I know that a lot of people have already written posts on hobbits and their nature, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts on them in the Lord of the Rings. So far in class, we have discussed only The Fellowship of the Ring, which has some of my favorite plot points concerning Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. It is clear that hobbits are purposefully designed to appear plain and ordinary, rather than strong and powerful. They surprise the reader with their resilience and character, each in their unique way. I like how Tolkien created each of these hobbits with similar traits but totally diverse personality traits that all work well together. I would say that one of the most, if not the most, important theme in Lord of the Rings is friendship. And I mean real, lifelong, sacrificial friendship, most likely based off of John 15:13 in the Bible, which says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." There are so many instances in the Lord of the Rings where the hobbits show their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the others.
I think that especially between Merry and Pippin, there is much development in their friendship. It starts off with Pippin being rather foolish and ignorant and thinking they are just going on an adventure, but over all the trials they go through, they take it more seriously. These two go from merely helping Bilbo on his adventure and being friends that do silly things together, to caring for the fate of the world and the other's life more than their own. Frodo and Sam have a different kind of friendship that has more willing servitude on Sam's part, but it is no less powerful and sacrificial.
I think you really have something going here. Although Tolkien has the tendency to write about pretty serious, and sometimes dark, things, he really does show a pattern on friendship in both LOTR and The Hobbit. Yes, considering his Faith, I would also agree that there's a good chance John 15:13 is used for the Hobbits in LOTR. Tolkien looks like a sucker for good plot and character development, and since most of his books are based around the Hobbits, it really only makes sense to have them look boring and ordinary, but basically have them built up throughout the books, keeping you intrigued on what they're going to do next.
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