Gollum and Eagles: Deux ex machina?

[Essex]

Alatar re

Gollum I have no problem with, it's just that it is too convenient to have him fall just after he reclaims the Ring. Tolkien, assumedly in control of the situation, could have had Smeagol claim the Ring with Frodo between him and the Crack of Doom, and so his death (and consequent destruction of the Ring) could have taken more effort by Frodo and/or Sam, who could have given the wretched thing a bump into the lava.

Don't you see how perfect it is that Gollum just fell? If he was pushed or fell over in a tussle, then my point on Redemption a few posts ago would not stand.

The whole ME was saved because of the compassion of Frodo towards Gollum in not killing him, and to a lesser extent the love Sam felt for Frodo that Sam didn't kill him either!

Frodo could not throw the Ring in the fire and at last put the Ring on and claimed it. This would have happened to ANYONE at the Sammath Naur. Frodo even came to realise this near the end BUT HE KEPT ON GOING ANYWAY. That is the mark of the man.

Tolkien had 5 ways to finish the main part of the story here.

1/ Frodo throws the ring in
2/ frodo fights gollum and he falls in
3/ frodo pushes gollum in
4/ sam pushes frodo in
5/ gollum slips

I put it to you that

1/ what an anti climax that would have been!
2/ works ok in the movie but would have left a bad taste in my mouth book wise, in realising what everything tolkien was writiing was leading up to
3/ again, same as #2 and also frodo would be a 'murderer'
4/ too over the top - (no matter what some melodramatic readers might say!)
5/ works out perfectly - because of Frodo's forgiveness aqnd compassion towards his 'enemy', the Quest suceeded. Without this, the whole story would have been in vain and Middle Earth lost.

I beg you guys to keep this in mind as a back thought when you read LOTR again. Just see how it plays out.........