The Hobbit - Chapter 05 - Riddles in the Dark - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

deagol · 05-01-2010, 09:45 AM

While I think we can all agree that "What have I got in my pocket?" is not a riddle, I'm not sure Bilbo cheated so much as he was a pawn of the one thing I haven't seen addressed in this thread, the will of the Ring itself -- or Sauron's will -- if you prefer. Of course, if we're reading in sequence, we don't know any of this yet. But for the purposes of this discussion, a panoramic view is helpful. It seems clear enough that Bilbo was about to be hot, buttered toast -- he guessed the time riddle only because he couldn't stammer out the words "I need more . . . " and the "What have I got in my pocket?" question was merely an audible thought to displace the riddle that Bilbo couldn't think of. He was doomed. The game was over, except that Smeagol (whom we don't know yet) gave him a break. Why would he do this? Was it really Smeagol asserting what was left of himself in recognition of some lost long ago kinship he felt with Bilbo? I think the entire sequence of events (in the revision) is simply the Ring (Sauron) exercising his will on these two poor creatures, one simply wretched and the other more than a bit silly. The Ring couldn't stay under the mountain any more than it could have stayed at the bottom of Anduin. It was itself, through its master's force of will, trying as best it could to get home. This explains why a perfectly honorable hobbit like Bilbo would even entertain the notion of asking an unfair riddle, and also why a vile wretch like Gollum would let him get away with it.

Either that or I am entirely wrong.

05-01-2010, 09:45 AM	#32
deagol Pile O'Bones Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 24	While I think we can all agree that "What have I got in my pocket?" is not a riddle, I'm not sure Bilbo cheated so much as he was a pawn of the one thing I haven't seen addressed in this thread, the will of the Ring itself -- or Sauron's will -- if you prefer. Of course, if we're reading in sequence, we don't know any of this yet. But for the purposes of this discussion, a panoramic view is helpful. It seems clear enough that Bilbo was about to be hot, buttered toast -- he guessed the time riddle only because he couldn't stammer out the words "I need more . . . " and the "What have I got in my pocket?" question was merely an audible thought to displace the riddle that Bilbo couldn't think of. He was doomed. The game was over, except that Smeagol (whom we don't know yet) gave him a break. Why would he do this? Was it really Smeagol asserting what was left of himself in recognition of some lost long ago kinship he felt with Bilbo? I think the entire sequence of events (in the revision) is simply the Ring (Sauron) exercising his will on these two poor creatures, one simply wretched and the other more than a bit silly. The Ring couldn't stay under the mountain any more than it could have stayed at the bottom of Anduin. It was itself, through its master's force of will, trying as best it could to get home. This explains why a perfectly honorable hobbit like Bilbo would even entertain the notion of asking an unfair riddle, and also why a vile wretch like Gollum would let him get away with it. Either that or I am entirely wrong. Last edited by deagol; 07-21-2010 at 07:28 AM.