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Originally Posted by Essex
This has always intrigued me as well. Why not walk diagonally across the marshes and come around to Mount Doom from the North East? (or even go further south and approach from the South East?)
Do you think Gollum already had a notion in the back of his mind that he would lead the hobbits to Shelob, therefore he did not raise the possibility of another entrance?
Did Gollum know the black gate would be guarded as a stronghold and therefore impossible to pass?
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I have always put it down to the simple logistics of the mission that Frodo and Sam chose to follow Gollum's way into Mordor. It could have been that they had not seen a map of the place, as simple as that. Or it could have been due to time constraints that they had to get there as quickly as possible. This could be due to a lack of food or flagging energy, or possibly due to Frodo's awareness that the Ring was becoming an impossible burden and he had to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
But there must be more to it than this, and I think it ties into this:
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Originally Posted by davem
So what does Smeagol think Frodo is going to do once he gets to Mordor with the 'Precious'?
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It
is strange that Gollum seems to be taking the Hobbits to the very place you would expect him
not to want them to go to. And why does he take them to the Black Gate, interpreting Frodo's request so literally? We know Gollum is anything but slow on the uptake, and would have
known that the Hobbits wanted to enter Mordor if they had asked to go to the Gate. It is incredibly tricksy of him to do this, possibly as a delaying tactic? Or to dishearten them so much that they accepted the perilous pass of Cirith Ungol? It brings to mind the dilemma Gandalf faced when having to choose between Caradhras and Moria.
What's Gollum up to here?