John 3:16 – Be thankful, grateful, patient, charitable, kind, and smile, as it is infectious. God Bless America; protect our president and the military!
Well, two come to mind: Ebenezer Scrooge for sure! However, I guess it would have to be The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – Smeagol, a.k.a. Gollum
We learn that Gollum is much older because of the ring, a.k.a. “His Precious.” However, Tolkien doesn’t fully reveal how Gollum (Smeagol) winds up with the ring until the LOTR series.
There, while fishing with his friend Deagol, he is pulled into the lake by a large fish and finds the “One Ring” that rules them all. The ring always tries to return to its owner and creator, our story’s antagonist, Sauron. The ring corrupts and defiles anyone who bears it, driven by its evil intent.
Smeagol lies to Deagol, claiming he should give it to him because it is his birthday. A fight ensues, and Smeagol kills Deagol and is shunned and exiled by his old hobbit village of “Gladden Fields”.
Gollum now an outcast hobbit of the Gladden Fields, making him a gurgling, lonesome, cave-dwelling of the Misty Mountains and Orc stronghold into a cannibal, fish eating, loathsome, covetous creature that lies in the story pages of The Lord of the Rings.
Mirroring in Frodo’s eyes, our hero, what he will become if he doesn’t succeed in destroying the ONE RING of Sauron (the antagonist), whose evil is embodied in the ring and can only be killed by the ring’s destruction in the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged.
In the story, the ring not only corrupted Smeagol/Gollum over time but also began to hold Frodo and control his thoughts, creating a feeling of empathy and compassion, while also showing, more importantly, why the ONE Ring must be destroyed, since Sauron’s evil is tied to the RING and his own destruction.
Who is your favorite villain you hate to love?
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