If I can’t be brave, I’ll settle for stupid
Posted on May 2, 2008
Filed Under What little I know about Lord of the Rings | 2 Comments
It has been a few years since the movie version of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy came out, but I still marvel over such a great story. So many good characters, so many great moments.
But my favorite moment these days is from “The Fellowship of the Ring” (the first movie) when our heroes are deep within the mines of Moria, skeletons of dwarfs everywhere, and the sense of danger is mounting quickly. As Gandalf the wizard reads the horrible last few dying words from a dwarf’s journal, a hobbit, Pippin, decides to fiddle with a dwarf skeleton perched on the edge of a deep well. Suddenly, that skeleton falls into the well.
Hearing the terrible clatter, Gandalf turns and scolds him saying, “Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!” For now all of their enemies are aroused and know exactly where they are. This is not good. This is very, very not good.
That is my favorite moment in the movie? Well, yeah, actually it is. But allow me to explain…
First, it would probably help to add some background (those of you who are Lord of the Rings fans, bear with me):
In Rivendale Frodo, a hobbit, volunteers to go on a very dangerous mission. He knows that it is dangerous, but he also realizes that someone has to go. Gandalf is more aware than anyone that the mission probably will fail, or at any rate, all involved will die. Never the less, he volunteers to be Frodo’s guide,. For he also knows better than anyone how terribly important their mission is. Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli and Legolas, all mighty warriors, join the fellowship because of their courage and their sense of duty.
Then there are Frodo’s kinsmen, the other three hobbits. Sam immediately joins the group because of his intense loyalty to Frodo. He seems to have a vague understanding of the danger, but mostly he understands that his friend is in need of support. Merry, on the other hand, being quite adventuresome (well, at least for a hobbit at any rate), joins as much for the excitement as any other reason. Merry was just a tad naive about the whole matter.
But what about the hobbit Perigrin Took, known as Pippin? From the very beginning of their fellowship Pippin reveals his deep grasp of the situation by asking “where are we going?”
It was Pippin who shot off his mouth at the Prancing Pony and drew everyone’s attention to Frodo (this was prior to reaching Rivendale). Very bad idea. It was Pippin who kept wondering when they could stop and have “second breakfast” despite the fact that they were fleeing from the very dangerous Dark Riders. It was Pippin who helped build the fire that drew the Dark Riders to their hiding place in the mountain called Weather Top.
Fool of a Took indeed.
By the time Pippin pulled his little stunt in the mines of Moria, Gandalf had had enough. No wonder he snapped at the hobbit.
But then I compare that retort to another memorable exchange between Gandalf and Pippin. After many other adventures we find the two of them together again in “The Return of the King,” the third book/movie of the trilogy. They look to be in deep trouble during the battle for Minas Tirith, the white city. At one point Pippin says “I didn’t think it would end this way.”
Gandalf turns to him and replies, “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.” Gandalf says more, and the conversation comforts Pippin. Pippin goes on to do several noble things before their epic adventure is over.
Throughout the Lord of the Rings most of the heroes took up the struggle between good and evil out of bravery or a sense of duty. Pippin joined the battle out of stupidity. But at least he went. Throughout all of his travels and all of his trials and all of his battles Pippin did a lot of stupid things, but he did several brave things too. And when it was all over, and at last he returned to his home in the Shire, he was still Pippin,. But he was a much better version of Pippin.
I suppose the moral of the story is that even a fool, when willing to take up the Good Fight, will become a noble man –er, hobbit.
PS: Do you think that Peter understood what he was getting into when he signed up to follow Jesus?
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I confess that I like to figure things out for myself. It’s more rewarding that way. And what I learn for myself sticks with me longer.
On the other hand, if something is a bit too vague or amorphous, that can be frustrating.
So… just what was the point of the article above?
I’ll tell you: I’m not sure.
Actually, what I’m not sure about is how “being stupid” would play out in my life. I think that sometimes, in order to follow God, we do find ourselves swept up in the moment, making a decision less out of courage and more out of not wanting to be left behind-as Pippin did.
What’s really cool about Pippin’s story is that he came out of it all as a hobbit worthy of praise and respect. He was still a bit daft, but never the less a hobbit of high values and willing to act on those values.
Pippin is proof that availability always trumps ability. Tolkien knew what he was doing when he crafted a story where some very unlikely characters become heroes. Pippin’s story gives hope to all of us who have been cursed with being “average.”
actually, I could have said: to all of us who have been “cursed” with being average.
There, that’s the emphasis I wanted. ^_^