What is Gollum?

[sonicdolphin]

yallo. ppl.

I'm new to the forum.. hehehe..

but anyway.. who is Gollum.

I am only on the second book (two towers) and in the part where Gollum has skitsiphrenia or something. (excuse my spelling. hehehe). Then there is Sam, who doesn't trust him, overhearing a conversation between gollum and himself?!?!
Who is seogul.. or whatever.

please clear it up for me.

jameziwon. newbie to forum.

nice job benni.. heheh

[Darth Tater]

Gollum is, or I should probably say was, a hobbit, or at least close to that. If you haven't already read the story of his origins, you will soon. BTW, welcome to the board!

[sonicdolphin]

hehe.. thanks. I feel welcome.. :D really.. not being sarcastic.

anyway.

about his origins, i read before somewhere, maybe in The Fellowship of the Ring that he was the one who found the ring in a pond or something, and killed his friend for it?? i am not sure if my memory serves me correctly. is that what you are talking about when you say i will read about it soon. or is there more information to be read in the leter half of the Two Towers .

Sorry if i sound stoopid.. hehehehe. i just started reading this stuff cause of bmilder. we go to the same school.

jameziwon.

[Darth Tater]

I haven't read LOTR in a couple months (gasp!) so I forgot where the story of Smeagol and Deagol fell. Yeah, that story if the birthday present that Gandalf tells Frodo is basically the best insight there is into Gollum's original character before he was corrupted by the ring.

[Comic Book Guy]

Gollum, or Sméagol is in his roots a hobbit, akin to the great Stoors, hence his height. He used to live with his large and rich family near the Gladden fields, he was a very strange hobbit, he used to swim in deep pools, tunnel under trees and flowers and his head and eyes were always downward.

One day he and his friend(or Cousion) went fishing on his birthday, his friend found the one ring. Smeagol almost instantly wanted the ring, so he murdered his friend and hid his remains. Smeagol soon used the ring for his own cunning plans, such as spying on people and finding out secrets. He soon became unpopular between people and he hated them for it, he started talking to himself and making a swallowing noise in his throat, gollum, hence his nickname.

He eventually fled to the misty mountains and over the years he became slimy and started losing his hobbit characteristics, such as hair. Eventually Bilbo Baggins came across him on his travels and won his 'Birthday Present' from him. After Bilbo left he went on a search to avenge him, and sooner or later he was captured by Saurons forces and they tortured every last bit of information out of him, including the name 'Baggins' and 'The Shire'. Eventually Sauron let Gollum go to go and look for Baggins.

I have a question of my own, did Gollum actually know if he was a hobbit himself?

[IronParrot]

"He is"

No wait, that's Bombadil.

[ringbearer]

Originally posted by sonicdolphin
yallo. ppl.

I'm new to the forum.. hehehe..

but anyway.. who is Gollum.

I am only on the second book (two towers) and in the part where Gollum has skitsiphrenia or something. (excuse my spelling. hehehe). Then there is Sam, who doesn't trust him, overhearing a conversation between gollum and himself?!?!
Who is seogul.. or whatever.

please clear it up for me.

jameziwon. newbie to forum.

nice job benni.. heheh

Just wondering...have you read "The Hobbit'?

[Ñólendil]

Welcome!



Gollum, or Sméagol is in his roots a hobbit, akin to the great Stoors, hence his height.

Gollum does not seem particularly large to me, but the tallest variety of Hobbit were actually the Fallohides.

[Comic Book Guy]

It was a bit hard to judge Gollums height, because he was always crouching and crawling. I don't really know much about hobbit families, except their names. Stoors, Harfoots and Fallowhide.

[Ñólendil]

I think there's a passage in Shelob's Lair which says Sméagol was slightly taller than Sam. Hobbits at the end of the Third Age were generally three to four feet tall. Males seldom exceeded four feet, females I think seldom exceeded three. So there couldn't have been a very large difference in height between Hobbits of the same sex, as we would see it.

Sam seems to have been Harfootish, who were the shortest and smallest of Hobbit Races. I imagine Gollum would be between (say) 3'3 and 3'6, but that's just a guess.

[sonicdolphin]

yup yup..

i read hobbit first.

and i am readin two towers.

i just started reading. just gotta read return of the king then i'm done...

i have simillarion but i didn't read it.. hehehe

okiesabe.. now that you learned more than you need to know. hehe..


oh yea. and thanks for clearing all dat up.

[Sakata]

I wonder if he was taller than merry or pippin though? they were suppose to the be the tallist hobbits in history, for more info about Gollum, check out Gollum's Lair (http://www.angelfire.com/trek/sakata)

[easterlinge]

Interestingly, Smeagol could swim, and swimming was considered normal for Hobbits of the Great River. At the end of the Third Age, Hobbits seem to have lost their affinity for water, boating, swimming, etc. (though not for bathing, fortunately). They seem rather scared of it.

Wonder when Hobbits became hydrophobic and afraid of being immersed in water? Did the Necromancer of Mirkwood do something that scared the Hobbits silly? Or raids by the Easterlings, so that boating and swimming became dangerous?

[Ñólendil]

Well, you can still find Hobbits at the end of the Third Age who were used to water. The Bucklanders were boaters, as Merry points out to Celeborn before they start their adventure on the Great River.

[easterlinge]

Here's a strange thought. Merry is a Brandybuck, descended from the Oldbucks, a wealthy and rather old family.

Smeagol's family was rich.

Both families aren't afraid of rivers and boats and can swim (maybe for Merry).

I wonder if Gollum and Merry are distant relatives?

[Selwythe]

As you know, LoTR spawned many, many fantasy/mythology books which used its ideas (Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Dragons etc as they are portrayed). I personally think that the Kobold is the incarnation of Gollum. It is a small creature, same size as the hobbit, which lives in orc settlements and scavenges their rubbish. They deal in poison. Small and black. It looks a lot like the Gollum in the movie.

Hmm, I'm ranting. Just wanted to brought that up.