tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post1481245536811446451..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Tom BombadilAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-5072977896625178442010-01-05T15:24:28.823-05:002010-01-05T15:24:28.823-05:00Shortly after I read Lord of The Rings I purchased...Shortly after I read Lord of The Rings I purchased a small book of essays on Tolkien's works (and the title of the book is escaping me).<br /><br />Tom Bombadil was discussed in a couple of places, and I remember one essay placing he and Goldberry in the story as living remnants of the First Age of Middle Earth. Being in but not of the Third Age, The Ring had no power over him because he was utterly uninterested in it. For this reason Gandalf rejects the idea that Bombadil could guard it.<br /><br />Taken in that light, I think Tom Bombadil works in the story. He doesn't seem to fit because he's a living anachronism, though he's necessary to move the story forward by rescuing the travellers from the Barrow. And because he doesn't seem to fit, we can accept the Council's decision to not entrust him with the ring.<br /><br />(I also got the impression that just like there are distinctive groups of Hobbits and Men in Middle Earth, there were distinctive groups of Elves and Dwarves, even if Tolkien doesn't take the time to explictly describe them. I'll attribute the more foolish antics to the less serious and learned groups of Elves.)Der Hahnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05967487071137862252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-79614039228543768982010-01-04T15:46:42.666-05:002010-01-04T15:46:42.666-05:00I remember that Bombadil seemed to fit in well wit...I remember that Bombadil seemed to fit in well with the mentality of the "sequel to <i>The Hobbit</i>". However, the speech by Gandalf in the chapter "Shadows of the Past" had already done a lot of work to break that sense.<br /><br />I do seem to remember that Bombadil was identified by Tolkien as an enigma, but not an anamoly. He is hard to explain, even for the Wise of that Age. But he belongs to Middle-Earth, and they acknowledge that fact.karrdehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00205160745963596856noreply@blogger.com