Failure and Punishment

[Lotrelf]

Originally Posted by cellurdur

I agree completely and it's sad that Frodo was never given the respect he deserved by the other Hobbits. They sadly could not see the bigger picture and what Frodo had sacrificed and done for not only the Shire, but the world. I do find it terribly ironic that the films also don't give Frodo the credit he deserves, and casual fans of the movies regard him as a failure and weak.

Movies focus on him in the end only. On not getting credit in the Shire, you can consider it another way too: He had grown beyond any Hobbit/Human stature and become something like Gandalf, Galadriel and Elrond. Shire-folk kind of detested Gandalf and didn't care much of the Elves. They didn't realize the big picture, this was better for them. Frodo's fading from the mortal world made him more susceptible to the spiritual world. That, IMHO, isn't a punishment, but a reward.