LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 04 – A Short Cut to Mushrooms

[Kuruharan]

I think that Gorwingel and HerenIstarion have mentioned (or linked to) something that is worthy of further discussion.

And then another part that stood out to me is the entire part (which is also mentioned above), where Maggot tells Frodo that he should have never associated himself with the "Hobbiton folk". Basically telling him that him moving there is the source of all of his problems. And even though he is partly right, this stood out because to me it's a very hobbitish response. He is not looking that his problems could have came from the world around them, he is saying that the problems came from the hobbits that he didn't know very much, again reinforcing the fact that the hobbits tend to mistrust strangers.

Farmer Maggot is not the hobbit from whom we would expect such insular thinking. Of all the hobbits in the Shire he is probably one who has some of the broadest experience. He’s even friends with Tom Bombadil for goodness sake, and how many people can claim that!? As we will see, Tom had highly complementary things to say about Maggot, aside from Tolkien developing their friendship elsewhere.

Why would Tolkien have Maggot say the things that he said? Was Tolkien trying to reinforce the typical hobbit way of thinking through this atypical hobbit or was there something else going on there?