MLD-Grounds-Keeper-Willie wrote:
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I think a big reason Frodo saw his loniness in gollum is because he had the ring for a while and was beginning to change because of the ring.
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I'd say yes and no. Of course the Ring is to blame for the changes that they underwent but not only the Ring.
Remember, the Ring responded to the power of the bearer. IMO the same way it responded to his personality. I mean, Smeargol had never benn a darling, so that's what he 'grew' into. And his developing split personality - that was the only way to speak with someone without attempting to eat him [img]smilies/evil.gif[/img]
Back to changes caused by the Ring. Frodo's loneliness - weren't its seeds in him even before the quest? He was attached to Bilbo, but to nobody else in particular. He was paying attention to too many scary stories.
Why then wasn't Bilbo affected the same way as Gollum or Frodo? (I'm not speaking of the age now) He didn't have a wife, but he adopted a young relative, had lots of friends. He kept himself busy writing a book, doing translations, telling stories... He seemed to be drawing people and life itself to him, while Frodo was kind of pushing them aside.
So it was not the change, but I'd say singling out and highlighting the most essential features of an individuum.
BTW. remember Sam, who by putting on the Ring managed to save his master instead of running away with it (as Smeagorl would probably have done)