For fans of the Tolkein universe, you might know this character all too well. Gollum is a sickly, sub-human, decrepit creature who eats raw fish and has a nasty swallowing fit. He lies at a category crisis, because for all the different kinds of life forms to be read about in Tolkien's books, Gollum seems to be the only one of his kind.
Upon first looking at him, you wouldn't seem to think he has any semblance of humanity and/or "logical" humanoid parameters, but in fact, he actually used to be a respectable hobbit named Smeagol, who lived in the peaceful Gladden Fields among his kind. One day, on his birthday to be exact, he was fishing with his close relative Deagol when he fell into river. Upon helping Smeagol out, Deagol caught a glimpse of a ring sitting at the bottom of the river. Examining it on land, Smeagol demands it from him as a birthday present. When Deagol refuses, Smeagol proceeds to strangle him to death and finally gets his ring; his "precious".
From then on, the ring begins to drive Smeagol insane, become less social, eventually banned from his village, and continued down the long road of "dehobbitazation". The ring makes him live much longer than any other hobbit could possible reach, and the more time went on, the more physically and mentally torn Smeagol became, to the monster we know as Gollum.
Now, an argument might be made against this being an example of simple greed turning one into that of the monstrous, for this is no ordinary ring, but the Ring of Power created by Sauron. But I believe the Ring itself is the very symbol of greed, a great power that one will covet at the expense of their humanity. As in Gollum's case, he essentially lost his mind, form, and friends for a longer life.
Great post! I think you hit the nail on the head saying the all-powerful ring is a symbol for greed. Perhaps specifically greed for power rather than greed for money. There are so many instances in which characters see the ring and are overcome with an intense desire to use its power. Some of them are good people who wish to use it for righteous reasons, such as that poor fellow who gets shot with like 7 arrows (I’m sorry I don’t remember his name). As you say, though, Gollum shows what the ring does to those who wish to use it for good or for evil. Just like greed, it twists the user’s mind over time until they lose sight of their original motives, of who they used to be. They become corrupted by their ever-growing desire for power, and this eventually turns them into something monstrous. Gandalf is aware of this which is why he refuses to take the ring from Frodo, even though he is very tempted to do so. He knows that not even he, a good and powerful wizard, is safe from the ring’s corruption. Just about anyone can be corrupted by power and greed if they’re not careful. I like how you pointed out how monstrous Gollum even when comparing him to the many other creatures in Middle-earth. There really is nobody else quite like him. Good job!
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