May I inject my opinion? (Run and hide! Seriously!)
I've read LOTR about 5 times since I received it for Christmas in 2002 (I had read it before, I just didn't own it.) I had always had a theory about while Gildor Inglorion didn't help Frodo: maybe he was, for lack of better phrasing, afraid of the Ring.
He obviously knew it was a thing of great power, as he said himself, and yet he only sent messages to other Wandering Companies to let them know of Frodo's journey? Why didn't he help Frodo?
That was what I thought when I first read it, so I started to look into it and came up with my own theory of Gildor being afraid of it or of its power. Obviously, the Elf knew what it was (as did Elrond & co.). And that particular Wandering company wanted nothing to do with the trials of Middle-earth anymore. If someone stumbled into your midst with something that powerful, wouldn't YOU want to avoid being anywhere near it?
That's just what I thought. I'm not sure if it's right, though. Correct me or whatever if you think I'm wrong. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
I had another thought when I read this:
Quote:
|
Bombadil, for that matter, could also be viewed as being only slightly better than Gildor in that he let the hobbits proceed through a very dangerous area bereft of a guide. It was only due to the good fortune of Frodo that he, Frodo, was able to call Tom, but at least Tom chose to accompany them to the borders of his land.
|
Can't remember who said that off the top of my head. Sorry.
Anyway, Tom not only didn't help Frodo and company through a dangerous part of the land (though he did accompany them to his borders), Tom shirked his moral duty, just as, in a way, Gildor did. Tom had it in his power to help end the War sooner than it did, and in that way, many lives could have been saved. Yet he, with all his great power, refused to help not only the hobbits but all the races as a whole. I always wondered about this--I never really thought of Tom Bombadil as a great guy when I saw it like this.
<font size=1 color=339966>[ 12:31 AM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: Leyrana Silumiel ]