I was surprised to read about Gollum and his dealings with Bilbo in the first edition of The Hobbit. In the first draft of the book, Gollum doesn’t have as deep of a attachment to the ring which makes the parting of himself and Bilbo be in good terms. Personally, I am glad that Tolkien rewrote this scene because I find the attachment that Gollum has with the ring to be very interesting and somewhat important to the plot of the following Lord of the Rings series. If Tolkien would have chosen not to rewrite this the tale in the Lord of the Rings might have been different even if only slightly.
I loved when Shippey called the journey and goals of the Fellowship as being an “anti-quest” rather than a quest. I never thought to think of their journey in this way but it makes sense. As Shippey says, the fellowship is looking to destroy something rather than regain something.
I liked that Shippey talked about the wraiths because they are something that I am not too sure about. I probably just forgot specific lines and explanations from the books but I am not sure if they are alive or dead and how people become wraiths. I was surprised to hear that Gollum was well on his way in the process of turning into a wraith. I knew the ring had tremendous impact on him but I did not know he was turning into a wraith and that even Bilbo and Frodo were slightly on the path to becoming one as well.
Elizabeth Delano? October 29, 2008, at 06:47 PM
