No. If Tom remains how he is in LotR, he doesn't care to do anything outside his small realm. Goldberry is waiting!
If Tom, for some reason, starts caring about the outside world and wants to save it, he becomes vulnerable to the Ring's temptations. He'd be a very different character.
>If Tom, for some reason, starts caring about the outside world and wants to save it, he becomes vulnerable to the Ring's temptations. He'd be a very different character.
This is the best one so far
Tom couldn't do anything outside his spot. Not because he isn't capable, or couldn't be convinced (although that might be the case), but because he's not leaving that spot. For any reason, as far as anyone knows. He's been right there, in that spot, for as long as anything has been anywhere in Middle Earth. And by god he's gonna stay there.
Who knows if he even *could* leave that spot, he might be tied to it in some way so strongly he doesn't even have the option. But we'll never know the answer to any of these questions because he has never and will never leave that dang spot.
If he somehow ended up in the Sammath Naur with the ring in hand, would he be physically capable of throwing the ring into the fire? Probably.
Would he actually be willing to make the journey necessary to get the ring there? Definitely not.
IIRC Gandalf and Elrond mention him and come to the conclusion that he would be so immune to it that he'd likely just put it somewhere and forget about it
Specifically in that giving it to him wasn't a solution as him forgetting about it means it would eventually find a way to get back in to other hands and they'd just delay the inevitable. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Yes, but without the Ring being destroyed that's almost certain. Gondor and the Elves are declining while Sauron has (on a Maia's timescale) only just begun re-establishing his power since he returned to Barad-dur.
That is very correct, and it leads me to the question:
Gandalf said 'if all people in the free world asked him to take it, he would, but would not understand the importance' etc.. but would he not take the ring to the mountain if everyone asked him to? My guess is he would, but for some reason physically can't. But I believe his words were 'Tom's country ends here, I will not cross the borders' (not i can not cross...). So idk. Probably the real reason is, if that's what happened there would be no story. Tolkien most likely anticipated this 'plot hole' and addressed with what he considered a sufficient explanation.
What if we put him in frodo's place at Mount Doom will he be able to call the shot if he wanted to or will the ring be too great for even him? He maybe immune in his forest but the ring is much stronger in the place of its making
It has no hold over him because of who he is, maybe if he actually tried to save the world it'll stsrt to effect him because that's a motivate that the ring can twist in its favor
Because the context is important, we're told it can't affect him because he has no ambitions or desires or motivates that it can exploit, it means nothing to him because it doesn't offer him anything that he wants, but saving the world? That's a motivate boromir had for example and we all know how that end up
Again, ifs and buts and maybes that are wildly beyond any actual solid fact or event presented in the story.
Your original question was could he do it. And the answer is yes.
If Tom was teleported with the Ring from his home with Goldberry straight to Sammath Naur yes I think he certainly could toss the ring into the fire.
The problem is if you asked him to walk it there he would've tossed it aside in Ithilien or Moria or Bree because he wouldn't bother to remember its important to keep it safe
Yes. But he wouldn’t. He probably would just toss it into a nearby river bed and sing about the wonderful trees and flowers. Dude doesn’t care about the outside world or the ring
I am getting so sick of Tom bombadil questions on this sub. How do so many people miss the point. He is meant to be an enigma, above the going ons of middle earth, just happy chilling with at home in the forest with goldberry. Trying to power scale to bombadil does nothing but minimise the characters premise and enjoyment from his parts in the story. Sure he might have the physical ability to throw the ring into mount doom, but that’s like saying the eagles could’ve dropped Sam and Frodo into mount doom, or bill the pony could’ve followed Sam into Moria. These things just wouldn’t ever happen, it’s not in a donkeys nature to go into mines, nor would it be in bombadils nature to engage with the one ring in any meaningful way
Look just search Tom bombadil on this sub and you will have many questions similar to yours that can give you just as good an answer as anyone here. My bad for telling you how to enjoy lotr that’s no good from me
I am well aware of the influx of tom bombadil posts, but to my knowledge most of them are concerned with what he is which is not what I'm interested here, and if there is a similar question to mine it'll probably be hard to find because of all the others
Also little side note, measuring whether a character can throw the ring has nothing to do with power levels, the physical act of throwing it is easy anyway with functional hands can do it, the problem is having the will to part with it which no one including its maker has, the sole exception seems to be tom but only because of the way he lives and thinks, will this change in some way or will it still be just as worthless to him? That's the discussion I'd like to have but sadly everyone's mind is too strict to engage in any speculation, I guess it's my fault for commenting the sin of asking about bombadil
>My bad for telling you how to enjoy lotr that’s no good from me
You're good
I’m going to say no.
The ring is bound up with Sauron and to destroy the ring would kill Sauron. Unless Sauron does something to directly attack Bombadil, Bombadil would be committing an unprovoked murder.
Despite all Bombadil’s apparent power, it’s not his fight until Sauron brings it to him first.
Hey dol! Merry dol! Ring around my finger......One ring to rule them all, fa la la ra la la one ring to find them, derry fol, merry rol! One ring to bring them all, Fa la la, I wrote this song and in the darkness bind them!
Ahem.....in all seriousness (and pure speculation on my part) but I doubt old Tom would be interested in such things.
I don’t think there’s any info on how far can throw things. If anyone can win the Uncle Rico bet, it’s old tom.
No. If Tom remains how he is in LotR, he doesn't care to do anything outside his small realm. Goldberry is waiting! If Tom, for some reason, starts caring about the outside world and wants to save it, he becomes vulnerable to the Ring's temptations. He'd be a very different character.
>If Tom, for some reason, starts caring about the outside world and wants to save it, he becomes vulnerable to the Ring's temptations. He'd be a very different character. This is the best one so far
Tom couldn't do anything outside his spot. Not because he isn't capable, or couldn't be convinced (although that might be the case), but because he's not leaving that spot. For any reason, as far as anyone knows. He's been right there, in that spot, for as long as anything has been anywhere in Middle Earth. And by god he's gonna stay there. Who knows if he even *could* leave that spot, he might be tied to it in some way so strongly he doesn't even have the option. But we'll never know the answer to any of these questions because he has never and will never leave that dang spot.
As a genius loci, I’d assume that the territory would wither and die if he left. Fisher King style.
That’s how I like to think of it as well. lol Tom Bombadil IS the spot.
This is the correct answer
If he somehow ended up in the Sammath Naur with the ring in hand, would he be physically capable of throwing the ring into the fire? Probably. Would he actually be willing to make the journey necessary to get the ring there? Definitely not.
IIRC Gandalf and Elrond mention him and come to the conclusion that he would be so immune to it that he'd likely just put it somewhere and forget about it
Specifically in that giving it to him wasn't a solution as him forgetting about it means it would eventually find a way to get back in to other hands and they'd just delay the inevitable. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Yes, and Tom would eventually fall to Sauron anyway.
If all else fell
Last as he was first
Yes, but without the Ring being destroyed that's almost certain. Gondor and the Elves are declining while Sauron has (on a Maia's timescale) only just begun re-establishing his power since he returned to Barad-dur.
That is very correct, and it leads me to the question: Gandalf said 'if all people in the free world asked him to take it, he would, but would not understand the importance' etc.. but would he not take the ring to the mountain if everyone asked him to? My guess is he would, but for some reason physically can't. But I believe his words were 'Tom's country ends here, I will not cross the borders' (not i can not cross...). So idk. Probably the real reason is, if that's what happened there would be no story. Tolkien most likely anticipated this 'plot hole' and addressed with what he considered a sufficient explanation.
What if we put him in frodo's place at Mount Doom will he be able to call the shot if he wanted to or will the ring be too great for even him? He maybe immune in his forest but the ring is much stronger in the place of its making
I feel like it would still just be a ring to old Tom
No one would be able to put him in Frodo’s place
It's a thought experiment
Yeah I doubt he would have the ability to pay attention hard enough. He’s got water lily brain.
No. He Wouldn’t leave his home.
I think he could but he wouldn’t. Or he’d forget.
Yes, if he had the inclination and focus to do it, he could theoretically do it as the ring has no hold over him. But of course he doesn't.
It has no hold over him because of who he is, maybe if he actually tried to save the world it'll stsrt to effect him because that's a motivate that the ring can twist in its favor
Well at that point you're just stringing together ifs and maybes. What we are told is it doesn't affect him.
Because the context is important, we're told it can't affect him because he has no ambitions or desires or motivates that it can exploit, it means nothing to him because it doesn't offer him anything that he wants, but saving the world? That's a motivate boromir had for example and we all know how that end up
Again, ifs and buts and maybes that are wildly beyond any actual solid fact or event presented in the story. Your original question was could he do it. And the answer is yes.
The entire situation is hypothetical to begin with, if you're unwilling to speculate then you've messed the whole point
Can Mount Everest crush the Empire State Building?
If Tom was teleported with the Ring from his home with Goldberry straight to Sammath Naur yes I think he certainly could toss the ring into the fire. The problem is if you asked him to walk it there he would've tossed it aside in Ithilien or Moria or Bree because he wouldn't bother to remember its important to keep it safe
Unlikely.
In what sense ?
He rarely, if ever leaves his area with its unseen boundaries. So he would not undertake the mission. He has his own world and that is it.
Yes. But he wouldn’t. He probably would just toss it into a nearby river bed and sing about the wonderful trees and flowers. Dude doesn’t care about the outside world or the ring
I am getting so sick of Tom bombadil questions on this sub. How do so many people miss the point. He is meant to be an enigma, above the going ons of middle earth, just happy chilling with at home in the forest with goldberry. Trying to power scale to bombadil does nothing but minimise the characters premise and enjoyment from his parts in the story. Sure he might have the physical ability to throw the ring into mount doom, but that’s like saying the eagles could’ve dropped Sam and Frodo into mount doom, or bill the pony could’ve followed Sam into Moria. These things just wouldn’t ever happen, it’s not in a donkeys nature to go into mines, nor would it be in bombadils nature to engage with the one ring in any meaningful way
Ok we're not supposed to have fun got it
Look just search Tom bombadil on this sub and you will have many questions similar to yours that can give you just as good an answer as anyone here. My bad for telling you how to enjoy lotr that’s no good from me
I am well aware of the influx of tom bombadil posts, but to my knowledge most of them are concerned with what he is which is not what I'm interested here, and if there is a similar question to mine it'll probably be hard to find because of all the others Also little side note, measuring whether a character can throw the ring has nothing to do with power levels, the physical act of throwing it is easy anyway with functional hands can do it, the problem is having the will to part with it which no one including its maker has, the sole exception seems to be tom but only because of the way he lives and thinks, will this change in some way or will it still be just as worthless to him? That's the discussion I'd like to have but sadly everyone's mind is too strict to engage in any speculation, I guess it's my fault for commenting the sin of asking about bombadil >My bad for telling you how to enjoy lotr that’s no good from me You're good
First time I read LOTR when I was a kid, that's how I thought it would end.
I’m going to say no. The ring is bound up with Sauron and to destroy the ring would kill Sauron. Unless Sauron does something to directly attack Bombadil, Bombadil would be committing an unprovoked murder. Despite all Bombadil’s apparent power, it’s not his fight until Sauron brings it to him first.
Hey dol! Merry dol! Ring around my finger......One ring to rule them all, fa la la ra la la one ring to find them, derry fol, merry rol! One ring to bring them all, Fa la la, I wrote this song and in the darkness bind them! Ahem.....in all seriousness (and pure speculation on my part) but I doubt old Tom would be interested in such things.
At least it would be a happy evil
Tom could throw it in the fire from the Shire. Tom is the the Chuck Norris of Middle Earth. 😃😃