Gollum (Like him or not)

[Gandalf White]

What do you think of Gollum?

[Thorondor]

i liked him as a character, and I liked his personality, probably one of the best developed personalities in the book. I of course do not like his whole outlook on life and what he did. I also liked him because you always felt some kind of emotion for him. Be it hate, pity, discust, or awe at how he made his way through life. Compare that to someone like Gandalf or Aragorn which I also like very much, but I rarely had any deep feelings toward because they always had their goals that they would achieve; but he was a poor wreached creature that lived in a life and time way beyond what he should have, long seperated from any friends and family he once had.

~I would not say like in the poll, to bad he died, I actually was glad that he finally got to die. Anyway, what would he be if the ring could have been destroyed and he lived? I presume it would not have been very pretty.:(

[Merry]

Without being obsequious, Thorondor has put exactly how I feel about Gollum very well! I love the emotion when he describes the Dead Marshes and his search for remorse when he gently paws Frodo.

It is a pity he was corrupted by the ring so much.

[Lantarion]

I agree. He was a very sentimental and relatable character, and I found him amusing, forlorn and backstabbing, usually at the same time!
But seriously folks.. He is one of the best characters, and I think his personality cannot be rivaled with. Poor, wretched fella.. :(

[Evenstar]

I like him, I feel sorry for him because as horrible as he can be we know thereason for it. When he dies I feel bad but I don't think that he would have wanted to live w/out the ring.

[YayGollum]

Obsequious???:confused: Anyway, can anyone guess what I think?:rolleyes: He was the greatest character and he shouldn't have died and he should have just gotten the ring from the nasty hobbit Frodo and he would have only gone back underneath his mountain and stayed on his little island and eat fish for forever and noone would ever find him again. Yay Gollum!:D

[Grond]

I like Gollum for his essential humanity. He was also one of the most essential characters in the book and delivered the world of ME when all was said and done. He had an innate goodness to him that seemed to constantly be in conflict with his innate badness/evil. This conflict made his character interesting and pitiful... all in one.

Only Tolkien can develop characters such as these!!:)

[Tyaronumen]

One of the saddest moments in the books to me is when Sammy wakes up and jumps into Gollum's ****, thereby pretty much driving away the Smeagol side of Gollum's personality, as far as I can tell. I always wonder what would have happened to Gollum if the Smeagol personality had been nurtured instead of being stamped out by Sam's hairy toes. :D

[Tar-Steve]

I'd have to say I don't like him, mainly because of Deagol. Everything that comes to and from Gollum afterwards has some ring influence imparted to it. I realize that what he did to Deagol does as well but I still think his own perversion dominates that event more than the ring. I can't imagine Bilbo killing one of his companions if he happened to not be alone when he found the ring.

[Aredhel]

I didn't like him at all. From the Hobbit to the Return of the King, he was evil all along. He perhaps had the greatest lust for the Ring, other than its maker, Sauron.

[YayGollum]

Yay Gollum!:D I mean...um...It was all the Ring's fault!:mad: Yeah! Gollum was always the greatest! Deagol and the grandma and the evil sam are the most evilest!:mad: Argh! I'll go back to the Gollum Fan Club and pout! By the way you won't have to put up with me anymore because tomorrow is my last day on the internet for a while and I'm being pushed out of the school's library----

[Moonbeams]

I can't say I liked him too much. But I always felt very great pitty for him. The poor thing, no friends, always hungry... I felt so sorry for him when they treated him so bad in Ithilien, AND ALL HE WANTED WAS SOME FISH!!!
But, you know he brought it on himself. With a little help from the Ring... Hmmm...
Was it his fault he became what he was, or was it the ring all the time?

[Thorondor]

I think that there was always evil in him, kind of like Ted Sandyman was, but when he got the ring, it made his evil grow, till he was nearly all evil, and it couldn't be controlled.

[Centin]

Gollum killed for the ring when he was Smeagol, which really made me think he was evil from the start. But perhaps he was such a weak willed person, that at the time the power of the ring turned him evil as soon as he first saw it.

One thing that really made the power of the ring clear was how even though Gollum had the Ring for 500 years, he was still unable to control its power and was simply corrupted and bound to it.

[Melian]

It may sound strange to some of you,but I ADORE Gollum.Partly because he is the necessary Evil One and has a great role for the destruction of the Ring.Moreover,he's independent as far as he's not a servant of Sauron but of the Ring only.He's the best (in my opinion) developed character of the book.And the mere fact we here discuss his personality is evident for his very impressing performance in the course of the events.
So why hate sssssweat precssssious Gollum?!

[Bryheinnen]

the scene in Mordor where he comes upon Frodo and Sam asleep---and for a moment the poor wretched creature remembers what it was like before the ring, and reaches out to carress Frodo---is one of the most moving in the book. How could you read that and not pity him?
His salvation came in his death, when he was finally at peace.

[Lantarion]

bumpity bump

[Elendil3119]

I say, 'whatever'.:rolleyes: I didn't really like the guy, but I didn't hate him either. I pitied him more than either...

[Theoden_king]

I liked Gollum, I thought he deserved to live, I wish at the end Gollum would have run out of Mt. Doom with the ring.

[Lady_of_Gondor]

I pitied Gollum more than anything. But the question was did I like him? Of course not. In my book, pity does not equal affection. He deserved to die because he was a loathsome and murderous creature. I understand that he did not choose to be that way. Nevertheless, he was. Its a touchy subject, but I believe that even if a person doesn't choose their evil ways, they still should take responsibility for them. Gollum was evil. He died because of his hate, and he got what he deserved. Enough said.

[Gil-Galad]

I pited and liked Gollum.He was not guilty for anything.It was the Ring who made Gollum do awful things,not his owm will.

[Turin]

I think Gollum's awsome:D

[Luthien Tunivel]

I don't like gollum at all. He's just some slimy little sneak. Everything that he did was just for his own profit or to get the ring back.

*wonders what YG would think if he read this*

[ely]

Originally posted by Bryheinnen
the scene in Mordor where he comes upon Frodo and Sam asleep---and for a moment the poor wretched creature remembers what it was like before the ring, and reaches out to carress Frodo---is one of the most moving in the book.
I totally agree with that.

Another sad place was in the Hobbit where Bilbo takes Gollum's ring and never gives it back :( Poor little Gollum, that nasty Bilbo robbed his birthday present :(

Yeah, I liked Gollum. Too bad he died in the end, but at least he got the ring back.

Poor Gollum was a victim of not having any friends. Sure, he killed his friend when he first found the ring, but later when he became more evil and started stealing, his people and family should have helped him instead of telling him to go away... There was no one to help poor Gollum, he was all alone with that evil ring... no wonder he ended up the way he did :(

[Eliot]

I think Gollum's really cool! :) I really like him, and at times, I think he's really funny. :) I found it sad when he died at the end of RotK. :(

[33Peregrin]

When I read The Hobbit before the movies ever came out and I ever imagined reading LOTR, I really hated Gollum. I really did not like him. In LOTR, I started to pity him, and wish some things might have been different for him. I think it was because of how much pity the characters in LOTR showed him, Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, the Elves.... When I reread the Hobbit again, I felt a little bit of guilt when Bilbo took his ring. In the end though, I think Gollum got what he deserved, but I can't help but wonder sometimes what it would be like if things had been different for him. Gollum murdered Deagol, but I always wonder what if Deagol was capable of murdering Smeagol, would he have done the same?

[Lantarion]

the scene in Mordor where he comes upon Frodo and Sam asleep---and for a moment the poor wretched creature remembers what it was like before the ring, and reaches out to carress Frodo---is one of the most moving in the book.
I definately agree.. Perhaps the most touching moment in all of Tolkien's works; certainly among them. *sniff*
Ely:
Pax tibi
Et *** spiritu tuo. ;)

[Jav]

I thought Gollum was a pretty cool character, though I used to like him quite a bit more than I do now. I dont know, I guess I just started to be annoyed by him.

[FrodoLives]

I don't like Gollum or hate him. I pitied him. He was so evil because he was a victim of the Ring for so long. But, he's obviously a very important character and the ring would not have been destroyed without him! It was sad when he died, but it was meant to be.

[Jav]

There ya go. Good point!

[Manveru]

Well...I don't hate him, but he's not one of my fave characters (I didn't cry when he fell into the fiery chasm--though I was surprised it happened;)).
My feelings towards Gollum = something between love and hate (I mean he did bad things [like murder...], but...it was he who helped to destroy the One Ring--not intentionally though;))...
So my vote goes to option #2

[Veramir]

i like gollum. i think he plays a very important role in the story and is an extremely amusing character. The story would not be complete without Gollum!!! that little input sounds so rubbish, but that's how i feel!
~V~

[Aglarthalion]

I liked Gollum, wretched and deceitful creature that he was. ;) Even though he could be described as a malicious and evil creature, I liked his character, particularly the ways in which he acted and made his efforts to try and take back the Ring. I did feel slightly sadenned when he came to his demise.

[elfearz]

you know, I think my opinion is a lot like Bilbo. I don't really like him because he is odd and foul, but I do feel a bit sorry for him, he is quit pitifull.

[Holly]

I only like him in TTT the most!!!

[king theoden]

I liked him most of the time.my preciousssss

[Popqueen62]

I definitely pittied him. He was very pathetic, but he did play a huge part in the book. Middle-Earth would have been destroyed if it weren't for him. It was really sad when he died.