June 17, 2004

New Poll is Missing the Best Answer
Danny

The Poll is missing the two best answers in my opinon. I say that because the question seems to me to imply that an answer other than Frodo is expected. So I started thinking about should haves and two things came to mind.

First is that Isuldur should have been on that list and he should have destroyed the ring. I gather by his lack of his inclusion on the list that we aren't allowed to choose that one. I guess it wouldn't have made for a very good trilogy if it ended before it even started 8).

From the Silmarillion we learn that Isuldur was a leader of the faithful Numenoreans and that he saved the white tree of Numenor before escaping to Middle Earth. He was a prince of valor and greatness who had the pure bloodline of Numenor. However the ring overpowered him at the heart of Mt Doom where Sauron's power suffered no rival. To me that demonstrates why in ideal circumstances no mortal would have been asked to take the ring. So that would leave Elrond, Galadriel or Gandalf, but they were all perceptive enough to detect that the ring's power was too great for them as well. Galadriel's phial was powerless at Mt Doom as a subtle indicator that the ring was greater than even her power with her ring as long as it was at Mt Doom. Clearly the risk of putting the ring in their hands was greater because they had the potential to become the next Dark Lord so that rules them out. However there is one name that is not on the poll that I think would be the most correct answer.

My personal interpetation of Tolkien's works has me beleiving that Bombadil would have been the ideal bearer, and that Tolkien wanted him in the begining of the story to demonstrate the magnitude of what Frodo was doing, and his lack of qualification to do it. Frodo meets Bombadil right as he left the Shire (think of that as his personal boundary.) Frodo just commited to sacrifice his life in his own comfortable world for the good of everyone else. The first being he encounters outside the Shire is Bombadil. This enigmatic character is absolutely unaffected by the ring. This should have made Bombadil the perfect ring bearer. He presumably would have felt no temptation to use it and wouldn't have been at risk of succumbing at Mt Doom as I beleive any other would have done. He obviously was a being of enough power and knowhow to avoid the wraiths and other servants of the enemy.

Interestingly enough, Tolkien takes the time to demonstrate that Bombadil posessed these attributes, and then shows that he is the exact opposite of Frodo in the one area that matters. Bombadil will not even accompany them to Bree because he will not leave his personal boundaries. He didn't care enough about the world outside his little sheltered zone to even make a sacrifice of a few hours of his time to accompany them to Bree. What if the wraiths had overtaken them between the wall where he left them and Bree? How could Bombadil have taken that risk simply because he didn't want to leave his boundary? Goldberry was waiting? Pretty weak excuse to put the fate of the world on.

The issue comes up in Rivendell, and again the answer was a more delicate way of saying that it just didn't matter enough to Bombadil. Essentially he would forget about the ring. How could you forget that you were guarding something that literally had the power to fill the world with darkness? How could you not take that task on your shoulders when you see someone struggling to do so. If I saw a five year old who was given the task to protect a shotgun, I would feel compelled to take that job from him for his own safety and everyone elses. Even if I despised guns and was tremendously buisy, I wouldn't let someone that vulnerable and inexperienced take such a hazardous job when I knew I could do it with an almost 100% guarantee of success. If Bombadil cared about the world at all, that care for the world would have ensured he was the perfect guardian. I beleive that Tolkien brings up Bombadil in the Council of Elrond specifically to remind the reader that the perfect guardian of the ring had already failed to do his duty out of indifference.

Tolkien finishes the book with another reminder of Bombadil. Gandalf leaves to speak to him right as the Hobbits are returning to the Shire. The reader sees that Bombadil remains the same unchanged static character, just before they move to the part of the story that demonstrates how much the Hobbits had grown becaus of their sacrifice. In the end Frodo ends up leaving his beloved Shire forever while Bombadil remains in his little world as if none of that had happened. So to me that was another intentional reminder that Bombadil should have done the job.

But seeing that Bombadil is not on the list, I would have to say Frodo was the right bearer. Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel knew the Ring would overpower them. It had already demonstrated that it would overpower the great mortals when it overpowered Isuldur. Gandalf (the wisest of the Mayar) beleived that other forces besides the will of evil had brought the ring to Frodo. I beleive that Gandalf recognized the song of Illuvitar and realized that a higher power had worked events against Sauron's wishes to bring the ring to Frodo. Halflings turned out to be the most resilient of mortals in fighting Suaron's evil power in their hearts. So I beleive that only a Halfling could have gotten the ring to Mt Doom (excluding Bombadil of course.) I also beleive that it wouldn't have been just any Halfling. It was actually two who did the job together. However, the quest ultimately was won because of the willingness of Frodo to sacrifice all that was dear to him. He knew he was making that sacrifice when he left the Shire, and took it on his shoulders annew in Rivendell. This was what made Frodo the halfling that was most qualified to take the ring. Frodo loved the Shire and the rest of the world enough to make that sacrifice. Sam loved Frodo and the Shire enough to go with him every step of the way, but only Frodo made the great sacrifice of letting the ring ravage his soul all the way to Mt Doom.