Gollum's boat??

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Hokey? Nah!

I can easily picture him setting up a small workshop somewhere down in the dungeon. There, under a beam of pale moonlight coming from a hole in the roof, he would carve out oars from one piece of wood, cut logs into planks, plane them, and then nail them together. He would then have to tar his vessel to make it watertight and perhaps add a few features for comfort, such as a seat and a storage space with a hatch. Easy.

[alatar]

I'm becoming more unhinged...

It's surprising that he uses a log when pursuing the Fellowship down the Anduin, as I assume then that he couldn't steal a boat nor build something while he waited for the Fellowship to leave Lothlorien.

It's just striking - at least today - that an addict like Gollum is in some way shown to be a builder of something. Maybe he had a little hut on his island, a little mushroom garden just outside, lined with a fishbone fence next to the shiny stone pathway that led down to the dock on his lake.

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Originally Posted by alatar

I'm becoming more unhinged...

Glad to be of service.

It's surprising that he uses a log when pursuing the Fellowship down the Anduin, as I assume then that he couldn't steal a boat nor build something while he waited for the Fellowship to leave Lothlorien.

Oh but if he built one of his trademark boats he'd be caught, surely. A floating log among others doesn't catch anyone's attention, making it the perfect vessel for this purpose.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by skip spence

I can easily picture him setting up a small workshop somewhere down in the dungeon. There, under a beam of pale moonlight coming from a hole in the roof, he would carve out oars from one piece of wood, cut logs into planks, plane them, and then nail them together. He would then have to tar his vessel to make it watertight and perhaps add a few features for comfort, such as a seat and a storage space with a hatch. Easy.

I can picture it- Gollum the mad scientist.


Yes, I always imagined it as a sort of coracle (but maybe it's just because I read a book that had coracles in just before-And when you think things when you're 7/8, they sort of stick, unless you have reason to change your view)

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Eönwë

I can picture it- Gollum the mad scientist.

Pet peeve, but not all scientists are mad (regardless of how they are portrayed in the media).

And Gollum chose a log because it was convenient. He, as an addict, was only thinking about reacquiring the One Ring - he'd have swum if needed - and so I don't see him as the constructive type.

In the entire time we read about Gollum, from the Shire to Rivendell to the Anduin to the Crack, what tool does Gollum use or what thing does he construct? To me, he simply lives off of the land, wears shorts (for our modesty) and carries nothing, makes nothing...with the exception of a plan to net two hobbitses.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by alatar

Pet peeve, but not all scientists are mad (regardless of how they are portrayed in the media).

I didn't say that. But Gollum is addicted, which makes him sort of mad (well, not really, but he does act like that- thats the effect that the One Ring has on him).

edit: perhaps the One Ring secretes addictive substances.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Eönwë

I didn't say that. But Gollum is addicted, which makes him sort of mad (well, not really, but he does act like that- thats the effect that the One Ring has on him).

So when you think of homicidal possibly cannibalistic addicts, you think "mad scientist?" It just keeps getting better...

I'm just ribbing ya.

edit: perhaps the One Ring secretes addictive substances.

Probably not. Bilbo and Frodo surely touched others after fondling the Ring, and these others weren't even mildly affected - Sam surely would have been. On the other hand, maybe Frodo and Boromir shook hands...hmm.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

I do not see any reason to why Gollum should not have a boat, I agree that there is some odd things about the arangement. . .but hey, Beorn or even Elrond's living arangements was a bit odd.

If it really was just a log why would Tolkien write "boat" ?
I know that is not a very inventive argument, but one I would like answered non the less.

Also we know that orcs avoided Gollums cave and I doubt that it could be spottet when it was on his island, so there seem to have been little risk in having such a boat.

Gollum has the ring for 500 years, I assume that his personality has undergone some changes during this period of time and yet some people think that they know all his personality based on those relatively few years from when he looses the ring til he dies.

Also he seems to have the background for boat building.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

If it really was just a log why would Tolkien write "boat" ?
I know that is not a very inventive argument, but one I would like answered non the less.

I agree that it's a boat and not a log nor a raft. it just seems out of place, like saying that Bilbo and Gollum sat on a leather couch during their riddle game.

Just think about it: a creature like Gollum, without two rocks to rub together, has - and seemingly has made! - a boat.