The Scouring of the Shire - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Inziladun · 05-19-2016, 07:36 PM

What strikes me is the way that some hobbits, notably Lotho Sackville-Baggins and Ted Sandyman, show that their race was not immune to the desire for power over their fellows.

It took an outside force, Saruman, to corrupt them (or just point a way for them to indulge notions they'd always had), but once some got a taste of even petty authority, they seem to have enjoyed it. I wonder what might have occurred if, say, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin had all died in fighting off the Ruffians. Would the Shire had recovered as well as it did? Or would the germ of corruption have remained and spread overt time, without the help of Men?

05-19-2016, 07:36 PM	#1
Inziladun Gruesome Spectre Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Heaven's doorstep Posts: 8,038	What strikes me is the way that some hobbits, notably Lotho Sackville-Baggins and Ted Sandyman, show that their race was not immune to the desire for power over their fellows. It took an outside force, Saruman, to corrupt them (or just point a way for them to indulge notions they'd always had), but once some got a taste of even petty authority, they seem to have enjoyed it. I wonder what might have occurred if, say, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin had all died in fighting off the Ruffians. Would the Shire had recovered as well as it did? Or would the germ of corruption have remained and spread overt time, without the help of Men? __________________ Music alone proves the existence of God.