[Child of the 7th Age]

Several in this thread have said Pippin or Merry are "stupid". No, no, no!

They were young and inexperienced, sometimes impetuous, and had not been exposed to a lot of things outside the Shire, but they certainly weren't stupid.

Just look at the way they handled their situation when they were captured by the Orcs, and in the scenes immediately thereafter. They kept their heads and did a lot of things which increased their likelihood of survival.

Also, note how both of them fared later in the book when they pledged their servce, Merry to Theoden and Pippin to Denethor. They showed bravery and insight. Without Pippin, Faramir might have been killed, and, without Merry, the Lord of the Nazgul would not have been slain.

Sam had a natural sense of what it meant to serve because of his situation in life. Merry and Pippin had to learn this step-by-step along the way, since, as the sons of wealty families, they had far less experience in this regard. But they proved very able learners.

Also, look at the leadership role they both took in the Scouring of the Shire. Frodo was too hurt to act as a leader here, so Merry and Pippin took on the job. Moreover, Gandalf was able to let the hobbits go their own way, precisely because he knew they had grown enough to handle things on their own.

Sure they made some goofs along the way, but who doesn't?

So, no way were they "stupid". Anyways, Frodo is my favorite character, and no way does he chose friends who would be stupid!!!! Especially since he was fairly reserved and picky about this friends (at least this comes over in the book).

sharon, the 7th age hobbit