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He's the kind of guy that is far too worried about what others are doing, constantly looking around and saying "Damn, that's good, I'm going to do that!" or "Yess.... Orcs.... BWA HA HA HAA!!"
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Perhaps it is not that simple, but I believe Saruman is indeed one who IS always worried about what others are doing, viz. what Treebeard says about him. I do not have the quote to hand, but basically, he says that Saruman was always courteous and solicited information, but he never repaid in kind, i.e., he got all the info from Treebeard and the Ents that he could, but he never gave anything of himself or his mind to the Ents. Thus, he was closed off, cut off from a true relationship with them. In the same vein, he seemed to be trying to use Sauron in this way, but little reckoning how difficult it would end up being. This character trait proved to be his undoing. He focused so hard on the attainment of power through his alignment with Sauron, that he forgot the rest of the world, and most importantly, the Ents, which were his undoing! Saruman was wise and great, but very blind in some areas. As Frodo did, I pity him for his fall, and indeed I would have liked to see how he would have gone about finding his cure. Interesting discussion! But I didn't even say anything about Saruman copying anyone, I think! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
And, wouldn't you know it! After posting this the first time, I think of another parallel: Sauron, too, was blind, in that he could not conceive of a plan to overthrow him that did not involve the use and wielding of his own weapon, the Ring. Both Sauron and Saruman underestimated hobbits, and both are brought to ruin by their direct influence. Perhaps the lesson here is the blindness of evil, not to say that Saruman was evil, but he was blinded by it, so he became indistinguishable from its wellspring to superficial eyes, and a dupe of evil to those who would look into such things. Evil had its final blows on him when he refused the offer of redemption by Gandalf and by the time Frodo let him go, he was carrying his personal doom around with him--i.e., Wormtongue. I hope I'm not too long-winded! Thanks for your indulgence!
Cheers,
Lyta
[ May 02, 2003: Message edited by: Lyta_Underhill ]