Who is Your Favorite Hobbit?

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Merry is my favourite. More to him than first meets the eye with a bit more sense than Pippin bothering to look at maps and with his later interest in etymology and herblore

Good point about Merry. I guess you could say he was Bilbo's and Frodo's spiritual successor in his love for lore and letters (but unlike the Bagginses more a worldbuilder than a storyteller).

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Merry was always the level-headed, practical one. He was the organizer of the 'conspiracy', he found the house at Crickhollow, he had the sense to come look for Frodo when he was overdue, he made sure to have ponies and gear ready for the departure, he secured the key to the Old Forest gate. And he really planned and executed the Battle of Bywater, although Pippin had a role.

Oh, and we never hear Gandalf saying "Fool of a Brandybuck!"

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

Oh, and we never hear Gandalf saying "Fool of a Brandybuck!"

Ha! And that's not to mention that when Pippin does something against orders and common sense, he alerts the Moria Orcs or reveals himself in the Palantir, and it's only with Faramir's illness that his foolofatookishness actually serves him wisely. Meanwhile, Merry is less prone to these kinds of things to begin with, and when he does go against orders and common sense he ends up saving Eowyn and wounding the Witch-king. Or discovers the Nazgul snooping in Bree. Basically, keeps a level head and makes good judgement calls.

But my favourite Merry parts are still his philosophizing about the world, in all the books. From his conspiracy and strategizing, to his relationship with Theoden and Eowyn, to his later role in the Scouring. This part is one of my favourite philosophical sprees from him:


'We Tooks and Brandybucks, we can’t live long on the heights.'

‘No,’ said Merry. ‘I can’t. Not yet, at any rate. But at least, Pippin, we can now see them, and honour them. It is best to love first what you are fitted to love, I suppose: you must start somewhere and have some roots, and the soil of the Shire is deep. Still there are things deeper and higher; and not a gaffer could tend his garden in what he calls peace but for them, whether he knows about them or not. I am glad that I know about them, a little. But I don’t know why I am talking like this. Where is that leaf? And get my pipe out of my pack, if it isn’t broken.’

[Imladviel]

Merry. I had such a crush on him when I was younger.

[paulag]

I've always had an affinity to Merry, who seems to be more self aware of his status and the need to live up to his responsibilities as opposed to Pip who only learns that through the course of the story.

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