LOTR gurus look here

[Woogie12]

I have had numerous discussions with my friend about this, but this is a never ending question. What is Tom Bombadil? This is a question for people who have read the trilogy, silmarillion, and other tolkien works. He can't be an elf, man, dwarf, hobbit, etc. for obvious reasons. He also can't be a Valar, because none of their descriptions fit him and his wife. Now what does that leave? Maiar and Nature Spirit. He could be a Maiar because he was there since the beginning, but when he touches the one ring, it has no effect on him. Now he could be a nature spirit, like his wife goldberry. The ring has no effect on him just like something of the earth such as a rock or frodo's metal chain. But, nature spirits are borne of something, like goldberry is born of the river, and also, nature spirits stay in one place, unlike tom who has been just about everywhere. Now I looked at a book that explains the world of the lord of the rings, and it tells how Tolkien's son had a doll that fell in the toilet. This doll's name was Tom Bombadil and he had a blue jacket and yellow boots. In this toilet, he met goldberry (the water-nymph) and goldberry's "washing day" is the toilet flushing. When Tolkien took the doll out of the toilet, he made numerous poems and called it the Adventures of Tom Bombadil. It means that he is a joke, but it still doesn't really explain what he is in the book. In one part, frodo asks goldberry what tom is, and she replies that "he just is". This suggests that tom is just an anomaly and nothing more, and he is not supposed to be figured out. This also suggests that tolkien smoked way too much pot
Anyway, does anyone have any thoughts on this?

[yeahthatsme]

he is he, that is all. there is no explanation not catagory no nothing, tom b. is just tom b.

[Crimson_Turkey]

Tom Bombadil is a Tom. They are great mythical creatures, each Tom find's it's niche in the world such as loving the earth, or creating paintball guns.

[sharpshooter1286]

yea...exactly...hes tom..he just is

[WicKeD_WaYz]

I remember the name...but what part of the story was he in again?

[-=Squid=-]

Originally posted by WicKeD_WaYz
I remember the name...but what part of the story was he in again?

Very first one, towards the beginning.

[Brak]

tolkien = tokin'

it explains itself, i wish i could make a poem out of stuff that falls in my toilet

[Fred]

Good question.

I have a couple theories myself, but I'm only a hundred pages into the Silmarillion right now...

Theory 1: He's one of the 5 Wizards who has gone native, and left behind any human desire (Gandalf, Radagast, Saruman, and Pallandro are the only 4 I can name...).
At the time of the Lord of the Rings books, Radagast has all but gone native and barely has any power yet, Pallandro's whereabouts are pretty much unknown, Saruman is scheming to become a Power himself, and Gandalf is keeping everybody's crap together for them...
I think the 5 wizards were sent to keep an eye on things and set certain events in motion, but really just act as guides for the race of men.


Theory 2: A leftover of the elder days who hasn't gone west yet.

I dunno really. I think Goldberry is more of a spirit-nymph type.

---Fred

[yeahthatsme]

Originally posted by Fred
Good question.

I have a couple theories myself, but I'm only a hundred pages into the Silmarillion right now...

Theory 1: He's one of the 5 Wizards who has gone native, and left behind any human desire (Gandalf, Radagast, Saruman, and Pallandro are the only 4 I can name...).
At the time of the Lord of the Rings books, Radagast has all but gone native and barely has any power yet, Pallandro's whereabouts are pretty much unknown, Saruman is scheming to become a Power himself, and Gandalf is keeping everybody's crap together for them...
I think the 5 wizards were sent to keep an eye on things and set certain events in motion, but really just act as guides for the race of men.


Theory 2: A leftover of the elder days who hasn't gone west yet.

I dunno really. I think Goldberry is more of a spirit-nymph type.

---Fred

your native theory is wrong, as saruman strives for power, which is one of the greatist human desires, you even contradict yourself by saying that later on. tom is not a wizard, he is not of the silmarilion(sp), he is neither elf nor man nor orc nor dwarf, tom bombadil is tom bombadil nothing more and nothing less.

[ramennoodles]

radagast the brown....hmmm what a crappy colour to have(no pun entended) i like the theory of him being a left over from the elder days that hasn't yet gone west.

[Thordic]

http://tolkien.slimy.com/essays/Bombadil.html

http://www.cas.unt.edu/~hargrove/bombadil.html

There are arguements for and against just about anything he could be.

If I had to pick something, I'd say he's probably a Vala in disguise, walking Middle Earth. Its possible that one of the Valar would not be affected by the ring. You would think that Gandalf would recognize him if this is the case, but perhaps he is just that good at disguising himself.

If not a Vala, he's a nature spirit of extroadinary power. Perhaps an incarnation of the planet/continent. He has enough power so that he isn't limited like other spirits, on his planet/continent he is pretty much omnipotent.

BUt in the end, I don't think it matters who he is. How many people reading this have played an RPG?

Quite often in RPGs you need some sort of character who is so far above the PCs that they can't even comprehend his/her power. It could be an extremely high level NPC, an ArchMage, a demigod. Elminster from Forgotten Realms in AD&D is a good example. Books have been written explaining about him, but barring those, his function in a campaign is to guide or instruct, but he is so far above the characters powers and motivations as to leave them awed and probably confused as to his nature.

Tom Bombadil serves the same purpose in LOTR. Every other character in the story's motives are clear. They are all human, even for Gandalf and Sauron. Tom Bombadil has so much power and knowledge he is above normal human motivations. It add some mystery, and a sense that while this immense struggle over the ring is going on, somewhere there is a BIGGER tale going on. If Tom Bombadil is so casual about the ring, what sort of thing would he concern himself with?

Thats just my opinion anyway

[Woogie12]

Or he has so little care of material things that the ring does not matter to him. The things that matter to him are his songs, the forest, and gathering lilies for goldberry. He can't be a wizard, because the 5 istari are maiar sent to middle earth to watch over things. The maiar can all be subject to dark powers and the ring itself. Sauron is a maiar who became a dark power and balrogs are also dark maiar. I have a feeling that he just is, and nothing more. What part of the elder days would he be?

[Vendetta]

He's an inside joke in the Tolkien family. I really never cared for him because of it.

[Woogie12]

Yes, he is a joke, but I wanna figure out what he is in the book. He is probably an enigma though.

[mcveighr]

Tom's the man. That's all that matters.

You guys read The Adventures of Tom Bomabadil?

Pretty cool.