradles. That is terrifying and I probably know that this is gossip and that it's just gone too far but still, drinking blood, stealing babies in cradles, creeping in holes to find the young.
[00:01:35] That is awful, awful stuff. And while he may be terrifying, I also think he is such a complex character. And he's somewhat painted as a victim in all this and already my thoughts on Gollum are all over the place because I both hate and love him. Just as he hates and loves himself. I both feel bad for him and think he's the most disgusting character I've ever seen. And I simultaneously want to hug him and then hunt him.
[00:02:02] I think Tolkien just wrote a brilliant character who is simultaneously a victim as well as an abuser. And through this whole thing, I just keep thinking of the age-old nature-nurture discussion. And how Gollum fits both of these. He already had strange predispositions as he was just different from the rest of his community. Gandalf says he's the most inquisitive and curious-minded of the family. And his name was Smeagol. And he was interested in roots and beginnings. He dived into deep pools. He burrowed under trees and growing plants. He tunneled into green mounds.
[00:02:32] And he ceased to look up at the hilltops or even the leaves in the trees. Or the flowers opening in the air. His head and his eyes were downward. Which, yes. Hobbits, and Gollum is a hobbit-like creature, love the things that grow and burrow into the ground. But Gollum seems to be a bit different from his people. And his curiosity ended up harming him. And his fall really isn't his fault. But at the same time, it's exactly his fault.
[00:02:58] It seemed like the ring took advantage of someone who was possessive and I guess a bit weaker. His fall comes as the ring is just in his presence. Not even worn. And he kills Deagle over it. It just seems to come out of nowhere for Smeagol. You can't say a curious kid who likes the dirt and caves all of a sudden has an urge to kill someone. I mean, I guess you could say that. But it's not that common. His fall seems to continue as he has the ring. And I mean, I'm only in the second chapter of Fellowship of the Ring.
[00:03:27] But I already hope that Tolkien has written more on Gollum and what his life was like before the ring. Because I would be so fascinated in that story. Because the next thing Gandalf tells him seems so dark and it already seems like the ring is controlling his every move. But also that Smeagol seems to be falling in the areas where he is weakest. Gandalf says,
[00:03:59] He was very pleased with his discovery and he concealed it. And he used it to find out secrets. And he put all his knowledge to crooked uses and malicious uses. He became sharp-eyed and keen-eared for all that was hurtful. The ring had given him power according to his stature. It is not to be wondered at that he became very unpopular and was shunned, when visible, by all his relations. They kicked him and he bit their feet. He took to thieving and going out and muttering to himself and gurgling in his throat.
[00:04:28] So they called him Gollum and cursed him and told him to go far away. And his grandmother, desiring peace, expelled him from the family and turned him out of her hole. And from this point on, Smeagol seems to just crash and burn. His fall is magnificent. As his loneliness seems to grow. Something that feels like an all-too-common theme for Tolkien so far, as I found Bilbo to be an extremely lonely character in the first chapter. Gandalf says he wandered in loneliness, weeping a little for the hardness of the world.
[00:04:58] He made his home in the Misty Mountain. And when Frodo is absolutely disgusted by Gollum, as Gandalf is telling the story, Gandalf actually defends him. A lot. He says, There was something else in it, I think, which you don't see yet. Even Gollum was not wholly ruined. He had proved tougher than even one of the wise would have guessed. As a hobbit might. There was a little corner of his mind that was still his own. And light came through it. As through a chink in the dark. Light out of the past.
[00:05:27] It was actually pleasant, I think, to hear a kindly voice again. Bringing up memories of the wind, the trees, and the sun on the grass, and such forgotten things. Then he says, That would only make the madness in him even angrier. Which is such a tragic line. The very idea that he still had this ray of hope in his mind that drove him even crazier is so sad. Even the goodness of Smeagol makes him more mad. And one of the questions I have at this point is, Is this his doing or is it the rings?
[00:05:57] Or a combination of both? Because his madness is truly on full display here as well. It's like the blueprint for how someone goes mad. And I think the solution for Tolkien is friendship. I'll talk about that later. But suffice it to say now that I think Tolkien believes in the power of a good friend. Now Gandalf says he was altogether wretched. He hated the dark and he hated light even more. He hated everything. And the ring, most of all. He hated it and loved it. As he hated and loved himself. He could not get rid of it. He had no will left in the matter.
[00:06:27] And that line hit me the most, to be honest. The very fact that he had no will left in the matter. It seems like, to me, that little place where Gollum's mind let light in was flickering now. Gandalf seems to believe that he can be rehabilitated and rescued, as he later tells Frodo. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. Which again is a beautiful thing. To think that anyone can be redeemed, even a creature like Gollum.
[00:06:54] But from this point on, you essentially see Gollum devolve in his madness. And his madness just fully takes over. Because at this point, the ring abandons Gollum. Gandalf says that it had no use for him anymore. Which is absolutely tragic. This is why I see him as somewhat of a victim. The ring only wants people who can help it. It uses people for its own gain. And when it was done with Gollum, it just leaves. Leaves him in a state of absolute madness. Because all Gollum wants is to be free of the ring.
[00:07:24] But also, all he wants is the ring. He goes absolutely crazy. Crazy enough that when Gandalf and Aragorn hunt him, which is insanely hard because the elves of Mirkwood, the people of Legolas, couldn't even catch or find him because he was so elusive. And when Gandalf and Aragorn actually capture him, they find that he starts to make up stories and actually believes them. When Gandalf recaps the story to Frodo, he says, The murder of Deagle haunted Gollum.
[00:07:50] And he had made up a defense, repeating it to his precious over and over, as he gnawed bones in the dark until he almost believed it. It was his birthday. Deagle ought to have given him the ring. It had obviously turned up just so as to be a present. It was his birthday present, and so on and so on. It was difficult to learn anything from him for certain, for his talk was constantly interrupted by curses and threats. What had it got in its pockets is, he said. It wouldn't say, no, precious. Little cheat.
[00:08:19] Not a fair question. It cheated first. It did. It broke the rules. We ought to have squeezed it. Yes, precious. And we will, precious. That is a sample of his talk. I don't suppose you want any more. I had weary days of it. Again, tragic. Because I know some people have actually encountered people like this in their life. I actually had to deal with someone like this for a number of years in my life, and no matter what you said, that person could not think straight. Or even be right in their mind. Gollum is that.
[00:08:48] Yes, there is a part of his brain that he still owns, but his madness here has devolved into full-blown obsession. I think when people talk about the dangers of revenge, this is something akin to that. Because in revenge, it quickly becomes obsession. And when you get what you want, you realize you never really wanted it. And it doesn't make you feel any better. I guess this is also equivalent to a drug addiction, too. Tolkien here writes brilliantly about a character I both hate and pity and love at the same time. And Frodo here absolutely hates Gollum.
[00:09:17] He hates this story. And especially that Gandalf keeps comparing Gollum to a hobbit. Which is, when the world-famous line comes in the movies, what a pity Bilbo didn't stab that vile creature when he had the chance. Pity? It was pity that stayed his hand. Pity and mercy not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil. And escaped in the end. Because he began his ownership of the ring so. With pity.
[00:09:48] And I know this essay is kind of everywhere and it doesn't really have a main thesis except to say that Gollum is a complex and interesting character. But shoot! Gollum is a complex and interesting character. I have no clue what to think of him except I fear him. If Gandalf or the elves of Mirkwood couldn't track him down and they had to hire Aragorn, the greatest tracker of the age, to come and find him, then I am both impressed and horrified at the talent Gollum has. But also, it seems like the ring, and sorry for using this word, but rapes him.
[00:10:18] In a weird way, from the very instant Gollum saw the ring, it seemed to manipulate and use him how it wanted. It seemed to bend Gollum to his will. And yeah, Frodo and Bilbo might have been a bit better with it, but both of them had similar situations happen where they didn't want to get rid of the ring or even destroy it. Later in the chapter, when Frodo tells Gandalf they need to destroy it, Gandalf essentially sits back in his chair and tells Frodo to do it. To throw it into the fire. And Frodo cannot do it because he is already growing attached to it.
[00:10:49] Even though he has never worn the ring or used it in any way, it simply sat on a chain as Bilbo instructed Frodo to do. And so, Gollum seems like a sad victim in all this. A victim turned lunatic in order to possess the very thing that drove him insane in the first place. And to be honest, I think through all this, one of Tolkien's biggest things that I'm finding, and I'm discovering through this, is a solve for a lot of this stuff is a good friend.
[00:11:14] I know that might sound cheesy, but Bilbo, Frodo, all these people, they need a good friend. Or, as I think Tolkien puts it, you need a fellowship. You need a group of people who are around you. When Gollum is excommunicated from his community, when he's excommunicated from his family, that's when he really devolves. He has, yes, some evil inclinations beforehand, and he obviously murders someone in order to get the ring.
[00:11:41] But I'm curious if Gollum's story would have been different had he had a family that didn't let him become lonely, and didn't let him go into lonesomeness. I don't know. I think it's like the what-if questions that kind of rage and torment the entire community. But I'm curious about what would happen had Gollum really found a community that he loved, or a fellowship that he really loved. These people around him that really supported him, and didn't think he was a really big oddball or something like that. But, I don't know.
[00:12:11] I'm going to keep going through this entire thing and see what Tolkien really thinks of this, but it honestly makes Gollum the most interesting character in the series so far. I want his full backstory. I want to know exactly what he was like, and if he was even liked at all the beginning part of his life. I want to know what his family thought of him, and if he really was that oddball kind of person. Because at the moment, the story of Gollum is a complex one, filled with fear and sadness. And I feel pity for him. That's all this essay is really about.
[00:12:41] How impressed I am with the written character of Gollum. Anyway, if you want more unorganized thoughts on my first-time read, make sure you subscribe to this channel, as this will be filled with them. We also get into Harry Potter and Brandon Sanderson, and all the other good stuff too, so like the video and subscribe, and I'll see you in the next one.