Gollum and Pleasure
"Bless us and splash us, my precioussss! I guess it's a choice feast; at least a tasty morsel it'd make us, gollum!"
"Is it nice, my preciousss? It is juicy? Is it scrumptiously crunchable?"
"Stew the rabbits!" squealed Gollum in dismay. "Spoil beautiful meat Smeagol saved for you, poor hungry Smeagol! What for? What for, silly hobbit? They are young, they are tender, they are nice. Eat them, eat them!"
Though the ring has brought great degradation on Gollum, one thing he has not lost is a very well developed sense of pleasure. It certainly makes Gollum fun to read.
Do you suppose Tolkien is saying something about this to his reader?
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