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Originally Posted by Boromir88
Here we have the Pippin we all love, the curious Pippin, curiosity killed the cat.
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As I said earlier, it seems to me that this is more than simple curiosity. His attraction to the well is described as
curious, ie "not what would ordinarily be expected". Why is he so attracted to it?
Pippin is habitually portrayed as an inquisitive character. But I think that its worth looking at the things that he is "curiously" attracted to. The two obvious examples are this well and the Palantir. In both cases, they are means of communicating with dark forces. At the bottom of the well, there is a dark force lurking - perhaps even the Balrog itself. The Palantir was being used by Saruman to communicate with Sauron. In both cases, Pippin ends up communicating with these dark forces himself and alerting them to his companions' presence. Yet at the same time, his actions ultimately have a beneficial effect.
I may be biased as, second to Bilbo, Pippin is my favourite character, but I do think that this incident bears some consideration. Up to now, Pippin has not really played a significant role in the story. His main contribution has been to provide a humourous comment every so often and get told off by Gandalf every so often. Even Merry has played a more active role, as chief "conspirator" in the Shire, in displaying some knowledge of the Old Forest and, of course, in his encounter with a Black Rider.
So I think that this incident marks Pippin's real "entry" into the story. And what an entrace! Whether his actions awaken the Balrog or alert the Orcs, it is certainly portrayed as the catalyst for the events of the next chapter. Ultimately, it is his "foolish" behaviour here which leads to Gandalf's death and "re-birth" as the White. And if Gandalf had not come back as the White, the struggle against Sauron would most certainly have been more difficult. We will come on to discuss the incident with the Palantir, but it is Pippin's attraction to that object which results in Gandalf being in Minas Tirith during its seige, and quite possibly saves the city from desolation.
I'm not sure where I am going with this, but Pippin's "curious attraction" to dark things does seem somehow to be tied up with enabling Gandalf to bring his powers to bear for the good of Middle-earth. There is a link between the two of them, and it goes further than Pippin simply being the foil for Gandalf's irascibility.