Oh I agree that Gollum doesn't seem the most human--I'm just quoting a few reviews I've read that have pointed him out as being the most "real" character while everyone else is presumably something else. To me everybody seems very human, even characters who in the book are more distant.
I do love Gollum though--somebody pointed out to me that in the book the most fully developed characters are probably Gollum, Sam and Frodo. Usually I think Tolkien preferred to keep the evil characters very evil without getting into their motivations beyond the sort of moral lesson they gave. (I think he literally thought it was a bad idea to do this.) But with Gollum he couldn't help himself. He works because he's like this walking Id or something.
That scene is one of my favorites in the book too--it just gets me every time. Makes me love Frodo too, for treating Gollum with some dignity eevn when he didn't seem to deserve it. Heh--of course I love Gollum and that scene. I love Draco the same way! Wah, wants friends he can't have, is nasty but sad. Wah!
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Date: 2003-12-21 04:19 pm (UTC)I do love Gollum though--somebody pointed out to me that in the book the most fully developed characters are probably Gollum, Sam and Frodo. Usually I think Tolkien preferred to keep the evil characters very evil without getting into their motivations beyond the sort of moral lesson they gave. (I think he literally thought it was a bad idea to do this.) But with Gollum he couldn't help himself. He works because he's like this walking Id or something.
That scene is one of my favorites in the book too--it just gets me every time. Makes me love Frodo too, for treating Gollum with some dignity eevn when he didn't seem to deserve it. Heh--of course I love Gollum and that scene. I love Draco the same way! Wah, wants friends he can't have, is nasty but sad. Wah!