How does Book Four of Lord of the Rings illustrate the view that a convincing character should not be wholly good or evil, but a mixture of both?

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David Hayhurst

5th October 2004

How does Book Four of Lord of the Rings illustrate the view that a convincing character should not be wholly good or evil, but a mixture of both?

In this essay I intend to look at Book Four of Lord of the Rings and look for evidence in it that suggests a convincing character should not be wholly good or evil but a mixture of both.

I shall start by looking at the character of Sméagol, as his character shows most clearly how a convincing character should not be wholly good or evil. In Book Four of Lord of the Rings, Tolkien portrays Sméagol not as an entirely convincing character , yet not as a wholly good or evil one. Instead, Sméagol is depicted as being unsure himself. A well known part of the play on the topic of the good and evil of this character shows how Sméagol seems to change characters while he is alone, and have a debate within himself as to what is right and wrong.

                “ ‘Sméagol promised,’ said the first thought.

Yes, yes, my precious,’ came the answer, ‘we promised: to save our Precious, not to let Him have it- never. But its going to Him, yes, nearer every step. What’s the hobbit going to do with it we wonders, yes we wonders’ “

This quote is from a debate that Gollum/Sméagol has with himself. It shows how Sméagol doesn’t know what to do, or what is right. He tries to argue that one thing is right, but then is unsure and knows it’s wrong.

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        Sméagol character is inconsistent throughout the whole play. It is possible that Tolkien has done this to make us question whether Sméagol is good or evil, or neither. The uncertainty in Sméagol’s character is by no means on a minor scale, but instead Sméagol’s temperament affects the storyline itself at various points. As we can see, Tolkien uses several different methods to incorporate the view of Sméagol as both good and evil, and in my opinion, he does this quite successfully, and to good effect. It seems though, that rather than attempting to create a realistic good and evil character ...

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