Tolkien devotes as much attentiond to this duel of wits as some writers give to a sword fight he gives us not only the riddles, but play-by-play commentary on the strategy of each player why he chose a specific riddle and how his opponent tried to work out the answer. Riddle games, such as the one Gollum and Bilbo plan, were a common feature of the old Sagas that Tolkien used as inspiration. If Gollum wins, he gets to eat Bilbo and if Bilbo wins. But Bilbo is also armed with an elvish dagger, a souvenir of the Troll's hoard, and this gives Gollum some pause.Īpprehensive of Bilbo's blade, Gollum tries to break the ice by suggesting a riddle contest. Bilbo is probably the most succulant thing he has seen in ages. All we are told is that he has lived many, many years in the dark bowels of the mountain, subsisting on the blind fish from his subterranean lake and the occasional small goblin he was able to catch unawares. We aren't told Gollum's real name in The Hobbit he is identified by the "gollum" noise he makes in the back of his throat. His first bit of luck, and perhaps the most important bit of all, comes when he reaches out in the darkness and puts his hand on something round and metal which he absently puts into his pocket without thinking.
But here he has the opportunity to be bold and to escape from a difficult and dangerous situation by using his wits and a fair amount of luck. His single attempt at burglary at the Troll's camp went horribly wrong and nearly ended in disaster. Up to now, Bilbo has felt like - and has been - a piece of useless luggage in the dwarves' expedition. The chapter in which Bilbo encounters Gollum is an important turning point in the story.
Not a warm, comfortable, well-furnished hole such as Bilbo was accustomed to, but a dark, damp, forsaken hole which even the goblins avoided if at all possible. In a hole in the mountain there lived a Gollum. He is now lost in a tunnel deep under the mountains, abandoned and alone. While escaping from goblins in the Misty Mountains, Bilbo has become separated from the rest of his party. We met Bilbo Baggins, a solid, well-to-do hobbit who is quite comfortable in his quiet, adventure-free life until the wizard Gandalf dragoons him into accompanying a group of dwarves on a quest to recover their ancestral gold. Last week we began a look at the precursor to Lord of the Rings, J.R.R.
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