November 20, 2002

On Tom
Dave M.

Danny, I just cannot see Tom in the way you're portraying him. Centrally, as Gandalf says at the council, such things as the ring have no hold on tm's mind. Basically, he doesn't have the same 'world view' as most of the other characters. Plus, not getting involved in a particular conflict doesn't make you necessarilly an isolationist - would Treebeard have gotten involved at all if Saruman's orcs hadn't attacked Fangorn? Or could you label Gandalf as an isolationist for leaving the hobbits to scour the shire on their own. The Shire's inhabitants would no doubt have considered Gandalf to be so.