Lanniae of the Axe posted a great thread in support of Gimli who,in PJ's film, hasn't yet gotten the respect he deserves. I'd like to point to another character who merits more attention, that of Bilbo Baggins.
Many new fans saw the elderly Bilbo depicted by PJ and went on to read LotR, but never focused on The Hobbit. Despite humor and simple dialogue, The Hobbit is more than a silly children's book. It shows how Bilbo grew and changed in response to moral and physical challenges.
In UT, Gandalf fondy remembers Bilbo as a child with "eagerness", "bright eyes", a "love of tales". and many "questions about the great world outside the Shire." The wizard was dismayed to discover that, as Gandalf approached middle age (the big "50"), he had become "rather greedy and fat and his old desires had dwindled down to a sort of private dream." (Now doesn't that sound familiar for some of us pushing mid-thirties and up!)
Clearly, change was in order, and this is what happened. Just look at the crusty, conventional bachelor concerned about pocket handkerchiefs who grudgingly met Gandalf and the dwarves at his door. Then compare that figure with the loving uncle, Elf-friend, writer of stories and poetry, the much loved inhabitant of Rivendell.
What I most love about the new Bilbo is how great a teacher he was. He reached out to his younger cousins and neighbors and never worried about differences in age or class. He is the one who taught them to love reading and stories and to appreciate the language and the magic of the Elves. I truly think, of all Tolkien's characters, he is the one who would have most loved posting on an internet board like this one.
And how important he was to the history of Middle-earth! Gandalf sums it up best when he spoke with Frodo, Pippin and Gimli after the crowning. The wizard explains he had feared for the hobbits and decided to select one person to help bring change:
Quote:
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They had begun to forget: forget their own beginnings and legends, forget what little they had known about the greatness of the world. It was not yet gone, but it was getting buried: the memory of the high and the perilous. But you cannot teach that thing to a whole people quickly. There was not time. And anyway, you must begin at some point, with some one person. I dare say he was "chosen", and I was only chosen to chose him; but I picked out Bilbo. UT
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I don't know if this is canon, but it sure is good writing! And what a statement! This quote strongly suggests that, without Bilbo, there would be no LotR, no Ring quest, no Sam and Frodo, and no Barrow-downs. [img]smilies/confused.gif[/img] So I'm glad he was there.
Do you think Bilbo's value has been fairly recognized? What do you like or not like about him? And what difference does his presence make in the history of Middle-earth?
sharon, the 7th age hobbit
[ May 23, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]