The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 01 - A Long-Expected Party

Boromir88 · 06-21-2004, 11:39 AM

Also, this "giving away" the hobbits have done, I believe it also states somewhere in this first chapter that hobbits have a tendancy to get their holes cluttered and filled with maybe "useless items" or "mathoms." So they give it away when they don't have any room to put more stuff.

The ring is a good example of a "mathom" to the hobbits. It really has no use to the hobbits, just turn invisible...etc. Of course a mathom is something a hobbit really has no use for but doesn't want to give away. Bilbo does eventually give away the ring, but later you see in the Council of Elrond, him offer to take the ring to mount doom. This offer really made me respect Bilbo and it kind of made me laugh how brave this hobbit was. (I might talk more about Bilbo's offer down the line when we get to the council of Elrond). Dwarves sort of saw the ring as a "mathom" because dwarves really saw no use for the ring except another piece of gold to throw on the mound, but with all the dwarves greed they would have taken it too like the hobbits. Hobbits would have taken it maybe just for as fordhim pointed out a "present."

06-21-2004, 11:39 AM	#9
Boromir88 Laconic Loreman Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: USA Posts: 7,519	Fordhim interesting point Also, this "giving away" the hobbits have done, I believe it also states somewhere in this first chapter that hobbits have a tendancy to get their holes cluttered and filled with maybe "useless items" or "mathoms." So they give it away when they don't have any room to put more stuff. The ring is a good example of a "mathom" to the hobbits. It really has no use to the hobbits, just turn invisible...etc. Of course a mathom is something a hobbit really has no use for but doesn't want to give away. Bilbo does eventually give away the ring, but later you see in the Council of Elrond, him offer to take the ring to mount doom. This offer really made me respect Bilbo and it kind of made me laugh how brave this hobbit was. (I might talk more about Bilbo's offer down the line when we get to the council of Elrond). Dwarves sort of saw the ring as a "mathom" because dwarves really saw no use for the ring except another piece of gold to throw on the mound, but with all the dwarves greed they would have taken it too like the hobbits. Hobbits would have taken it maybe just for as fordhim pointed out a "present."