The Third Theme

[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I think that the hobbits you talk about defeated Sauron not because of any specific weakness, but because of their natural un-tendency to to evil. Because of their down-to-earthness, simplicity.

Originally Posted by Legate

It was the humility in which the hobbits didn't wish more than what they had, in which they didn't want to control, to hoard (with the exception of the Sackville-Bagginses and their like), to spread their own domain in expense of the others...

I think it's a mistake to think that Hobbits as a group (ethnic or what have you) have a natural un-tendency to evil, or have a predisposition to humility. Their relative size doesn't necessarily lend itself to that. There are more exceptions than the Sackville-Bagginses. Tolkien goes out of his way to contrast Sam to a group of other Hobbits early in LotR. Hobbits are typically small-minded in the worst way. Sméagol was a forebear to Hobbits. The mill owner was a particularly unpleasant and unscrupulous character. The name "Proudfeet" speaks for itself. Tolkien purposely characterized Hobbits as typically human with all the foibles one finds among them.

So it was the humility, determination, and big-heartedness of these four quite special Hobbits that helped to bring about the destruction of the evil of Sauron.