Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitchwife
[...]Also, we have a direct contest between two antagonists for possession of the Ring. We shouldn't, in my opinion, look to Boromir or the Council of Elrond for parallels, but consider Frodo's reaction when Bilbo just asks to touch the Ring in Rivendell, or when Sam offers to carry it for him. His first impulse (immediately suppressed and regretted, of course) is to strike, lash out, claim possession. Magnify this impulse enough, and you get Sméagol killing his friend.
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Well, I disagree. I think it's very much appropriate to draw those comparisons. Just like the participants of the Council of Elrond, or Boromir, Sméagol never touched or used the Ring before. He was exposed to it for the first time and had no Idea what it was about. The circumstances of those different people are alike to one another and yet they act fundamentally different. The only reason that those other people are not "antagonists for the possession of the Ring" is that they either don't are tempted by the Ring, or don't act out (as violently) on that impulse.
The Frodo/Bilbo incident at Rivendell, on the other hand, is hardly comparable to the Sméagol/Déagol situation, in that sense. It's clearly a situation of rivalry between two long time Ring-bearers where both of them knew about the powers of the Ring. So the question remains, what was it that "magnified this impulse"?!
As we all seem to agree, the answer is most likely Sméagol's twisted character.
Here's a quote from Gandalf about Gollum:
Quote:
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He was very pleased with his discovery and he concealed it; and he used it to find out secrets, and he put his knowledge to crooked and malicious uses. He became sharp-eyed and keen-eared for all that was hurtful. The Ring had given him power according to his stature.
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It seems to me that the Ring didn't really corrupt Sméagol in a metaphysical/magical manner as much. It simply gave him the opportunity (and the power) to act out on his malicious desires in a very effective manner.
Although I find it important to say that this doesn't mean that the opposite constellation would be true: A good character obviously doesn't ensure a carefree contact to the Ring, nor does a good character enable an individual to use the Ring as tool for good means.