Actually he is, and I feel pretty strongly that this was not accidental on Tolkien’s part. He isn’t exactly like him, and Tolkien was also adamant that his book was not an allegory in that sense. But it is a very Catholic-informed book.
As for your other analogies, those are commonly noted as well, but as I said, there are no one-to-one correspondences. Frodo is as much Jesus as Gandalf is, for example – just a different aspect.
I mean, Gandalf sacrifices his life to save someone and rises again, more powerful than he was before. In white robes, no less. It’s hard to say he has no Jesus parallels.
Who? Archie Andrews? Jughead Jones?
Dang! Ninja’d by Thudlow Boink.
Why do you say that? There’s nothing in LOTR itself or The Hobbit to say Smeagol wasn’t a good person before he got the ring. Heck, he was even kind enough to teach his grandmother to suck eggs.
You mean aside from the murder?
Granted, that was on being faced with the ring, but was before he’d even touched it.
It was his birthday, it really should’ve been his.
I think that it is a big deal that Frodo was given the Ring, as opposed to most who had it by killing or stealing (or both).
I think receiving the ring as a (more or less) freely granted inheritance is one step up from simply finding it, as Bilbo did.
Bilbo stole the ring. He found it, when it was lost, but he also discovered that the ring “belonged” to Gollum.
From a particular point of view - in another, it was freely given.
Remind me never to come to one of your parties…
There are ten separate occasions where people in the bible were brought back to life (Lazarus for instance) so being resurrected is not unique to Jesus.
Jesus was the son of god/is god (trinty thing). Gandalf is one of many Maiar (basically like low level angels) created by Iluvatar (god). Remember things like the Balrog are also Maiar. So not like Jesus at all. Angels in the bible are not like Jesus. Angels in Middle Earth are not like Jesus either.
The Istari, of which Gandalf was one of five, worked for the Valar (Gandalf worked for Manwe/Varda). Indeed they were sent by the Valar and not Iluvatar. Jesus was sent by god so not the same.
Jesus died for our sins. Gandalf died fighting a Balrog. So not the same.
There is really very little to parallel between Jesus and Gandalf. My guess for the Jesus figure in Middle Earth might have been Tom Bombadil but IIRC Tolkein explicity rejected the notion that Bombadil was Iluvatar manifest in Middle Earth so he is an enigma.
I expect Dilton Doily would have been the best candidate to destroy it.
I agree with above posters that Gandalf didn’t know for sure, but he did have reasons to think it might be okay and not really any other options. Also he wasn’t quite sure about the ring itself.
I do think that ultimately (penultimately?) it was a big deal that Frodo was given the Ring, as opposed to others, most of whom had it by killing or stealing (or both).
Weren’t the Baggins basically upper-class do-nothings their mid-day tea as the most labor-intensive thing likely to impact their day?
It’s been a while since I read the things, but I don’t recall the bit where Frodo was out there in the field hoeing wheat every day for 2 months straight.
Well, yes, the lost wheat-hoeing scene.
If you think the angry murmurs of disgusted fans angered by the cutting of Tom Bombadil’s scene was something, you should have heard the howls when the wheat-hoeing, mushroom picking, and, of course, beer brewing scenes were cut from the book.
Tolkien just threw up his hands and gave up, at that point, burning all evidence that they ever existed. Even his son could not recover a trace, which is why ‘The Silmarillion’ is as short as it is.
Just a note for the movie lovers. I can’t speak to any other cities, but in Chicago the trilogy will be in the theater again this coming week. I’m going to see all three in order on Saturday at Regal City North 14. I believe they’re showing the Extended editions but it doesn’t matter to me either way. Fellowship starts at noon. I’m giving up 4 Marvel movies I’ve already paid for, but it’s worth it to me.
Gandalf knew Frodo’s character because he was Gandalf: a thousands-of-years-old angelic being, rated as the wisest of those angelic beings.
:dubious:
I wouldn’t go that far. This passage is used to describe Smeagol:
While this isn’t, explicitly, a condemnation of Smeagol’s character, it’s about as subtle as a brick in terms of symbolism. And then as soon as he has the Ring:
This doesn’t exactly speak positively of him either. Sure, now he has the Ring, but the Ring doesn’t change people’s character, it just twists it. We would EXPECT Someone who is inquisitive and curious-minded to use the ring to find out secrets. One would expect it would take some time before they started to be malicious with it.