Gollum has pocketses?

[ElanorGamgee]

Here's something I've been wondering about for a while. Most artwork that I've seen portrays Gollum as only wearing a loincloth or something like that. It doesn't really seem like he'd have much in the way of clothing, but I read this in The Hobbit:

"S-s-s-s-s," hissed Gollum more upset than ever. He thought of all the things he kept in his own pockets: fish-bones, goblins' teeth, wet shells, a bit of bat-wing, a sharp stone to sharpen his fangs on, and other nasty things.

So, does Gollum wear some article of clothing that contains pockets, such as a jacket or pants or both? And if he does, where does he get it? Could he steal clothing from the orcs? I don't think any clothes that he entered the mountain with would survive over 500 years. What do you think?

[dragongirlG]

I seriously don't think that he walked around for five hundred years naked. smilies/evil.gif I guess that he might have made some article of clothing or something.

[Mithadan]

Made or stole, I think. Certainly he had many victims while he lived in the Misty Mountains. Or it might be poetic license on the part of Bilbo.

[Gimli Son Of Gloin]

I agree with Mithadan, its just literate license.

[Gimli Son Of Gloin]

I agree with Mithadan, its just literate license.

[Kalimac]

Maybe it was sort of like the "Eggses!" riddle, where the riddle made Gollum remember something he used to do or have but no longer did. Gollum must have been wearing some kind of clothing when he entered the Misty Mountains and seeing as he may have been wearing leather or tough fiber, it probably lasted for a while - long enough at any rate for him to get in the habit of collecting stones, goblins' teeth etc. That said, I sincerely doubt that any article of clothing could last 500 years, especially in that damp atmosphere. Probably the clothes fell apart and Gollum was naked long before Bilbo ever met him (he doesn't seem to have had too many victims besides goblins, who seem uninterested in any sort of clothing besides armor). Hey, it was dark and close down there - no reason he shouldn't get used to it. But Bilbo's question probably made Gollum think back on those sorts of things, and remember what he had in his now-long-gone pockets.

Just a theory. I don't like accusing Bilbo of inventing post hoc melodrama unless it's absolutely necessary smilies/smile.gif.

[Lossenavariel]

I never thought of that, I kinda agree with Kalimac .

[Brimstone Goldenwing]

I've gotta agree with Kalimac also smilies/wink.gif

[Niphredil Baggins]

Kalimac is so sharp she must use up a great many hats per year!

[Kalimac]

Thank you guys smilies/smile.gif [Kalimac blushes]. Hyvaa paivaa, Niphredil! (These are the only words I know in Finnish except for "puhelin". How do you say "thank you" since that's more appropriate under the circs?) Just as long as I'm not so sharp that I turn into a "pointy-headed intellectual"...

[Midgardsormen]

Did you notice in the TTT preview that Gollum does not seem to be wearing anything? But if he is going to be seen in daylight, and wandering with Frodo and Sam, I would think that PJ will have to have him wear something?? After all, I did get the impression that he was a he...unless all shots are from the waist up or from the back far away and only after dark smilies/biggrin.gif smilies/biggrin.gif
Actually I did not get the impression that Orcs did not wear clothes....what about the clothes Sam finds for Frodo when his own have been taken away?? I am sure Gollum had quite a few pants and vests taken off Orcs, but maybe, as Kalimac stated, he got out of the habit of wearing anything in the dark.

[VanimaEdhel]

In TTT trailer, Gollum was wearing *ahem, ElanorGamgee* a loincloth. I never really imagined what Gollum was wearing...I always kind of imagined him naked actually. Living in the dark cave, he had little need for them: he did not get rained on, there was probably similar temperature because it was so far inward that climate would not change, and he didn't have visitors to cover up for.

[Nar]

In The Hobbit Gollum thinks about what he has in his pockets-- but that doesn't mean he's wearing trousers, just that he owns some. He might have his old shirt, shoes and trousers (with the string, etc. from his old life still in the pockets) folded up safe on his island somewhere, to be worn on a suitable occasion-- which never comes. That's terribly sad. You know, I think we may owe the entire Lord of the Rings to Tolkien feeling sorrier for Gollum than he ever expected to while he was writing Riddles in the Dark.

[Wormtongue]

Yes Gollum has pockets. I'm re-reading the Two Towers and just came across some mention of Gollum's tattered garments. Don't forget some rather important items: He's a relative of the hobbit race, he travelled extensively in his quest for the ring, through Elf-lands and the lands of men. He just came back from a previous journey to Morder, and he has been living in some deplurable weather since leaving Moria. He also has pale caucasion skin, and some ratty hair. He's skinny, with long limbs, but the same height as a Halfling. I believe he'a a whole lot more humanoid than the the early depictions of him make him out to be. He also dined on many an Orc in his decades in Moria, and could've gotten clothing and whatever else he needed from years of slaughter in the dark. Hate to say it, but he's more like you and I than most realize. smilies/wink.gif

[avarerniliel]

When it tells us in The Hobbitthat Gollum thinks about all the nasty stuff he keeps in his pockets, it's just a literary device to show what kind of...erm...creature Gollum is. And how he is different from Bilbo. And of course to give him a lucky shot at guessing what he has got in his pocket. smilies/wink.gif

[Reyna Evergreen]

I don't think he had pockets at all. I think that, since Tolkien wrote "The Hobbit" and the Lord Of The Rings books at different times, he may have mixed up if Gollum had pockets or not...