August 2, 2002

Gandalf, the Ring and Fans
Lem

"...if he had cared, he would have taken the ring, risks and all, and tried to destroy it himself, instead of using a poor Hobbit." This quote was written by Annatar on the posting s/he wrote on 7/26. Gandalf is not supposed to do things himself. The Valar specifically sent the Maiar to aid and advise, not to act. If all 5 of the Istari banded together and vanquished Sauron, then men wouildn't become independent (Eru's design for his younger children was for them to rule over Middle-Earth after the Elves) and wouldn't have been strong enough to rule without council from the Elves or the Istari or anyone else. Also, the ring was brought to Frodo by fate (otherwise known as Bilbo).

And just one point about the One Ring. The ring caters to whatever desire the bearer wishes and tempts them with that desire until the point at which they are consumed by it. All this said, the ring is really a trap laid by Sauron on others who may have possibly obtained it (clever chap!). However, Sauron is visible while wearing the ring not because it is a desire, but because he is the only master of the Ring.

As for the whole "Tolkien fan" issue, I'd heard of Lord of the Rings before, but since others I know hadn't really been interested, I wasn't very into it until I saw the movie. Then, I got interested in the books, and read them, along with the Silmarillion. I was "lectured" by my friend about Tolkien, and now know lots more than I ever expected. I intend to keep reading Tolkien's works. I do agree that it is irritating to have completely unknowledgable people discussing issues that weren't in the movie, but just the same, it may not be laziness that stops them from reading the books, but, as someone else pointed out, they don't want to ruin the movies for themselves. I know the books and movies aren't EXACTLY the same, but PJ did a rather good job, I must say, in translating the book onto the silver screen. Those movie fans are entitled to be in this forum and you guys have no right to dictate who should be able to post here or not.