On the love of Hobbits

Hobbits, are curious creatures with tough hairy feet, child-like proportions, a love of the soil of their home, the Shire and the houses, the vegetables and the Hobbits that thrive on it. They aren't merely simple creatures, for they are brave and pure-of-heart and their love of simple pleasures and a simple lifestyle only adds to their earnesty and their likable qualities.

Frodo Baggins is one such hobbit he is well-liked and hopeful. Frodo is, always helpful and compassionate for the smallest of creatures. Barely out of childhood himself, Frodo and the Shire as a whole seems untouched by the spoils of war and evil, a well known Hobbit quote describes the philosophy of the people "Keep your nose of of trouble and trouble will never come to you." Frodo is one of the characters that I admire the most in this epic series. If not for his perseverance and bravery but for his purity and empathy

But as he accepts the daunting, almost impossible task of destroying the ring, life for Frodo starts to drag on, it becomes difficult to keep going, to keep up his wits, his strength, his sanity. For the ring is such a burden, a temptation. It toys with your mind, your body with it's relentless whispering and the steady assault on your mind.

Of hope, with the ring there is no hope every emotion is magnified every doubt, fear and thought. And so is the fear and doubt around Frodo, even his best friend Sam with such strong, unbreakable spirit, seems to have cracked and withered through the malicious eyes of the ring. So that even Sam seems lost, Frodo is left as one so small carrying the fate of Middle Earth and it's people. The task seems hopeless and impossible but it must be or there is no survival.

Which is a lot of the appeal of the book itself, the idea that such a small unthinkable person could carry on against terrible odds and win. Frodo is so self-less giving up so much of himself physically and mentally he is under tremendous pressure and strain and still expected to get by.

I think that we see bits of  Frodo in ourselves, whether it's a mountain of credit card debt of an unfinished science project we see Frodo, scraping by on what ever he's got left of himself and we get inspired, excited we connect with him, we face battles alongside Frodo, as equals. even though we aren't the saviors of Middle-Earth we could sure do with some hope and inspiration when all else has deserted us.

Because hey, who doesn't like to see themselves as a resilient, brave three-foot five Hobbit battling the lands purest evil... and winning.