Tom Bombadil

[Erestor]

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

I read in the lotr wikia that tom maybe THE first thing that was created by the creation music,and thus he dont,or even cannot,know death,suffering,etc.he dont know all things that bad,and that why the ring dont have influence over him,and why he cant influence the ring in return.

The reason that the Ring doesn't affect Bombadil is not because of all this, it is because of the characteristics of Bombadil and the way the Ring works. Remember how Sam was influenced by the Ring, how the Ring tried to play in on his own desires for power. This is why the Ring has power over others: they want to change the world according to their own views.

Bombadil is the opposite of both the good guys as the bad guys: Bombadil doesn't care for power, he doesn't want to have control over others. Changing the world isn't his ambition either: he feels that everything has its place in it, someone who's perfectly happy with how the world is. And he doesn't care how the world evolves: he would even forget about the Ring if he was its guardian, as Gandalf said. Because of this mindset, the Ring is totally unable to get a grip on him, to be on his mind. Let alone corrupt him. Tolkien explained it in the Letters (I think 144), but I don't have my copy at hand so I'm not able to quote him.

I once read an article arguing that many people dislike Bombadil because they feel he's an anomaly - contradicting the rules of the world - while he is an enigma - which is a mystery that actually fits the world and its logic.