Tolkien as Tom Bombadil

[twilight]

There was an article in a recent issue of Amon Hen, the bulletin of the Tolkien Society, that brought up the conflicting claims of Treebeard and Tom Bombadil, that they are each the oldest in Middle Earth. The author came up with the solution that Tolkien craftily worked himself in as Bombadil. At first I thought, this is really crazy! But there is actually some good suport for it. Of course Tolkien was the first, he created everything in Middle Earth, he saw it develope and transform as he wrote the building of Arda and Aman and he saw the Wars begin and end, he saw the growth and diminishing of the forests and the awakening of all the peoples. Now, remember this passage from the chapter "In the House of Tom Bombadil"?
"Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made paths before the Big People and saw the Little People arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves of the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless- before the Dark Lord came from Outside."
Not to mention that Tom knows all the secrets of the Forest, and speaks to and can control the things in it, just as the author would have known the secrets of Middle Earth (and the forests seem to have been especially dear to him.)
This, then, leaves Treebeard to be the first being created within Middle Earth.
It is is an interesting theory, I think. I write a lot, and I hope to publish novels one day, and I know sometimes I write characters that I know are what I would want to be if I were in the story, or that world. Sometimes it is almost unconsiously done. Maybe the proffessor did this too. Even if Tolkien didn't mean to, I still think it is an interesting analogy. If he did mean to, he would have wanted it cunninly hidden in the story (after all he hated allegory and always insisted his characters and stories weren't supposed to represent specific people or events.), as of course it is. Of course I don't think this is the same thing as making an allegory between LotR and, say, the Bible, since it is so subtle and does not intrude on the story.
Have any of you ever heard of this? What do you think?

Unfortunately I didn't bring all my Amon Hens to college with me, and I don't think the article's online, but if I find it I will post it here, so you can see for yourself. It has a much more in depth analysis.

~Aelish~

[Brandybuck]

I have read this theory before as well..I believe that anything is possible. Knowing the master of storytelling that Tolkien is, he probably weaved it in there intentionally rather than accidentally (if indeed this theory is correct). I do not think that it is too far-fetched. He is the author after all who loved his works. What better way to appreciate what you have written than to incorporate yourself into the book? I think that would be brilliant.

I am a writer as well, and I read constantly..so I can see wher this would be possible.

[Laurasia]

Hi Aelish.

I have to agree that Tom Bomadil is probably Tolkien writing himself into the story. I say this because, in my eyes, Tom simply doesn't mesh right with the rest of Middle-Earth. He's too undeveloped, too odd, too...oh I don't know. He simply doesn't fit comfortably for me to have actually been a proper part of Middle-Earth.

Sincerely,
Laurasia

[twilight]

admin said:

I have to agree that Tom Bomadil is probably Tolkien writing himself into the story. I say this because, in my eyes, Tom simply doesn't mesh right with the rest of Middle-Earth. He's too undeveloped, too odd, too...oh I don't know. He simply doesn't fit comfortably for me to have actually been a proper part of Middle-Earth.

Interesting, I can see what you mean. He does stand out a bit in the book, and he is deffinitely odd. I'm not sure he's really undeveloped, though. He is insofar as he never satisfactorily answers the question "who are you," and we don't know much about his past except that he's been there for a really long time, and we don't know anything about his future. Did he go to the Blessed Realm ever? It would not seem so, since he was so attached to the Forests. But I think we know, or can infer alot about his charachter, that he is about as close to the woods as someone can be, that everything in the forests obeys him, that he thinks little about the world outside (think about what Elrond says about him at the Council.) He seems almost childlike in that he seems carefree and content, but he is wise and knowledgable and not naive like a child. He has a power no other character in the book has, that he can put on the Ring and be unaffected. He seems "to make so light of what Gandalf thought so perilously important." It is almost paridoxical in that the ring is Power, and gives Power, and this has no hold over, or affect on Tom, but he has a Power that is greater than this - he has the power to resist power (sorry for the redundancy, couldn't think of a synonym for power.) This was another point I forgot to bring up, that Tolkien is like Tom in that the Ring didn't have power over the writer who was not actually in the story. (although if the Ring werereal, who knows?)
So, you can tell I like Tom Bombadil. He's actually one of the characters I would love to emulate.

~Aelish~

[Laurasia]

Hi Aelish.

I think that may be part of my problem with his character. How unaffected/unconnected he is from everything that is going on. It just seperates him from the whole thing too much for me. The very fact that he is able to put on the Ring & be unaffected by it is partly what solidifies the thought of his character being nothing more than Tolkien writing himself into the story.

It's not that I think he's a "bad person" or anything like that...he's not. His character just doesn't gel enough for me.

Sincerely,
Laurasia

[~Theodora~]

This theory seem logical. I think that Tom could be Tolkien...
U know what is really ucool? That they cut TOm from the movie! He is so adorable and important. They shouldnt have cut him...

[twilight]

Yeah I agree, but I can understand why they cut him from the movie. It would have been a lot longer if they hadn't because they would have had to explain the whole detour into the Old Forest. It would have been nice though.

~Aelish~

[~Theodora~]

Yeah...It was one of the best parts in the book...and it wouldnt have been that long...15 min. or so...