Compassion and Redemption...

[littlemanpoet]

I must courteously but strongly disagree with a number of points made so far.

First, Frodo pitied, but did not trust Gollum. Sam feared that Frodo did blindly trust Gollum, then was quite surprised and pleased to hear Frodo give a very stern warning to Gollum on two occasions, the first being when Gollum insists on swearing by the Ring, and the second (I forget the incident but I think) having to do with the time between meeting up with Faramir and going into the Stairs of Cirith Ungol.

Frodo does, however, understand the power of the Ring, and he knows that by binding his oath to It, Gollum brings upon himself a powerful force that will yet be his doom, which is what Frodo warns him of. So Frodo does not trust Gollum, but is sure that the Ring will prove a sufficient bond on Gollum's oath, though that very oath gets twisted in Gollum's mind, leading to the whole incident with Shelob and Frodo's subsequent capture.

I also cannot agree that Frodo has compassion on Gollum because he is willing to help them. He is only willing after he has bound himself by the Ring, which, again, Frodo understands. Frodo's compassion runs deeper; as one of you said, it is an inherent part of his character, though it does grow through the trials of the quest. It is true, however, that Frodo's compassion probably makes Gollum hold to his oath longer than he might have otherwise done.