| dc.description.abstract | In J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, the Hobbit is a critical character that is used for the most difficult of tasks, not due to his heroic qualities, but because of the fundamental Hobbit-values of comfort and community; neither of which can be manipulated by Evil. It is this lack of manipulability that vaults the Hobbits into the title of hero. The creation history of Middle Earth culminates with Sauron creating the Ring of Power. Sauron creates a Ring filled with his soul, and with it, spreads darkness and discord across Middle Earth: thus giving rise to the Fellowship of the Ring, a collection of all Middle Earth’s peoples: Wizards, Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Hobbits, who will support the Ringbearer’s journey to the Crack of Doom and destroy the Ring and its master Sauron. Gandalf is the most powerful Wizard on Middle Earth and is motivated by pity for mankind, but he cannot carry the Ring to Mordor because he would become a newer version of Sauron; one that would remove free-will and disguise evil deeds with good intentions. The Elves are good beings designed out of love; however, the Ring manipulates and magnifies the Elves existing faults of greed, vanity, and hunger for power; thus the Elven-kind cannot bear the Ring to Mordor without first falling victim to their own selfish desires. The Dwarves of Middle Earth are also selfish and greedy; however, their vices would not create a new power-hungry ruler of Middle Earth but would prevent the Ring from ever leaving the Misty Mountains: which defeats the purpose of the quest. Men (and their descendants- Hobbits) are the only beings gifted with free-will and are by nature, prone to doing bad deeds often out of greed or power-hunger. Of all the races, Men are the easiest to manipulate and would make terrible Ringbearers because of this easy manipulability. This leaves only Hobbits, of whom four are Ringbearers. Hobbit flaws are unmanipulable because their values center around the comforts of life and family. All four Ring-bearing Hobbits are successful in their task to carry the Ring to Mordor, even Sméagol, whose deeds are often amoral and deceitful. It is because of the Hobbit hero that Sauron is defeated, and it is not their ordinariness or “unlikely hero” traits that make them good Ringbearers, but their contentedness with their humble lives that makes them perfectly suited to carry the One Ring. | |
