Troll's clothes?

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

Heh folks, I am in one of my craze again...

Here's the riddle: why do the clothes trolls wear turn into stone with them as well?

He held out a largish key, though no doubt William had thought it very small and secret. It must have fallen out of his pocket, very luckily, before he was turned to stone.

Bilbo tried to pickpocket the William the troll, and the troll's purse squeaked. After a fuzz that followed, not excluding Gandalf's awesome display of ventriloquism, Bilbo picked up the key which dropped from William's pocket; before he turned into stone together with his clothes!

Are troll's clothes merely skin? Does that mean that William had a pocket in his skin like a kangaroo?

I am all confused in this.

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

A counter question: why did Frodo's clothes become invisible when he put the ring on? Interesting indeed. But is there a quote that would literally say that the clothes turned into stone with the trolls or is that a question of interpretation? Maybe their clothes were covered with troll scurf and therefore stoned

[Firefoot]

But is there a quote that would literally say that the clothes turned into stone with the trolls or is that a question of interpretation?

I think the line "very luckily, before he was turned to stone" is proof that his clothes turned to stone.

I don't think that his clothes were skin. Then they wouldn't even be clothes. It seems pretty specific that they actually had clothes. Maybe they turned to stone just because Tokien decided to make it that way. Same thing with the Ring and invisibility. It seems that it would be something that if you were going to write about it could go either way so just pick the way that better suits your purposes.

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

Gee, I suppose the Invisibility part can be explained in that the Ring just pulled the wearer into the "spirit world" together with his/her belongings.

"You were in gravest peril while you wore the Ring, for then you were half in the wraith-world yourself, and they might have seized you.'

One interesting note, when Bilbo was wearing the Ring in the Files and Spiders of The Hobbit, he wielded the Sting and slashed through the spider webs. The spiders could not see Bilbo, but they saw the Sting!

Out came his little sword. He slashed the threads to pieces and went off singing. The spiders saw the sword, though I don't suppose they kew what it was, and at once the whole lot of them came hurring after the hobbit along the ground and the branches, hairy legs waving, nippers and spinners snapping, eyes poping, full of froth and rage.

But let's get back to the question: Did the trolls' clothes turned into stone? Maybe those clothes were made of the hide from other Trolls?

[rutslegolas]

but i think that wearing the ring frodo's clothes could not be invisible ,i mean how can clothes become invisible??

[Firefoot]

Um, rutslegolas, if Frodo's clothes weren't invisible people would see him. And clearly, people could not see him.

He simply vanished, as if he had gone slap through a hole in the floor without leaving a hole!

The Man [Boromir] gasped, stared for a moment amazed, and then ran wildly about, seeking here and there among the rocks and trees.

"Have you seen Frodo?" [asked Aragorn]
Boromir hesitated for a second. "Yes, and no," he answered slowly. "Yes: I found him some way up the hill, ... I grew angry and he left me. He vanished. ... He must have put the Ring on. I could not find him again."

If Frodo's clothes were not invisible then the Hobbits at the Prancing Pony and Boromir would have been able to "see" him, or at least know where he was at. They probably just disappeared because Frodo was wearing them.

Back to the original question...I already posted my thoughts earlier up.

[Mad Baggins]

I've got another good question: Where would the trolls have gotten the clothes? I mean, they couldn't just walk up to a market and order some fabric. I believe that they took the clothes from the people they have killed and put them together into giant super-clothes.

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

Interesting note about clothes that can also disappear:

1. The Nazgul were wearing clothes underneath their black robes even though only the black ropes showed!

Immediately, though everything else remained as before, dim and dark, the shapes became terribly clear. He was able to see beneath their black wrappings. There were five tall figures: two standing on the lip of the dell, three advancing. In their white faces burned keen and merciless eyes: under their mantles were long grey robes; upon their grey hairs were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of steel.

All the more reason to believe that a Ring of Power grant the clothes invisiblilty, provided that they are still wearing them when they "faded".

2. The crown and armour that the Witchking put on is clearly after he became "faded" since Eowyn could figure out where his head is to chop. This would mean that the Witchking, either removed the clothes that he had been wearing before being faded, or had put on additional armour and crown.


Back to my favorite topic: I believe I had three theories as to why the clothes of Trolls turn into stone with them:

1. Trolls, being such brutal creatures by nature, skinned other trolls to manufacture their big clothes. Since troll leather is part of a troll's body, the cloth too would turn to stone when sunned.

Note to self: never sun a washed troll-leather T-shirt.

2. Trolls, being part of Professor Morgoth's ingenious robotics development project(which failed miserably in Artificial Intelligence), are crudely manufactured of rock... with "pockets" and unkempt holes in their body for keeping of stuff. So when sunlight make contact with their entire body, the "pockets" also harden, preventing entry.

3. Trolls themselves invented a form of sun-dried cement for clothing themselves. This cement apparently stick to their body and provide storage as well.

Note to self: Never sun-tan after a mud-bath.

Anyone has better theories? Thanks for the replies!

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I think that before we can answer the question about why the Trolls' clothes turned invisible, we should probably wonder why the Trolls' themselves turn invisible. This is not an advantageous physical peculiarity we're dealing with. Darwin would be scratching his head wondering how they lasted so long as a species.

As for Frodo and the Ring, I started a topic on that very question a while ago. Along the lines of;

"Why did Frodo's clothes turn invisible? Because he was touching them? Then why didn't the ground he was walking on turn invisible?" (a logical conclusion to draw from that! )

Don't mock me, please. Replies centred around the fact that the One Ring was not some "cheap magic trick" and that it specifically targeted the hobbit Frodo for invisibility.

Just to clear that Frodo question up. Now, speak of Trolls.

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

I think that before we can answer the question about why the Trolls' clothes turned invisible, we should probably wonder why the Trolls' themselves turn invisible.

Dear Darlin', you have gotten quite messed up between 'invisible clothes' with 'invisible Trolls'... I admit that the fault is mine: bringing up invisible clothes on a topic for Trolls' clothes... Goodness!

I take it that you mean that why trolls turn to rock upon being blasted with sunlight? Well... the eminent Professor Morgoth fabricated them, and I guess he thought it nice to make sure they do not stray far from his labs...

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I did not get 'messed up', at least I don't think I did Crispy.

However, I suppose that your explanation for the Troll's turning to stone is rather good.

EDIT

Sorry, Crispy, I was completely mistaken, of course.

[The Perky Ent]

Wait a minute, if a troll frezes the stuff with him, if there was a hobbit on his back, would it turn to stone?

[Hot, crispy nice hobbit]

Hmm... Good question!

I am personally of the opinion that Professor Morgy manufactured the Trolls out of the most easily available material in all of Middle-Earth: sand and clay.

Yes, I am suggesting that Trolls are cheap imitations of Dwarves who are really living, albeit being manufactured by Aule, the Chief Engineer of Valinor. Sunlight was probably overlooked by Morgoth when he decided to create some sturdy slaves out of cement. I don't suppose there was actually a Sun yet when Prof Morgy mass produced his trolls. (There were already orcs in Beleriand before the first rising of the Sun or Moon)

So, you see, my theories above fit in! Clothes that are made from Troll's hide would eventually solidify into stone... And if anyone climbs on top of a Troll which is just drying up...

Note to self: Never walk on a troll-leather carpet.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Lets not get bogged down with physics. This is fantasy. Troll's are probably imbued with magic which turns them into stone. Magic is not stupid and if the Troll is wearing clothes then the clothes will turn into stone. If a Hobbit was on the Troll's back then he would suddenly find himself atop a statue. It is not a gradual change from Troll to stone, like the drying of clay. It is magic , and magic is clever.

Remember this my children.