Talk:Tom Bombadil

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Contents 1 Bombadil's prose 2 Bombadil, not an English word? 3 Tom Bomadil is Puck of Pooks Hill 4 Tom is Adam 5 Tom just is 6 Tom Is An Archetypal Character 7 Wording 8 Queen Beruthiel's Cats 9 Homosexuality 10 Relative "age" of the character 11 Tom can`t be older than Valar 12 "Only character" outside Tolkien's categories? 13 Tom Bombadil and the Serious Plothole 14 Bombadil as Aule 15 The Doom of Man 16 The Empty Picture 17 the one rings influence over tom bombadil 18 Bombadil is Tolkien? 19 Foreshadowing and training 20 Visions of the Outside 21 Cleaning up 22 WikiProject templates 23 Who is Tom Bombadil? 24 Poetic Appearances 25 Tom Bombadil and Old Man Willow

[edit] Bombadil's prose

He speaks poetically, in iambs.

Actually, it's not 5 beats per line, but 4 beats. Here is the pattern as I remember it.

DUM DITTY DITTY DUM
DUM DITTY DUM DUM

Interestingly, he sings that way when walking through the woods, and he talks that way most of the time. Once, when I had way too much time on my hands, I wrote out all his non-song speeches to analyze the meter. Although a lot of it fit the 4-beat pattern above, he occasionally lapsed into regular prose; if I recall correctly, that was when he was being most serious, as about the Ring or other dangers to Frodo.

--User:Ed Poor 05:56 Aug 19, 2002 (PDT)

Tom is a deeper character than is commonly apprehended, and I was sorely disappointed that he was left out of the movie. Frodo's encounter with the Dark Forest, Old Man Willow, the Barrow-wights and Tom Bombadil really sets the stage for the whole rest of the story. It's not all about the Ring! Uncle Ed 16:04 12 Jun 2003 (UTC)

I agree, Ed. Director Peter Jackson's decision to omit Tom Bombadil from the film was a big disappointment. Though I still enjoyed the first two pictures immensely, I can't escape the feeling that an important member of the family was shut out of the feast. Terry User:Thseamon

It was flawed because it omits how merry got his enchanted sword, which was necessary to strike the nazgul with. Neither eowyn or merry are "men," which is another creative addition to the book. Very reminiscent of greek prohescies. Sorry for the aside. -DEL

[edit] Bombadil, not an English word?

Althought it is pure speculation, I just noticed that Bombadil translates into Bomb (bomba) tounge (dil) from Turkish, for your interest.

[edit] Tom Bomadil is Puck of Pooks Hill

Puck is the oldest of the Old Things. He looks like a hobbit (or vice versa). He is the god of Oak, Ash and Thorn. His attitude towards Weyland, the Smith of the Gods, is like Tom Bombadil's to Sauron's minions. The story he tells about how the People of the Hills "flitted" is the story of how the magic disappeared from Middle Earth.

[edit] Tom is Adam

I have heard that a New Zealand Anglican bishop has written a thesis about religious symbolism in Lord of the Rings. Apparently one of the things he says is that Tom Bombadil is Tolkien's nod to the character of Adam in Abrahamic religions.

It is a very interesting idea, and the most convincing I have heard. There are some things that click into place immediately. Tom, like Adam, is the first, and fatherless. Tom's domain that he won't happily leave is the Garden of Eden. Tom's wife is named "Goldberry" which might be a reference to the story of Eve and the forbidden fruit.

How does this fit into Tolkien's mythology? Well it almost sounds like Tom was the first of the Children of Illuvatar, neither elf nor man, but a prototype who was there even before the Valar decended from the heavens. Maybe he was there to hear the song of the Ainur, which would explain how he knows Old Man Willow's song.

As for counterarguments, I believe Treebeard claims to be the oldest living creature in Middle Earth. This must just be wrong, weren't the Ents created to fend of the threat to the trees from the Dwarves? I can't remember I'll have to look it up.

Anyway I'll get some more references on this theory and add to the article. Are there any major counterarguments I need to mention? Ben Arnold 05:35, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC)

It does not fit into Tolkien's legendarium at all. He was most likely the embodiment of the spirit of Arda itself, some kind of genius loci. Thus, he wouldn't be exactly a "living creature" (just like Gandalf, who was a Maia, so he was in fact even older than Arda itself), and Fangorn would also be right. The Middle-earth version of story of Adam and Eve and the original sin was the Tale of Adanel.

Ausir 11:17, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Well I'm not as confident as you that his nature is so clearly known. I agree though, if Adam is represented somewhere else it does poke a big hole in this theory. Ben Arnold 20:58, 5 Apr 2004 (UTC)

About the Ents: I vaguely remember that they were created in response to the Dwarves, but I also remember that the Dwarves were placed in stasis until the First and Second Peoples (Elves and Humans) awoke. So the Ents could have been the first sentient race to wander about on Arda, before the awakening of the Elves.

Maybe someone had a hicup during the Song and created Tom by mistake? crazyeddie 06:50, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Tom just is

Tom is Father Time, Goldberry is Mother Nature. Can it get more obvious, people?

It would be impossible, without direct written evidence from Prof. Tolkien himself, to determing Tom's nature; but having said that, I've always thought of ol' Tom as the anti-Ungoliant. Wheras the Ungoliant existed to feed and destroy, Tom is there to nurture and help. The ring had no power over him as the ring tended to amplify the wielder's power and ambition--but Tom had enough power already and had no ambition to do anything other than to just be--as Goldberry remarked. But even my interpretation is flawed without direct proof, as I said. So, Tom remains as Tolkien left him: the ultimate mistery. But I disagree with links to Adam or Abraham (as previously mentioned) for the simple fact that Tolkien hated allegory in all it's forms (his own words show this), he wouldn't have added allegory when he hated it. I think that's really all that can be said on the topic.

Have you read Tree and Leaf? I tend to be a bit skeptical of Tolkien's professed distaste for allegory...I sometimes feel that he actually just defined the word a bit more narrowly than we do today. Anyway, I don't thin it's the place of this article for us to be presenting our own views and research on the subject. Better to give an overview of the kind of debates and the facts that are available. Some of the supplemental material in the external links is as extensive as anyone could ever wish to read! --Aranel 21:42, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Tolkien hated allegories, but he loved myths and legends. He didn't write the Lord of the Rings as a morality play, but he did incorporate elements of existing myths and legends into it. It isn't too far fetched that he based some elements on the myths and legends of Adam or Abraham, although I don't think he did so in this instance. Tom, as Tolkein himself more or less said, simply doesn't fit into the larger mythos of Middle Earth. I doubt we'll ever know. I agree with Aranel that it isn't a good idea to be presenting our own views in the article, but it is fun to debate them here! crazyeddie 19:15, 4 Sep 2004 (UTC)

I like all of you guys' points. I have noticed the similarities between Tom Bombadil and Ungoliant since I first learned about both of them. In fact, the reason I came to this discussion page was to put forth my ideas about Tom Bombadil. He is, in my opinion, sort of an anti-Ungoliant. Ungoliant is much like darkness or death incarnate (see my comments in the Ungoliant discussion). Tom Bombadil is something similar. He, like Ungoliant, transcends even the Valar in aspects. I think, Tom Bombadil is time incarnate. That's right, I am proposing he is like a Father Time. Notice many references to him refer to his age, he has always been on Arda. Time also has no influence over him or his domain. Events have no influence on him because he is time himself. The ring does not affect him because it is in time, and he being time is outside of time. So, if Tom Bombadil is time, what is Goldberry? I believe Goldberry is life or youth incarnate, though I am not exactly sure at this point. I have done much speculation and quite a bit of research. At the moment most of my research is in the Ungoliant area. You might want to go see that talk page I referred to. I plan to go more in depth on Tom next. I am pretty sure now that he is time. Before I considered things like life, light, and time. I have narrowed it down to time. After Tom I hope to do Goldberry. After that I am going to do a study of Arda to see if there are other beings like Ungoliant, Tom, and Goldberry that are carnate version of non-physical objects. --Merond e 12:27, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

i edited letters to include a quote from a letter of tolkien's which justifies tom's presence in a "Tom just is" way.--Randalllin 23:51, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tom Is An Archetypal Character

Tom is not one person or thing, he is rather an expression of that age old archetype of the Green Man, the Wild Man, mother nature, etc. All of these things mentioned above are merely creations of this archetypal concept. Leif902 23:03, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wording

"puzzled even erudite fans" The word "erudite" means well-spoken, not "fanatic" or "avid". I suggest we change it.

Well, "fanatic" isn't at all close to the meaning I think was intended, nor is "avid" really. I think the intent here is something like "knowledgeable" or "learned". But really, is "erudite" that far from the mark? The Oxford English Dictionary definition says nothing about "well-spoken", but lists its most current meaning as "learned, scholarly", which seems right on target. The dictionary comments that in this context the word is "now somewhat rare except in sarcastic use", but from the sound of it, you might consider that sarcastic overtone to be well deserved. : ) --Steuard 21:10, Jan 26, 2005 (UTC)

I would agree that the intent is definitely to refer to the more scholarly fans, of whom there are many. (We are not talking about Pokémon fandom here. Tolkien fans prior to the movies were often a fairly scholarly bunch.) What is really meant is, "this is still up in the air even among people who have studied it extensively". "Fantatic" is definitely not meant, and neither is "avid". There are plenty of "avid" or "fanatical" movie fans who think that Legolas is cute and have never heard of Ainur. -Aranel ("Sarah") 22:35, 26 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps the more advanced fan, or the most authoritive fan would be better. Does anyone else get the feeling from reading about Tom that he was Tolkiens bread and butter? Tolkien went out of his way to make him very subtle, but very sophisticated when attention is paid.Cúchulainn 02:58, Feb 5, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Queen Beruthiel's Cats

I've read The Inklings before and Tolkien did offer an explanation about the cats to CS Lewis. He mentioned that Queen Beruthiel was a Black Numenorean who sent her cats out on hunting expeditions. Naturally after each sortie they always came back. Just thought I should point it out.

TheSeez

In fact, the full story is available in Unfinished Tales (though it's in a rather obscure place; check the index). If you haven't read that book, you should: it's got a lot of fantastic stuff in it.--Steuard 17:27, Mar 30, 2005 (UTC)

Yeah I have the book but I've never noticed that story in it. Thanks for telling me, I'll check it out now.

[edit] Homosexuality

Tom is clearly gay.

This has not been one of the major topics of debate regarding Tom Bombadil. I'm going to remove the NPOV notice until there is some discussion to back it up. -Aranel ("Sarah") 21:37, 10 August 2005 (UTC)

He clearly is gay, i.e. happy. Since he is married to a woman, and since the author was a Christian, the homo suggestion is ludicrous at best.

-- Jordi·✆ 05:21, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

Ludicrous! Ha! The entire book has homo under tones! Frodo, Sam, Legolas, even Gandalf are a little bit on the sweet side. Also, the idea that the authors being a Christian would some how protect the characters from being gay is just wrong. Look at most modern "Christian churches," many support homosexuality. Look, just because you are obsessed with LotR that does not give you the right to protect the homosexuality of it all with your traditional family values! 07:21, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

The author invented the characters. It's not like they actually had lives of their own that he could somehow "protect". It's just that it's highly unlikely that it would have even occurred to Tolkien to write homosexual characters. This is a result of historical and culture context that was quite different when Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings. Applying a modern lens to the story is an interesting exercise, but we have to be careful about imposing our culture on a work that predates it.

Regardless of that, the fact is that whatever you believe about Bombadil's sexuality, there is not significant scholarly (or otherwise) discussion on the subject, so it doesn't belong in the article. -Aranel ("Sarah") 00:40, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

Look, just because you don't agree with someone's point of view does not mean that you have the right to tell them that they can't talk about something. This is the Wiki. That's what it’s all about. I might not agree with he gay thing, but I also do not agree with you Wiki-nazis that try to use the guise of “scholarly discussion" to shut those in whom you do not agree with down. If someone feels that something has merit, then they should be able to TALK about it, HINCE THE TALK PAGE!

Hence? And the homosexuality argument is clearly devoid of any merit, scholarly or otherwise. Tolkien, as an author, had Victorian sensibilities. If there is any "homosexuality" to be found, it is assuredly not of the kind the modern world understands. The primary "gay" overtones of the work spring from the concept of the comitatus spirit which was to exist among the warbands of the pre-Christian tribes in Denmark, Sweden, and other Norse regions. The camaraderie of a warband -- think Beowulf -- was not akin to homosexuality any more than gang rape. Sighter Goliant 05:16, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

tom is obviously being called gay because this guy who called tom it, does not believe tom is masculine enough to be straight, sigh, i know this from experience, i just wish he had left his name when he posted that felinoel

• This is the silliest post I've seen in quite some time. Tom's sexuality (if he has one, we give it speed - Tolkien certainly didn't) is ultimately outside the nature of his character. His context seems to be as something of an abstract representation - a construct, if you like.

As such, the idea of sexual drive - a consequence of the need to reproduce and guarantee continuity of one's genes - would matter little to Tom.

The chap who added the Beowulf citation is correct. The "homosexual" argument lacks merit, so I'm not going to bother explaining Beowulf to you. I'm sure you haven't read it anyway. Moreover, it seems like the tone of this edit is dark: please try to maintain a NPOV stance as defiance will quickly reduce credibility.

Grow up.

[edit] Relative "age" of the character

I removed this addition because it doens't necessarily follow:

The stories about Tom Bombadil, the Dutch doll, predate the writing of The Lord of the Rings, making him older than the Middle-earth world that Tolkien created. Hence he is the oldest being or character in his world.

Middle-earth significantly predates The Lord of the Rings. You'd have to have a date for, most likely, Tolkien's earliest Elvish writing, and compare it to the earliest appearances of Bombadil. -Aranel ("Sarah") 00:37, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tom can`t be older than Valar

In Lord of the rings he says:"Eldest, that's what I am...Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn...he knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless — before the Dark Lord came from Outside."

Before Valar entered the world,there had been only dark.We don`t know when the stars were made,but we know that they were made by Yavanna.In my opinion his existance started after the creation of stars either before Melkor first entered the world(but it isn`t propable) or in the peace days after First war with Melkor.He certainly remembers Lamps of Valar,its strange he doensn`t talk about them.

The stars were crafted by Varda. That's why she's called the Starkindler. Yavanna had nothing to do with them. Furthermore, the stars were created after Melkor entered the world. -Sighter

In my opinion Tom isn`t maiar.If he was maiar he woudn`t be oldest-At least Iluvatar would be older...He can of course mean oldest in Arda so he would be first Ainur who entered the world,but i don`t believe it.He is too extraordinary to be a maiar.

In think Tom is something like protector of all living things.He mostly recommends me Fangorn and Ents generaly,but he isn`t ent nor he belongs to another species or race,Tom just is.

This is true. Tom is just a super-imposed figure in the legendarium. He was meant to be inexplicable, mysterious, and detatched from the rest of the mythos. Eluchil 07:43, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

Tom is older than anyone else in Tolkien's legendarium. This is why I believe he is time personified (see my theories in discussion above). If he was time then he would even be older than the Vala. The only one he would not be "older" than would be Eru; but as Eru is outside of time, he is really ageless. --Merond e 10:00, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Only character" outside Tolkien's categories?

We've recently gone back and forth regarding whether Tom is "the only character in Tolkien's entire mythology who does not neatly fit into any of the categories of beings Tolkien created". I had modified that to "one of the only characters", and now we've got "arguably the only character". The most obvious other example that comes to mind is Goldberry: how is she any easier to classify than Tom is? (She might be harder: we know a lot more about Tom.) As a more obscure example, the giants that Bilbo saw in The Hobbit are also awfully hard to classify; at the very least I wouldn't say that they fit "neatly" into any of the usual categories. Given all that, I feel that "one of the only characters" is a reasonable wording.--Steuard 17:14, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

I would agree with your wording. Another difficult classification example would be the "tree-men" Sam speaks of in the early chapters of the Fellowship. Naturally, we don't know the veracity of the reports -- but we can't be sure of their mendacity either. -Sighter Goliant

Tom was definitely there before Melkor entered the world. This quote by him proves it:

"Eldest, that's what I am ... Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn ... he knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless — before the Dark Lord came from Outside."

Dark Lord from Outside is an obvious reference to Melkor, as he is the only being to have come from outside as a Dark Lord (Sauron having become a Dark Lord long after his entry into the world). gamerxl

[edit] Tom Bombadil and the Serious Plothole

If Tom Bombadil is the only character who is not affected by the ring, why doesn't he take it to Mordor? Of course there wouldn't be much of a story, but it would make a lot more sense that way. --149.226.255.200 14:41, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Tom Bombadil and the Ring were discussed at the Council of Elrond... providing several reasons why this would not work;

1. Bombadil would not leave his own lands.
2. Bombadil would not understand the importance of the Ring and was likely to simply misplace it.
3. Had Bombadil somehow gotten the Ring to Mordor the chances of the brightly dressed singing man passing unnoticed seem remote (read: 'non-existant')... and it was also established at the Council that Bombadil did not have the power to resist Sauron. So the Ring would simply have been taken from him. If he didn't hand it over willingly because he wanted to go back home.

So, the concept fails on several fronts... no plot hole. --CBD _☎ ^✉ 15:02, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Not to mention, Gandalf says of Tom, "Power to defy the Enemy is not in him" in Fellowship. Zelmerszoetrop 08:48, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

Bombadil Is stronger then Sauron do tot he fact he resists Saurons corruption when he puts on the rign snad sue to his ability to see frodo when he is invisible. The council states that Tom is too carefree to realize he might jsut hand the rign over to sauron, like mentioned above, caus ehe wanted to go home to Goldberry

~More importantly, he doesn't want to go beyond the borders of his land. Also, simply being able to resist the Ring doesn't make Bombabil by nature "stronger than Sauron." Resisting the corruption of the "rign [sic]" doesn't necessarily keep an orc from sticking an arrow in your skull.Sighter Goliant

i do believe it was mentioned something or other like tom's "powers" are only good in the woods, please correct me if i am wrong felinoel

Probably a valid point, although I'm fairly sure it's not explicitly stated anywhere. All he says is that his knowledge fades "out east." Sighter Goliant 04:26, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bombadil as Aule

I'll admit that the "Bombadil as Aule" theory is probably notable enough to deserve mention here. But it's simply not that strong of a theory, and I don't think that this article should present it in such a uniformly favorable light. The article's current claim that Bombadil is most similar in temperment to Aule simply makes no sense to me: we never see Bombadil build or create anything, while such endeavors are Aule's greatest love. Bombadil seems to care most deeply about the living things around him; on that basis, I would say that the Vala whose temperment is the best match to his is in fact Yavanna. Meanwhile, Goldberry doesn't show any particular interest in living things at all (except water lillies); her connection is strongly to the river and to water in general, and if I had to identify her with a Vala, the only natural choice seems to be Ulmo. But although both of those comparisons are stronger than the "Aule and Yavanna" notion, neither is particularly convincing. (And if you read Gene Hargrove's essay advocating the Aule theory, you'll find that he dismisses the Maia theory for no good reason at all.)

Meanwhile, my own essay on Bombadil lists several arguments that to my mind rule out the Bombadil-as-Vala possibility entirely. Will anyone object if I (or someone else) eventually tones this theory's treatment down a little?--Steuard 19:30, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

I would not object to the presentation of your counterarguments. I think they are certainly valid points, but I don't think the theory is as weak as you portray it. In regards to the evidence against the Maiar. There is no known Maiar for whom the ring does not hold power. One might argue against this and claim that the Silmarils (created by an Elf) held power over Melkor (thereby disputing the notion that the Valinorian heirarchy has influence). BUT... I would counterargue that the true power of the Silmarils lay in the light from the trees that they contained--Valar created.

I think the lack of power argument is your strongest, but consider two things: Firstly, the Valar no longer interfere directly in the affairs of Middle Earth. In saying he does not have the power, Gandalf may simply mean that he is not permitted to use it. Secondly, Bombadil's true nature may not be known by the counsel.

In regards to having been in Middle Earth from the beginning, this assumes that Valar cannot be in two places at once. This seems a risky assumption when you are talking about gods.

In response to your theory of Yavanna/Goldberry, I present the following description linking Yavanna with water... "but the roots of the tree were in the waters of Ulmo" Sounds like a linkage to "the river's daughter" to me.

I acknowledge that this is a bit of a stretch, but who says he hasn't been creating? Aule doesn't care about posession. There would be no treaure trove in his house. He does have a definite interest in hobbits though (who are not refered to in earlier ages). Aule made the dwarves. Who's to say he didn't make Hobbits as well, and is looking out for his creations? Just my two (or 5) cents. Irongargoyle 21:18, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

I don't see the Aule argument having much definitive credibility, especially when one considers Tom's own statements about himself. What could be earlier than the "Dark Lord" who came from the "outside?" I don't like using the word "obvious" with regard to Tom Bombadil, but I think it's fairly obvious that he's discussing the Void and Melkor, not merely Sauron. From a standpoint of world consistency and mechanical reality, I regard the Flame Imperishable theory to have precedence, considering the lack of any other real grounds on which to argue that Aule was the first of the Valar to enter the world. However, I think Barb's excellent discussion of how Tom is the reader is certainly valid in the more expansive view. Sighter Goliant

[edit] The Doom of Man

I think we should remove the entire section about Tom Bombadil as Christ or somehow a fulfillment of the Doom of Man. Not only does the Doom of Man not refer to some secretive salvation history, but more appropriately to the fate of men after death, but there's no way Tolkien placed Christ in a pre-Christian setting. To do so denies the basic particularity of Christ so central to the Catholic tradition Tolkien so strongly held. Sighter Goliant 05:24, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

I second this comment. Tolkien despised allegory and has been quite categorical in these statements. Irongargoyle 23:39, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

I'm glad we agree. However, I'm not so sure Tolkien's distaste for allegory extends to symbolism. I think he was fine with symbolic resonance in characters and places, provided the author did not attempt to set up a scenario in which every object stood for a static abstract idea and the interactions between these concrete symbols sets up another level of abstract meaning. For instance, I don't think reading allegory into Barb Beier's article quite defines allegory in the same way Tolkien would have defined it. Sighter Goliant 19:14, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Just to add one more plank in the argument against the Doom of Man, should anyone decide to put it back in: for Tolkien, as a Catholic, Christ is not an entity separate from God. Tolkien explicitly denied the theory that Bombadil is Eru, thus rendering void any suggestion that Bombadil is an enigmatic pre-Christ figure. Sighter Goliant 19:19, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

for catholics, it is taught that Christ, God, and the holy spirit are one ~felinoel

The same is true for all Christians, be they Catholic or otherwise. The three-personal nature of God renders the Christ-figure theory somewhat untenable.

Actually not all Christians believe in the Holy Trinity... just to correct your ignorance I just hate to have that be a perception. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 147.222.147.235 (talk) 16:03, 7 February 2007 (UTC).

Semantic games. The vast majority of Christians are Trinitarians. And many of the traditional unitarian groups cite their Christian culture, but do not attempt to defend any sort of Christian identity. Sighter Goliant 22:35, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Empty Picture

for the picture of tom there is nothing, why is that, from the way tom was described it is easy enought to illustrate him, also there already are pics of him on the google image search, and im sure one of them will allow usage of the picture ~felinoel

[edit] the one rings influence over tom bombadil

Question E10 in the FAQ of the Rings speculates that Sauron was visible when he wore the one ring because he - unlike elves, dwarves, or men - was a maiar who had chosen to assume physical form. If so, then although Gandolf and Sauraman might not have been immune to all the effects of the one ring they might well have been immune to its effect of invisibility. Also, this would seem to suggest to me that Tom Bombadil was a spirit who had chosen to assume the form of a man.

Also, regarding the "both Saruman and Gandalf, both Maiar, were clearly not immune" comment - Gandolf certainly does seem to posses some immunity. More so than Boromir and Saruman. TerraFrost 22:22, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

I disagree. First, Sauron was not invisible when worn by the ring because it was part of him. He could control what powers were used at what times as he pleased. Gandalf was more immune to the ring than Boromir and Saruman. But he still greatly feared the ring and was tempted by it. Boromir was a weak man, easily tempted. Saruman had an obsession with all the rings since their creation. It wasn't exactly a lack of immunity that caused him to desire the ring, but his own personal obsession. Tom Bombadil had absolutely no affect by the ring at all, and he was not invisible. I doubt he was controlling the ring because that would denote Tom to be evil. It simply had no effect on him. If you want to see more about why, see my comment on who Tom is above. --Merond e 09:02, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that Tom isn't able to see Frodo when he puts on the ring, he just figures out where he is quickly. He says something like," where did you go?" and then figures it out. Am I wrong? --Ornitorinco

I'm pretty sure you're wrong, yes. Note, for example, that Bombadil looks straight at Frodo, and that he comments that Frodo's finger looks better without the Ring on it. I think it's pretty strongly implied that Bombadil could see Frodo just fine, even while wearing the Ring.--Steuard 23:04, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Just a thought on why Bombadil remains visible when he wears the ring: he is clearly immortal. As Gandalf explains to Frodo, all of the Great Rings have that power over MORTALS.

"A mortal, Frodo, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the dark power that rules the Rings."

Presumably, ANY IMMORTAL who wears a Great Ring would not become invisible. This does not imply explicitly that the Ring had no power over Tom Bombadil as is suggested in the main Wikipedia article. It simply verifies that he is immortal. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.158.67.33 (talk) 22:39, 25 January 2007 (UTC).

It is explicitly stated in The Council of Elrond that the ring has no power over Bombadil. TCC (talk) (contribs) 23:17, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Right. But I was not trying to argue that fact, just the way in which supporting evidence of that fact is presented in the main article (I should have been more clear; sorry about that.):

"Here it is revealed that the One Ring has no power over him. He can see Frodo while he is wearing the Ring (who remains invisible to all others) and he does not turn invisible when he wears the Ring himself."

In that context, the fact that Tom Bombadil remains visible is presented as evidence that the Ring has no power over him, when, in fact, that he remains visible is only evidence that he is immortal. A statement like this can be misleading to the casual reader, especially if researching for a paper. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.158.67.33 (talk) 20:12, 30 January 2007 (UTC).

No, it's evidence that the Ring had no power over him. We don't have any further information from the only authoritative source, and we can't go speculating or making things up. We do not know, for example, whether any immortal would be able to see Frodo while he was wearing the Ring. Probably not. In The Hobbit Smaug was immortal, but Bilbo was invisible to him while he had the Ring on. TCC (talk) (contribs) 22:47, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bombadil is Tolkien?

Is it possible that in a brief moment of metafiction, Tolkien inserted himself into the story? The role/authority of the author seems to concide quite a bit with Bombadil's abilities. This is mere speculation of course. I have absolutely no evidence for this... User:damndirtyape

6.26pm, 17 August 2006 (GMT)

[edit] Foreshadowing and training

The merry, innocent hobbits need some toughening up and some good object lessons in "how not to get ensnared by evil". The recurring bit about not taking a nap in the middle of your escape (lest a tree kidnap or drown you, or Barrow-wights entomb you) should teach them all something.

Note how Tom tells them not to pass the Barrows on the right side, but on the left - advice which they promptly ignore.

Without Bombadil, they'd never have gotten to Bree alive. --Uncle Ed 19:33, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, Captain I-State-The-Obvious.

[edit] Visions of the Outside

I don't have the book in front of me, but I remember that Frodo had a dream when he spent the night in Tom Bambadil's house, something about green hills and a bright morning, and this is precisely what he saw when he reached the edge of Middle Earth and sailed Outside. I think this dream should be part of the article. I have also thought that it gives a clue as to who or what Tom Bambadil is. People who stay with him experience an inkling of what it is like to be Outside, to have a beauty and a joy untroubled by the weariness of this middle-world. Presumably Tom is a creature from the outside, but I had always thought he symbolized the Outside. And in this sense he's absolutely essential to the story. Caught up in problems, like a fish that doesn't notice the water, one loses awareness that things could ever be otherwise. One has to have someone or something wholly unsullied to have a basis for comparison, to see that they're there. But even more importantly, the characters of Middle Earth choose to involve themselves -- they get involved in Middle Earth and its problems knowing it will sully them. If there weren't a bit of the Outside stuck right in the heart of Middle-Earth, there could be no free-will. Frodo couldn't make a free choice. And he wouldn't be truly brave -- and bravery is his fundamental attribute. In this sense I don't believe for a minute that Tom is a mere afterthought or add-on, however mythologically inexplicable his nature and origins. He's essential to the themes of the story. --Shirahadasha 01:28, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

I think this is an excellent thought, and it actually works quite well with a few of the other "non-entity" theories that are floating around: the imperishable flame, Tom as Reader, et al. What most impresses me, though, is the textual relationship you've drawn between Frodo's dream in Tom's house and Frodo's eventual realization of these particulars. I think this thought deserves a place in the article. Sighter Goliant 14:37, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cleaning up

A lot of this article does not seem to meet the wikipedia standards, though I will be first to admit I am not an expert on them. For example, this paragraph:

He was a spry fellow, and would bring many a laugh to most who came across him. Only the sternest of faces could resist cracking a smirk at his rhymes. It seems his only adversary is Old Man Willow, who holds dominion over miles of Tom's "country". Tom Bombadil's origins in the cosmology of Middle-earth have puzzled even erudite fans, as he is arguably the only character in Tolkien's entire legendarium who does not neatly fit into any of the categories of beings Tolkien created. Speculative ideas about his true nature range from simply a wise Elven hermit to an angelic being (a Maia or Vala), to the creator, who is called Eru Ilúvatar in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Tolkien explicitly denied this last possibility. He is the reprise of a character from an earlier, unrelated Tolkien poem.[1]

It reads more like a fan website. Someone may want to tag the article.

I was thinking the same thing myself. What should we tag it? Simply a "needs clean-up" tag? --Merond e 16:22, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure it reads like a "fan website," but there definitely is a good deal more fancruft than there should be. I wouldn't mind separating the "theories" from the "known facts." Ultimately a good article on a character like Tom will include some "fan theories," but they need to be clearly marked at segregated from other sections of the article. Sighter Goliant 18:04, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Ok. If we do mark it I recommend using the {{tone}} which looks like this:

This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article.
Please improve it or discuss changes on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.

--Merond e 10:02, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject templates

Are we really? I rather thought we were a BOOK project here, while noting differences to the films. If the FILMS are to be our source data in preferrence to the books, then I may be in the wrong place. --Bill W. Smith, Jr. 23:01, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

I moved the above comment from the top of the page to this section I created. The comment was made in response to the "film" wikiproject template being put on this talk page. I agree with Bill, and I removed the template. Film stuff goes on the film articles, not on the book articles. Carcharoth 00:27, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Who is Tom Bombadil?

We have all been wondering and thinking about the origin of Tom Bombadil. We will never have a definite answer to this question as probably not even Professor Tolkien was sure about it. But I have a theory as to the significance of this character in the story of The Lord of the Rings. I believe that Tom is the real enemy, and defeater of Sauron. We can say that Morgoth and Sauron are the representatives of Evil in the Middle Earth, but Evil will continue to exist even after they are gone. This was the idea behind Tolkien's The New Shadow, book he felt was not worth writing. When Frodo/Gollum destroy the Ring, Evil is destroyed in a given moment, but not definitely, not forever. Tolkien was a devout Catholic and therefore he truly believed in Free Will, what let's us "chose" if we want to be Good or Bad. I believe Tom represents Good through his innocence and love for all living things, specially simple things. Tom defeats Sauron, not by opposing him, but by ignoring him. Tom begins to defeat Sauron when he laughs at the ring and plays with it, and the only thing that seems to worry him about it is the fact that it makes Frodo "uglier". All those who face Sauron, Gandalf, Galadriel, Boromir, Aragorn and specially Frodo, can only resist the temptation of the Ring with great effort, because they are the ones who are giving Power to the Ring, through their own fear. Tom would never fall under the power of the Ring (or of any representative of Evil) because he is beyond that. And while Tom exists Sam will be able to enjoy his children and a good mug of beer, and King Aragorn will be able to rule as a kindly and loving sovereign. And thanks to Tom the Middle Earth (and our own Earth) will go on living when Elves, Men, Dwarfs, Ents, Orcs and other beings are no longer there. And Tom will be the last, even as he was the first. Alejandro del Pino President of the Tolkien Society of Uruguay www.tolkienuruguay.org

[edit] Poetic Appearances

Shouldn't we include reference to "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil?" LotR is not the only place where Bombadil appears. Sighter Goliant 22:59, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tom Bombadil and Old Man Willow

To what extent are they "mutual opposites" - are they perhaps a composite entity or linked? It is thus not by accident Tom comes to the rescue of the hobbits.

Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are another of "those areas" where there is much room for speculation and little matter on which to base it. Jackiespeel 18:12, 26 February 2007 (UTC)