Pippin's Sixth Sense

[doug*platypus]

Belin, I have to disagree with your version of Pippin. Up until your post everything (most of which made sense) highlighted the fact that Pippin is an extreme member of the fellowship; a good case could be made for him being the most immature character in Middle-Earth. "Hooray for Frodo, Lord of the Ring!" Gawd. Of course, the immature and positively hasty tendencies he has in the first book only make his development more obvious. He is much more like Bilbo than Frodo is, and his journey through maturity in the books is quite similar to Bilbo's. Initially he is little more than a pest, but by the end (The Scouring of the Shire) he is absolutely crucial to his friends' success.

He does indeed seem more curious than his companions, partly his Tookishness, and partly his youth, but I don't see too much real evidence for a sixth sense. Many of the characters in the book have foresight to some degree - Gandalf, Aragorn, Faramir, even Sam. I don't think that Pippin's motive at the old well in Moria was to aid the death and reincarnation of Gandalf. I'm more inclined to believe the

self-control issues

explanation. And as for the idea that he has more of a sixth sense than Frodo, that sounds more like wishful thinking to me.