# Why are hobbits so resilient?



## Legolam (Sep 12, 2003)

I was reading an old thread in this section and it got me thinking - what is is about hobbits that made them so resilient to the effects of the One Ring? And, going further than that, why did all the rest of the Free Peoples have such a problem resisting it's charms?

Personally I've got a feeling that it has something to do with the hobbits' dislike of power and authority that makes them inherently less corruptible, but I'll let you good folks discuss it first before I elaborate


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## Aulë (Sep 12, 2003)

I have a feeling that it has something to do with the Hobbits being so innocent.
Now Frodo was about as innocent as they come (and Samwise, moreso), and because of that, it took so long for the Ring to corrupt him.
The Ring is forever trying to trick the wearer into doing it wants them to do: eg, trying to get Sam to not destroy the Ring by making his think he could plant gardens all over Middle Earth. But Sam was so innocent, he couldn't comprehend that, and ignored the Ring's callings.


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## Kahmûl (Sep 12, 2003)

Yeh but Frodo started giving into the ring and if it wasn't for Gollum Frodo wouldnt have destroyed the ring.


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## Flammifer (Sep 12, 2003)

But that is a remarkable feat to have come so far, Kahmul. 

Remember, Frodo's journey took about a year, and EVERY DAY he had to wear it. Now, before Frodo actually set out, he didn't wear it, he only possessed it, but it was kept in a chest or something (I think). But Frodo did possess it for a good number of years before he set out, but because he didn't wear it everyday around his neck, he was less susceptible. This is clear, as when Gandalf threw the Ring in the fire at Bag End, Frodo was only alarmed, and he reached for the fire-tong thingies. But he didn't get angry or anything, just a slight niggling, although he had possessed the Ring for a good number of years.

Anyway, about why Hobbits are so resilient, it seems to be a mixture of what all of you guys have said, and also the fact that they are probably the least powerful race, meaning that the Ring only gives them power to that measure.

Galadriel warns Frodo not to try and train his will to the domination of others, and to not try and read people's minds with it. If he does this, *he will lose the very thing that makes him able to resist the Ring* more than any of the powerful or wise.

So I believe among the traits that you guys have mentioned, it's because Hobbits simply aren't very powerful.


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## Courtney (Sep 12, 2003)

I agree with Aule in a way, but I would call it more of an ignorance (not a bad sort of ignorance) than innocence. They didn't even really know about Sauron, or all the evil things that had been done with the One Ring. Their lack of knowledge of other people and places would mean that they would not desire to rule over them.

I think that at first it was mainly their ignorance that saved them, but in the end it was their innocence, and how they didn't desire fame and glory. If that was what they wanted, they would have given up the quest thinking that their friends were all dead. I remember something about Frodo and Sam asking who would be left to sing songs about them, and that it didn't matter as long as they "saw it through." I will try to find it.


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## BlackCaptain (Sep 12, 2003)

I personally think that the reflection of the Hobbit character in general (Need for a simple life, not wanting responsibility, not craving power) sort of gives them an anti-body to the One-Ring's effects. Men, who crave power above all, fall under it's influence fastest. 

Hobbit's naturally don't want power and corruption at all, so why would a tool that gives that to them be of much appeal?

It's like giving a $100 bill to a new born child. What would they want with it?


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## Estella Bolger (Sep 13, 2003)

Am I cruel enough to say it? They lead such simple lifes that they never feel a need to have power over anyone. Occasionally they are adventerous, but as a general rule stay in their Hobbit holes. Frodo is one of the odd ones out clearly, but it the Ring would still take a while to take hold of such a simple mind.


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## Ravenna (Sep 13, 2003)

In addition to their inocence, Hobbits also have a very simplistic view of the world. Not for them the agonising worry of the 'big picture', but a simple concentration on the next thing in line.

To move away for a moment from the Ring and it's influence, look at Merry and Pippin. After a horrendously traumatic episode, where they had been beaten up, mentally abused etc by the Orcs, did they worry about what they should do or where they should go? No, they sat down and had something to eat! 

I think this natural down to earth attitude, when added to the innocence and ignorance discussed earlier tends to keep Hobbits grounded and less likely to go off into wild flights of fantasy, and therefore there is much less chance that the Ring can tempt them with much. Certainly, Frodo never, to my recollection, even at the end said anything about using the Ring. He simply refused to give it up.


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## Legolam (Sep 16, 2003)

But Frodo started to fall under the influence of the Ring much quicker than Bilbo did (if you remember, Bilbo owned and used the Ring for a long time, and used it in very trivial situations regularly). Does that mean he is less "innocent" or craves power more than most hobbits?

Also, does Tolkien over mention anything about this that we could use as evidence for any of these theories?


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## Aulë (Sep 16, 2003)

I think that Frodo degenerated quicker because Sauron had become much more powerful since Bilbo held the Ring. And the Ring wanted to return to Sauron, so the urge would have been much stronger.


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## Evenstar373 (Sep 18, 2003)

I hate to burst in but I think that Frodo fell to its power faster because he knew more about knind of like that ignorance thing


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## Courtney (Sep 25, 2003)

I agree. I think that Frodo's greater knowledge of the world helped him to understand the power he could posses, and in turn allowed him to desire that power.


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## Estella Bolger (Sep 26, 2003)

Then why did Gollum or Smeagol fall in nearly an instant?


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## Starflower (Sep 26, 2003)

cos Smeagol was greedy, he killed his friend because of the Ring


Starflower


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## Gil-Galad (Sep 26, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Aulë _
> *I think that Frodo degenerated quicker because Sauron had become much more powerful since Bilbo held the Ring. And the Ring wanted to return to Sauron, so the urge would have been much stronger. *


I agree with you.What is more,Frodo was coming closer and closer to Sauron,so the power of the One was growing and growing,with every step Frodo was making.


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## Wynston (Sep 26, 2003)

The power of the ring, and what it does to the user, has more to do with that person's power and personal make up than anything else. As has been stated before, Hobbits don't crave power, heck they don't even like to travel. (especially over water!) They want a simple, happy life. The ring therefore has very little to corrupt in them. People, like say Gandalf and Galadriel, that are powerful and/or want bigger things out of life and the world, have more "materiel" if you will to be corrupted by the ring. That's not to say that Gandalf has evil intentions, quite the opposite. But the ring would turn them to evil. Unlike a Hobbit, who really has no intentions/aspirations besides where his/her next meal or drink is going to come from. 

That's always been my take on it anyway. Also, I think it got to Frodo much faster due to two reasons. First, he wore it every day for a long time. And second, Sauron was growing in power again, and so was the ring.


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## Valdarmyr (Oct 1, 2003)

I think another reason why hobbits in general would've been largely immune to the powers of the Ring is that generation upon generation of hobbits had been leading the simple life. All that heredity handed down over so many years just really locked the hobbits into that simple life. Some people in your family tree can be opposite what you are, but on average, many carry similar characteristics. 

By the same token, the men of Middle Earth had many kings down through the years, so power, the need for it and the want for it had multiplied generation after generation. "The same weakness" ran through their veins...but not all of them!

I also think that if you're going to work with the earth, like hobbits, you have to _give_ to the earth, you can't be selfish and demanding. You have to care for the earth, and for animals too, if you have them. Hobbits were caring.

That said, maybe it was a good thing that the Ring wasn't carried by the Sackville-Bagginses!


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