Who/ What is Tom Bombadil?

[Welserwies]

Was this chapter about the odd Tom bombadil of any important's at all or was it just filler? It seemed rather useless to me. If you can't tell me about Tom without spoiling some upcoming event then just tell me I'll find out but if you can tell me I would like to know.

 

[Bard the Bowman]

First of all, how much have you read? I think you will understand if you keep reading.

 

[Welserwies]

First of all, how much have you read? I think you will understand if you keep reading.

Not much yet. they have just got done talking to strider for the first time and are off to bed. I am actually going to read some more now

BUT>>>>>

I started to get real tired of old tom and gold finger or what ever her name was so if the clue was in either of the two chapters they were in I may have missed it because I skipped a few lines here and there.

Hope no one gets mad at that but the tom character was getting on my nerves.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

If you search the forum too, there's a ton of threads on him that you'll be able to find posts/essays that past and present members have written, some VERY informative. Tom Bombadil is actually what got ME started on this forum, I found a thread someone had started writing about him in Google and that made me join the site. :*D

 

[Starbrow]

While Tom Bombadil is a beloved character to many, he really doesn't come into the story anymore. So it's okay if you skimmed through his chapters.

 

[Welserwies]

While Tom Bombadil is a beloved character to many, he really doesn't come into the story anymore. So it's okay if you skimmed through his chapters.

I had a feeling that was the case. I just read the portion of the council of Elrond where the fellowship was created and tom armidillo was mentioned again and I was tricked for a moment to think he wasn't just filler but found out my first suspicions were correct. He should have been used again to perform some great deed that helped save the day or maybe become a tragic hero but as it is he is just there.

 

[Prince of Cats]

I just read the portion of the council of Elrond where the fellowship was created and tom armidillo

It's Tom Bombadil

I was tricked for a moment to think he wasn't just filler

He should have been used again to perform some great deed that helped save the day or maybe become a tragic hero but as it is he is just there.

:*confused:

 

[Welserwies]

It's Tom Bombadil

:*confused:

You may have noticed I got it right in the title.:*) I just didn't like the character so i guess I made fun of him.

 

[Lomion]

I had a feeling that was the case. I just read the portion of the council of Elrond where the fellowship was created and tom armidillo was mentioned again and I was tricked for a moment to think he wasn't just filler but found out my first suspicions were correct. He should have been used again to perform some great deed that helped save the day or maybe become a tragic hero but as it is he is just there.

He's not just filler.

 

[Sulimo]

While he is a mystery. There must always be mystery in fantasy. Not all things must be explained, but Lomion is correct. There is no filler in the LOTR.

If you want a more direct answer. He serves as a guide and protector to the Hobbits. He is similar and yet a contrast to Gollum. I read elsewhere where you have seen the movies, so this is not a surprise. It may serve you to keep this in mind as you read the Two Towers, to view Tom Bombadil, as a contrast to Gollum. It ties in with the the remarks I made on the "did the Hobbits feel remorse after the fall of Gandalf".

 

[Lomion]

'Eldest, that's what I am. Mark my words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made paths before the Big People, and saw the Little People arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless—before the Dark Lord came from Outside.'

This alone hints that there is a bit more to Tom than what we see in that chapter. To be honest, though, in the end you'll probably just be left with more questions. He is an enigma, trapped in a box, hidden behind a riddle, and all shrouded in mystery. I mean, he can handle the ring like a play-thing -- that in itself is interesting to say the least.

Of all the text concerning Tom, this is my absolute favorite:
"I think that in the end, if all else is conquered, Bombadil will fall, Last as he was First; and then Night will come."

 

[Mimzy]

Personally, I think Bombadil is extremely important to The Lord of the Rings. Not in an obvious way, but I think Tolkien put him in there to state his admiration for pacifism, even though Tolkien was not a pacifist since he viewed it as unfortunately impractical.

As to who Bombadil is - that's a very interesting question. Personally I think Goldberry is an elf-maiden, probably one of the Nandor. Though the poem in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil states she used to live underwater, personally I think by the time Tolkien wrote LOTR, he pictured her as merely living by the water. The fact she was interested that Frodo is called 'elf-friend' imo implies strongly she is an Elf.

Bombadil on the other hand, is much more complex. I think he is an Ainu, but not a Vala nor a Maia. I think he is un-affiliated with the Valar, at least directly, that is, he doesn't serve any of them. I think he was the first being created by Eru, and also the one that is the most free from evil and in mind closest to Him.

 

[DM613]

It is similar, however, a difference of Gollum. I read somewhere else where they have seen the movies, so it's not a surprise. Can be used to keep this in mind that you have read the Two Towers, to see Tom Bombadil, instead of Gollum. It is part of the points I made in the "fact Hobbits remorse after the fall of Gandalf."
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