Gollum, Smeagol, and his Precious by Miriam E. Baker

Gollum, Smeagol, and his Precious

Gollum is one of the most memorable characters in the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. But what role does he play in the series? Gollum is often viewed as a schizophrenic, an obsessed or a possessed character, whose only role is a crazy person who is slightly pertinent to the plot, but what does Gollum’s character really represent? Is he just a schizophrenic murderer, or is there something beyond the surface to this character? This character analysis is meant to look at the role that Gollum played in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy and how his character develops throughout the trilogy, and how his character is important to the plot. Lord of the Rings is a story based on the struggle between good and evil. Sméagol is also going through an internal struggle between good and evil. Sméagol’s character is in a way very symbolic of the entire book.

Gollum, also known as Sméagol, is one of the many characters from Middle Earth. He was once like a hobbit and a member of the River Folk. He becomes the creature known as Gollum. While he once lived in the beautiful realm of Middle Earth, he now lives in a cold, dark cave on the surface of Middle Earth. Sméagol becomes Gollum after finding the ring of power. The ring corrupted him; he even killed his own friend to possess it. For five hundred years he lived in the depths of the cave and the ring corrupted him. Gollum and Sméagol in some ways are the same person, and in other ways they are very different creatures. They, like other schizophrenic people, talk to things that others cannot see. In Gollum’s case, he talks to Sméagol and vice versa. Throughout the whole story Gollum fights a battle between good and evil, and by doing so he helps Frodo on his quest to destroy the ring. His motives are constantly changing but his goal to claim the ring once again is never wavering. It is interesting however that no matter what he is, good or evil, he is always moving the plot forward.

Gollum was first introduced to Middle Earth in the book, “The Hobbit”. In this book he did not have a main role. He was merely an obstacle for Bilbo to overcome, as well as a means for Bilbo to obtain the ring. This ring served Bilbo on his quest even after his meeting with Gollum. The ring also helped Bilbo escape Gollum’s lair.

In the “Fellowship of the Ring”, Gollum is a minor character but is present none the less. He is found in the Mines of Moria. In this part of the movie, Gandalf the Gray tells Frodo, “He hates and loves the ring as he hates and loves himself” (Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring). I find it interesting that Gollum hates the ring, as well as the evil part of himself that the ring symbolizes. This is the first time Gollum is seen in the trilogy, but he is mentioned earlier when Gandalf the Gray tells Frodo that Gollum has been captured and is being tortured.

Later, in the movie “The Two Towers”, Gollum gets a bigger part in the story. He serves as Frodo’s guide. Sam, from the very start, hates and does not trust him, but despite this fact he still offers his help to the hobbits. When he is leading them through the Dead Marshes, Frodo falls into the water and would have died, but Gollum saves him. When he is working with Frodo, Frodo gains his trust and he no longer wants to steal the ring or, as it is sometimes called, his precious. Around the same time Sméagol banishes Gollum from his mind. I think that when Sméagol banished Gollum and no longer wanted the ring, it is symbolic of good, winning over evil for a time. For the first time in a long time, Sméagol felt that he no longer needed Gollum to protect him, he felt that Frodo, his master, would be there to protect him. Sméagol was still very vulnerable to Gollum and the power of corruption of the ring. But when Frodo tried to save his life by deceiving him and turning him over to Faramir, Sméagol felt betrayed by his master, he once again was easy pray to Gollum’s deception and the evil of the ring. At this moment especially, he became extremely vulnerable to the evil part of him that is represented by Gollum. Gollum, who has been quiet for some time, now takes this opportunity to continue to try and corrupt Sméagol again. Sméagol desperately tries to argue that his master did not mean for this to happen, but is in the end persuaded to admit that his master did betray him. Sam tries to reassure Sméagol that Frodo never meant for him to come to any harm, but he does not entirely believe him. When Faramir lets them go on their way, Sméagol is still quite weak. By the end of “The Two Towers”, Gollum is back in control and has manipulated Sméagol into leading the hobbits to their deaths. For the most part, in this movie good was winning the fight against evil.

In the third movie, “The Return of the King” Sméagol is completely corrupted by the ring. At the start of this movie you get a glimpse of Sméagol’s past. You learn that he came across the ring on his birthday, and that it was his friend, Deagol who had found it, not him. He demanded the ring based on the fact that it was his birthday. In the end, he killed his friend for the ring. Under the influence of the ring the movie shows that Gollum is capable of great evil. He fears that Sam knows his plan and frames Sam for eating all of the food. He also turns Frodo away from Sam after telling him that one day Sam will ask for the ring. After ridding himself of Sam, he continues to gain Frodo’s trust and lead him to the giant spider, Shelob. He plans to let her eat Frodo and then take the ring from his corpse. Gollum leaves Frodo to die in the tunnels. In the very end of the movie Frodo failed at his mission to throw the ring into the fiery pits of the volcano. Frodo, symbolizing good just as Sméagol represented the good part of Gollum failed, to conquer the evil, whether the evil be in the shape of a ring or the shape of the creature Gollum. In the end Gollum was the one who destroyed the ring, but it was not intentional. He was so corrupted by greed and anger that he only wanted it for himself. Through the entire third movie, he is Gollum. Sméagol has lost the fight and evil has won.

In the end, yes, Gollum is schizophrenic, and he is obsessed with the ring. However, if it were not for him, the story would not have ended with the destruction of the ring, it would have ended with the fall of all of mankind. While Sméagol may have lost the battle for good to the creature Gollum, he saved Middle Earth, albeit inadvertently. At every turn, when Frodo and Sam were lost and needed a guide, he was there to help them. There is something to be said for his character, and as Gandalf said in the first movie, “My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play, yet for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of mankind” (Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring), Sméagol was meant to be the one who destroyed the ring. He was the first hobbit to possess the ring, the ring was bound to him for nearly five hundred years, and finally it was his destiny to destroy the ring. But do the ends justify the means? He did not, in fact, mean for the ring to be destroyed, he just wanted it back for him. Was it fate that destroyed the ring, and Sméagol irrelevant? Sméagol let Gollum influence himself many times and in the end fell into evil. The fact that he had a chance to redeem himself, makes me think that yes, fate did determine that he must destroy the ring, but did not dictate the choices he made up to that point. Gollum always had a chance to do the right thing, he chose not to. He did not die a hero, but he would go down in history for what he did.

Work Cited

The Hobbit. By J.R.R. Tolkien. Dir. Kim Selody. Perf. Herbie Barnes, Michael
Simpson, and Chris Heyerdahl. Living Arts Centre, Mississauga, ON.
20 Apr. 2002.

Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood. DVD. New Line

Home Entertainment, 2001.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. . Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood. DVD. New Line

Home Entertainment, 2001.

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. . Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood. DVD. New Line

Home Entertainment, 2001.