Did Gollum deserve death?

[davem]

Originally Posted by HerenIstarion

My apologies for [probably] repeating what may have been said above and [probably] taking the debate back to a point it already got past, also putting forward an excuse of being on the run (as is my usual state of affairs of late ) let me address the initial post and forward the following brief statement:

Death is not punishmentl

Good point. It does seem that throughout the thread we have been treating the question as 'Does Gollum deserve to be executed?' Death is not really the issue, as it is efectively inevitable for any (or most) mortals. The question turned into 'Would it be right to put Gollum to death?' And then the arguments ensued about Gollum's psychological/spiritual state & whether he could, or should, rightfully & justly be judged, found guilty, & put to death.

Then it became a matter of whether Tolkien's opinions on the subject of his characters should be binding on a reader who interpreted the characters differently from the author.

Its got a long way off topic & its probably a good thing you've popped up now....