I was in middle school when I first met Bilbo Baggins. The meeting was unexpected. He arrived in the form of a Christmas gift from my brother: a beautiful boxed set of four books by J.R.R. Tolkien edged in gold.
I read The Hobbit first, being a “read-things-in-order” kind of person and I quickly got a crush on Bilbo. What was there not to love? I could relate to his fondness for the comforts of home and his reluctance to venture from his cozy hobbit hole. I admired his sneakiness in outsmarting trolls and dwarves alike, and I laughed out loud over his many narrow escapes. Bilbo was a first-rate hero in my eyes: resilient, courageous, loyal, and practical.
Then I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy with Bilbo’s relative Frodo Baggins and I found myself disappointed. Frodo was a very different character, obviously, serving a different purpose, but argh. His whining, melancholy, and indecision irritated me no end and while Sam, Merry, and Pippin were worthy hobbits, I never quite warmed up to Frodo. I missed Bilbo’s more bubbly nature and his stubbornness, his inner strength and his firm belief in himself, misguided as it sometimes was.
So my dark secret is revealed. Frodo fans, convince me of the worthiness of your champion. And if you’ve not read the series, now’s a perfect time to start.
2 comments:
Frodo is a lot more like Luke Skywalker. He plays a much more subtle, soul-risking part in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy than Bilbo ever does. Bilbo has to more confront physical fear. Frodo, influenced by bearing the ring flirts with "The Dark Side". But yeah, he is a lot more whiny as well. That part I could do without. But I could better identify with him than with the more straightfoward Bilbo. More shades of gray.
Well, you make a good case. I still think that Bilbo is extraordinary because he is able to remain relatively unaffected by the ring for so many years whereas Frodo has such difficulty relatively early on. I love your Luke Skywalker comparison--two peas in a pod! I guess I'm just a Bilbo Baggins/Han Solo kind of gal.
Post a Comment