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Bilbo vs Frodo (Who is the best ring bearer?)

Josh

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Sep 13, 2017
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Hey people. Am just finished watching both LoTR and The Hobbit trilogies.

I really loved both movies but there was something about Frodo that i didn't like. It seemed to me that the only reason why Frodo was able to finish his task was thanks to Sam. I don't know if its just me or you also share that feeling.

However, when i saw the Hobbit it seemed to me that Bilbo was more apt to wear the ring. He seemed to me more strong and less influenced by the ring that Frodo was in the LoTR movies.

Also, Bilbo had the ring all the way from the Hobbit, and he never felt to the influences of the ring. I mean, he didn't become an Golum or tried to wear the ring or wield its power.

According to you who is the best ring bearer? Frodo or Bilbo?
 
The most important thing is that though Bilbo had used and kept the ring for a very long time, much longer than Frodo did. Still, Bilbo didn't face such dangers such as Frodo faced. Remember, Bilbo felt the effect of the ring on him(in the First Chapter, he had mentioned it to Gandalf that it was growing upon him and the desire to keep it became more common. Sometimes he felt as if the ring was watching him).
So the task of ring bearers for hobbits was not an easy job.

I deem that Bilbo would have done the same what Frodo did as they shared the same thinking.
Also the struggle that Frodo endured was too much compared to what Bilbo did(he enjoyed possessing the ring).We can't say that Sam did everything, by the way both Frodo and Sam had a part to do. Not only the destination but the journey counts as well, did Isildur even had the power to throw the ring that he had cut from Sauron's hand? Yes, he had, he was much powerful still he committed a shameful but poor Frodo and Sam had outlasted even the Numenoreans in this task, and they really passed the test.(Don't doubt it!!)

Therefore, according to me Frodo was a better ring bearer compared to the old Bilbo but if Bilbo had been given the ring when he went with the dwarves and would have been appointed with the task of destroying it, his journey would have been somewhat similar to that of Frodo.
 
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I can't really comment on the movies... I dislike Jackson's Lord of the Rings and have not seen his version of The Hobbit.
But I have read both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit many times over.

It seems to me that the evil influence of the ring begins almost at once... Bilbo did lie at first at just how he got the ring and tried to keep it a secret from the dwarves as long as he could.
Also as Gandalf noted the pity that Bilbo had for Gollum may have staved off some of the evil effects of the Ring.
As noted above Bilbo himself felt the effects of the Ring and spoke of this to Gandalf in the opening chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring.
Bilbo had the Ring far longer than Frodo , except for being seen as "queer" as in odd , we really do not read of any evil or possessive behavior from Bilbo until after the Birthday / farewell.party and glimpse of what might become of Bilbo , in Rivendell.

Frodo's journey was vastly different than Bilbo's ... Maybe the Ring could "sense" this and acted accordingly.
Also Frodo's environment , state of mind , stress level , dealing with being wounded all may have played a large role in how the Ring affected him and his ability to act as a Ringbearer.

Neither I think was "better" at being a Ringbearer than the other , both used the Ring and fought the effects of the Ring ... far longer than many other mortal beings might have , as Gandalf stated.
Granted Frodo did indeed claim the Ring at Mount Doom....was this a "failing" of Frodo or a act of self-preservation by the Ring?
I can not say ...But I do think that both Bilbo and Frodo did , the best they could at the time they had with the Ring.
Andy
 
Hmmm very good points.

Yeah the journey was very different. However i can stop thinking how long Bilbo had the ring!

I would have expected anyone to fall under the desire of using the ring or its power. However bilbo just had it in his pocket and touch it from time to time.

Frodo on the other hand seemed more atrached to the ring, and felt more attracted to it than Bilbo was.

Could thid be because Sauron was calling for the ring?
 
Josh, for me, Frodo Baggins (short guy, lives up at Bag End) does not really appear in Jackson's films, at least not in "enough" measure for me, just for an arguably notable example.

I recommend "Frodo on Film: Peter Jackson's Problematic Portrayal" by Dan Timmons, published in Tolkien On Film, a book edited by Janet Croft. Of course if you don't have this book you can't easily read the article and debate or disagree with the points made, but even the nice alliteration in the title is worth it.

o_O

And yes I'm recommending an article that agrees with my opinion :D

It's just so we don't feel lonely in the wide cold world!
 
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Frodo and heres why.

Frodo had the burden of the one ring, he had the nazgul chasing him and they stabbed him, almost killing him. Elrond and council couldnt decide what should happen with the ring and frod takes it upon himself to take the ring. He loses gandalf in moria, he runs away with to sam (he believed travelling to mordor by himself was a good idea and it was). as he travels towards mordor he can feel the ring becoming a heavy burden. i believe this meant physically and mentally. he gets stabbed by shelob. he faints travelling up to mount doom and almost dies once destroying the ring. he saved the world yet still felt the morgul blade wound within him and could not find peace until the grey havens.

it cannot be stressed enough how much this guy had on him. the whole world depending on the success of a hobbit.
 
Not going to choose between Frodo or Bilbo (the noble characters of the books, not the fictitious movies) but here is a quote from LOTRs:
"There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid Hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow. Frodo was neither very fat nor very timid; indeed, though he did not know it, Bilbo (and Gandalf) had thought him the best Hobbit in the Shire. He thought he had come to the end of his adventure, and a terrible end, but the thought hardened him. He found himself stiffening, as if for a final spring; he no longer felt limp like a helpless prey."
 
I know the pull of sauron was much stronger in Frodo’s time of bearance. That and he really did have the whole world riding on his little shoulders. I must say however, that Bilbo had so much grit and fight with him. Every single combat instance, Frodo always seems to cower back while dropping his sword on the ground with those big wide eyes, all the while Bilbo would be charging forward, sting in hand with those fierce, determined eyes.. I think Bilbo makes a much better ring bearer. Frodo annoys me in comparison to his uncle. Like so much so that me and my wife constantly make fun of his wimpy(ness) lol. Just my opinion though.

If Frodo went alone, he wouldn’t have even come close to destroying the ring. Only through San was he able to accomplish his quest
 
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It's hard to say, it seems to be Biblo. He wore a ring for a long time, he had it with him and he did not even like it.
Another point is that it was not an ordinary item and it became heavier for Frodo.


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That's the problem -- your looking at Frodo from Peter Jackson's fabrication but the heart that really knew Frodo was Tolkein and in the original books Frodo, like Bilbo is a very plucky and brave, sensible even noble Hobbit.
 

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