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Post by Sparrow on Aug 3, 2004 23:01:19 GMT -6
The dwarves are amazed and impressed with Bilbo's mysterious escape from the goblins' cave. When asked how he pulled it off, Bilbo, pleased by their praise, decided to withhold any mention of the Ring. Why? Is pride the only reason? Are Bilbo's reasons good reasons? Is this kind of secret justified? Was there wisdom in keeping the Ring a secret? Would Bilbo have become a good burglar without the Ring?
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Post by Greenleaf on Aug 4, 2004 16:54:50 GMT -6
I suppose that Bilbo wanted to show off a little, to prove to the dwarves that he was not as incompetent as they thought. And indeed, after that "The dwarves looked at him with quite a new respect." But I suppose it was also the influence of the Ring that made Bilbo keep its existence secret. I'm not sure whether it would be good to let the dwarves know about the Ring. Perhaps they would begin to feel themselves drawn to it and the desire to possess it. And who knows how nasty could things have turned in that case. But to tell the truth, I don't remember when Gandalf and the dwarves found out about the Ring and what the dwarves' reaction to it was when they did. Maybe it was after Bilbo saved them from the spiders? And just a thought: perhaps the desire to possess the Ring was only greater if you actually knew it was the One?
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Post by Desi Baggins on Aug 5, 2004 7:09:55 GMT -6
I agree with Greenleaf. Bilbo probably did want to show off in front of the dwarves, but also that I think the power of the Ring made him want to keep it secret. I think the dwarves would have been interested in it just because it was gold and then if one of them might have touched it he would have been attracted to it even more. Maybe then Gandalf would have known the truth about the Ring sooner than he did...
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Post by Stormrider on Aug 9, 2004 6:07:19 GMT -6
After hearing the Dwarves grumbling and complaining about him being a lot of trouble rather than being of much help to them, I think Bilbo wanted to keep the Ring a secret and use it when it would be the most help to him and that would help him impress the Dwarves with his burglar skills.
I don't think he wanted them to know that he had found a magical ring that gave him invisibility because then they would not have been so impressed with him when he got past Balin. Also his story of escape from Gollum and the Goblins would not have been so impressive either.
At least this is what it would seem to be the reason in Bilbo's mind for keeping it a secret. It could very well be the Ring starting to work on him, too, as Desi mentioned above. Most likely that was the start of the Ring's control of him.
In the very first version of The Hobbit, it was most likely just the desire to impress the Dwarves, but as Tolkien rewrote it to fit The Lord of the Rings story, the darker power of the Ring would seem to be working on Bilbo here.
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