For me, Gollum has always been one of the most complex characters in the stories I have read. His part in The Hobbit is so brief that we leave that story with the image of a solely evil, violent, pitiful creature. So , when we see him mentioned and appear again in The Lord of the Rings, we feel like we can already predict what this is going to be like.
However, the Gollum in this story is much more developed and influential in many chapters. Tolkien no longer uses his character just as a quick encounter to show the negative effects of the ring, but makes him an essential part of the journey to mount doom, and eventually, the destruction of the Ring.
Gollum is much more of a dimensional character in The Lord of the Rings. We see him being helpful in being a guide and catching food for Sam and Frodo. Although this is mainly due to the fact that he wants to remain close to the ring in hopes that he can grab hold of it, its surprising to see that he is even still capable of guiding and keeping a promise.
Even so, Tolkien does a great job of showing the inner struggle within Gollum. By writing about frequent disappearances and reappearances, the reader, like Sam, can never truly trust Gollum. He is still somehow able to show some uncorrupt qualities, but ultimately cannot escape the influence of the ring. I think this duality is a great demonstration of how the ring takes over the person who carries it, it takes over their thoughts and actions, but not enough to keep them from realizing they are being corrupted. The idea that even after hundred of years with the ring, there is some part of Smeagol inside of Gollum is really very sad. It highlights the dangers of the ring, and how cruel its way of destruction really is.
I love how Tolkien gives us multiple perspectives on Gollum and we still don't totally know what to expect from him ever - mostly because of the influence of the Ring (at least that's how it seems to me). We see him talking to himself (Smeagol vs Gollum), we see the distrust Sam harbors for him, we see Frodo's understanding how to deal with him (understanding the Ring), but its still usually unclear whether he will help them or hurt them at any given moment.
ReplyDeleteI really like your comment about how sad it is that there's still that Smeagol part of Gollum - we can imagine the same thing happening to Bilbo or Frodo and that just highlights how, even if Smeagol did start out rather creepy (Gandalf's telling of what he learned from Smeagol), he certainly wasn't all bad, and he definitely doesn't deserve this!