Tolkien Nerds Needed

[Alluveal]

I'm writing an essay for my Tolkien class on the comparison/contrast between Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins (sticking to The Hobbit and the first book of the series.)

So far I have the following:

Bilbo seemed to command the ring more, whereas Frodo was more commanded BY the ring.
Bilbo grows in courage in The Hobbit, Frodo always seemed to have courage.
Bilbo was always having to prove himself to the dwarves and ended up saving their buts numerous times. Frodo relies on his fellow party members (especially Samwise toward the end.)
Bilbo keeps the ring for himself, whereas Frodo gives it to Gandalf.

I'm curious if you guys have any other ideas here. I'm trying to come up with something more in the paper about how Frodo and Bilbo interacted with their company members and how they differ.

I just seem to be too close to this at the moment and I need someone else's eyes and brain. Mine is overloaded!

Lulu

 

[crazyhorse]

Bilbo was always an outsider,Frodo was always supported.

Bilbo gave the ring to Frodo remember.

Frodo demanded the Ring back when Sam had it.

Throw Sam in and you have some interesting and conflicting attitudes

 

[Alluveal]

You're right, Bilbo did give Frodo the ring, but Gandalf had to remind him more than once. I think, in general, Hobbits had quite a resistance to the ring's corruptive powers (perhaps because of their lack of desire for power and innocence in general.)

And you are right about Bilbo being an outcast of sorts. People only seemed interested in his wealth. Frodo had amazing support from the Fellowship (in the first book) and from Samwise in the last two books.

I'm also playing with the idea that with Bilbo, the ring wasn't as seductive in The Hobbit. He told the dwarves about his new prize and used it when he needed. For Frodo, he was surrounded by people who would be easily tempted to take the ring (think Boromir, etc.) For Bilbo, the ring was an asset. For Frodo, it's a burden.

 

[GKarsEye]

I think, in general, Hobbits had quite a resistance to the ring's corruptive powers (perhaps because of their lack of desire for power and innocence in general.)

This is correct, but Frodo is kind of an exception.

The most important difference between them is that Frodo understood why the ring was evil and he could've actually weilded great power with it. Bilbo never could.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

This is correct [that Hobbits are resistant to the Ring's influence], but Frodo is kind of an exception.

I'd have to disagree. I think Frodo (and to a lesser degree Sam, and even Smeagol) epitomized the ability of Hobbits to resist the Ring's lure. Frodo used the Ring far more in the year or so of his quest than Bilbo did through all of his adventure and the decades that followed. He also marched it into Mordor itself, and the Ring gained in power with every step he got nearer to both its master and the place where it was forged. I doubt another character in the epic could have made it as far as Frodo did, to the very edge of the Cracks of Doom, without succumbing to the lure of the Ring. Smeagol, too, had the native toughness of Hobbit-kind, which is why he never faded into a wraith over the centuries like the long-dead Human kings, and why a small corner of his mind remained his own. (Smeagol also rarely wore the Ring in the centuries he spent under the mountains, since he didn't need its power of invisibility of in the utter darkness of the caverns. That also protected him from its power.)

Frodo wasn't an unusually weak Hobbit in this regard, he was simply the one subjected to the longest and most intense trial.

The most important difference between them is that Frodo understood why the ring was evil and he could've actually weilded great power with it. Bilbo never could.

By the end of the tale Frodo has grown considerably, and he (unlike, say, Sam) probably could have wielded some power with the Ring - but he would have been squashed like a bug by Sauron. At the start of the story, before the quest of Mount Doom, Frodo could do no more than turn invisible like anybody else wearing the Ring. As a younger Hobbit Bilbo might have grown in power as much as Frodo if he'd faced the sterner quest, since he was also an outsider (for all of Frodo's support from Sam, Merry and Pippin, and later the Fellowship, he was very much an alien in the Shire.) Both had not only an affinity for, but a kind of resemblance to the Elves (much more pronounced in Frodo's case) that set them apart - Bilbo after his adventure, Frodo all his life.

Regards,

Joe

 

[GKarsEye]

I'd have to disagree. I think Frodo (and to a lesser degree Sam, and even Smeagol) epitomized the ability of Hobbits to resist the Ring's lure. Frodo used the Ring far more in the year or so of his quest than Bilbo did through all of his adventure and the decades that followed. He also marched it into Mordor itself, and the Ring gained in power with every step he got nearer to both its master and the place where it was forged. I doubt another character in the epic could have made it as far as Frodo did, to the very edge of the Cracks of Doom, without succumbing to the lure of the Ring. Smeagol, too, had the native toughness of Hobbit-kind, which is why he never faded into a wraith over the centuries like the long-dead Human kings, and why a small corner of his mind remained his own. (Smeagol also rarely wore the Ring in the centuries he spent under the mountains, since he didn't need its power of invisibility of in the utter darkness of the caverns. That also protected him from its power.)

Yeah, I guess I phrased that wrong. Frodo's resistance to the ring was more impressive because he understood what the ring was more than Bilbo.

Could he have kicked Sauron's ass? Prob not, but he had the kind of personality that could command respect from men and elves despite his size. He's "bigger," has more charisma. In the right situation, he could be a leader. He was special before he ever got the ring, wereas Bilbo seemed more like an average hobbit who just happened to fall into a wacky adventure.

 

[KoshFan]

Well, Gandalf saw something in Bilbo, or he would not have picked him. And he was not wrong. Bilbo didn't have the same kind of Elven nobility that Frodo did, but he was still a tough nut and a good friend to have by your side all the same.

Actually, come to think of it, as we see in "The Scouring of the Shire," most hobbits are like that, when pressed...

 

[crazyhorse]

Merry and the Nazgul,Pippin with the Olog-hai war troll,the Hobbits had some bottle when push comes to shove.

You also have to take into account that Sauron was actively seeking the Ring when Frodo had it so going closer to him was frightening.Bilbo went closer to him when he entered Mirkwood yet was unaware of any danger or the fact that the Necromancer was really Sauron.

Bilbo used the Ring frequently,especially when the dwarves were captured by the elves.It took a long time to wear him down.

Frodo also needed Gollums "help" to get rid of the Ring.Bilbo was encouraged but still managed to do so of his own free will.

From the beginning Bilbo lied about the Ring though.

It's been years since I read the books so I know I'm missing loads of little things.

I believe Sam handled the Ring the best even though he only had it for a short time.