Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth. Originally known as Sméagol he was later named Gollum after the curious noise he made in his throat. His birth can be estimated to have happened c. the year 2430 of the Third Age. His death date is given as March 25, 3019 of the Third Age. His life was extended far beyond its natural limits by the effects of possessing the One Ring. At the time of his death, Gollum was about 589 years old- a remarkable age for a Hobbit-like creature, but he had been deformed and twisted in both body and mind by the corruption of the Ring. One of his chief desires was to possess the Ring (which had enslaved him), and he pursued it for many years after he lost it.
Also see: Timeline of Arda.
Story
Once a Stoorish Hobbit, Sméagol was described as having spent the early years of his life living with his extended family under a Matriarch, his own grandmother. In the year 2463 T.A. Sméagol became the fourth Master of the One Ring, after Sauron, Isildur, and Déagol. Déagol was his cousin, and on Sméagol's birthday they went fishing in the Gladden Fields north of Lothlórien. It was there that Déagol found a gold ring, after being pulled into the water by a large fish. Sméagol demanded the ring as a birthday present and strangled Deágol when he refused. Sméagol was quickly corrupted further by the ring and, banished by his people, was forced to find a home in a cave in the Misty Mountains. The Ring's malignant influence twisted his Hobbit body and mind and prolonged his life far beyond its natural limits, but he nevertheless loved it dearly and hated it. He called it his "Precious" or his "Birthday Present". He lived in the Misty Mountains for over four hundred years, living on raw fish, (which he caught from his small raft), and juvenile Orcs, and in later years he found Hobbit and Elvish food repulsive. In July, 2941 T.A, during the Quest of Erebor, the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins stumbled upon the subterranean lake on which he lived. Gollum had lost the Ring in the network of caves leading to the lake, though in fact it is more proper to say that the Ring abandoned Gollum, for it was known to have a will of its own. As Gandalf says later, it looks after itself, trying to get back to Sauron. After the famous Riddle Game, during which Gollum was unaware of his loss, Gollum refused to show Bilbo the promised way out and plotted to murder him. Fleeing the enraged Gollum, Bilbo (who had found the Ring) stumbled across the Ring's power of invisibility, allowing him to escape both Gollum and the Orcs. Gollum cried out, "Thief! Baggins! We hates it forever!"
(In the first edition of The Hobbit, Gollum did not appear quite as wretched or as bound to the Ring. Tolkien revised this characterization to fit the concept of the Ruling Ring developed during the writing of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien then explained the version given in the first edition as a lie that Bilbo made up to tell the Dwarves and Gandalf.)
Gollum left the Mountains and pursued Bilbo a few years later, but the trail was cold. He made his way into Mordor, where he was forced to reveal what he knew about the Ring. Gollum was then freed, but caught by Aragorn who placed him in the care of the Silvan Elves living in Thranduil's kingdom in Mirkwood. He escaped into Moria.
In The Lord of the Rings, Gollum met and started following the Fellowship of the Ring in Moria, and was spotted and heard by Frodo on several occasions. On January 15, 3019 T.A. the Fellowship was divided when Gandalf, one of its members, disappeared while fighting a Balrog (though he later returned). Gollum continued trailing the remaining members. It is unknown how he crossed the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, but he came with them to Lórien without their knowing. Gollum followed their boats down Anduin (floating on a log) to Rauros and pursued Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee across the Emyn Muil when they struck out on their own towards Mordor. Gollum followed them, but after a confrontation (in which he bit Sam and ended up nearly strangling him) was stopped by Frodo and at sword-point was told to let Sam go. Frodo tied an Elvish rope around Gollum's ankle for a leash, but the mere touch of the rope pained Gollum. Frodo had sympathy on Gollum and had Gollum swear to help him. Agreeing to the oath, Gollum swore by the "Precious" itself, and Frodo released him. The unlikely company, guided by Gollum, made their way to the Black Gate, the entrance to Mordor.
When the Black Gate was reached and found to be well guarded, Gollum convinced them not to go that way, saying that they would be caught and Sauron would regain the Ring. Gollum led them through Ithilien to Cirith Ungol, where he knew of another entrance into Mordor. In the border-mountains of the Ephel Dúath, Gollum betrayed his companions to the great spider Shelob, child of Ungoliant. Just as Frodo warned him, Gollum's betrayal of his oath ultimately led to his undoing, for Frodo and Sam escaped from Shelob's lair and came against all odds to the volcano of Orodruin or Mount Doom. Gollum followed them all the way, seeking a chance to surprise them and take the Ring. When Frodo and Sam had almost reached their destination, he attacked, but failed to get the Ring. Moments later, Frodo was standing on the edge of the Crack of Doom, but, unwilling to destroy the Ring, claimed it for himself and put it on. Then Gollum attacked again. The two fought whilst Frodo was invisible and finally Gollum bit off Frodo's finger.
Here, ironically, Frodo's kindness in sparing Gollum's life was rewarded, for Gollum then teetered on the edge of the great pit, lost his balance and fell in, taking the Ring and finger with him with a last cry of "Preciouss!". Had Gollum not lived to play this final part, there would have been a good chance that Sauron would have regained the Ring, as he knew where Frodo was as soon as he put the Ring on.
Film and radio appearances
In both Ralph Bakshi's animated film of The Lord of the Rings (1978) and the BBC's 1981 radio serial, the voice of Gollum is supplied by Peter Woodthorpe.
In the Peter Jackson film trilogy, Gollum is a CGI creature voiced by actor Andy Serkis, who also provided the voices of some of the Nazgûl and Orcs. Barely glimpsed in The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), he becomes a central character in The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). The groundbreaking CGI character was built around Serkis's voice, movements and expressions, sometimes by using a motion capture suit which recorded his movements and applied them to the digital character, and sometimes by the more laborious process of digitally "painting out" Serkis's image and replacing it with Gollum's. In one such shot in The Two Towers, Serkis's real spittle can be seen emerging from Gollum's mouth.
In The Return of the King Serkis himself appears in a flashback scene as Sméagol before his degeneration into Gollum. This scene was originally earmarked for The Two Towers but held back because it was felt that audiences would relate better to the original Sméagol once they were more familiar with who he became. The decision to include this scene meant that Gollum's face had to be redesigned for the second and third movies so that it would more closely resemble Serkis's. (The brief glimpses in The Fellowship of the Ring are of an older portrayal of Gollum.)
Pronunciation
In both the 1981 BBC radio adaptation and in the Peter Jackson movies Sméagol is pronounced as "SMEE-gol", although the placement of the acute accent suggests that the correct pronunciation is "SMAY-uh-gol". On the other hand, in Tolkien's recordings of The Lord of the Rings he also pronounced it "SMEE-gol" or "SMEE-AH-GOL", suggesting that éa should either be pronounced as a long "i"-sound or as a diphthong ea, and not as two distinct vowels "e" and "a". Tolkien had a habit in his writing to put diacritics in varying places, as can also be seen in the name Eärendil, which also occurs spelt Ëarendil. It should also be noted that "Sméagol" bears strong resemblance to Old English smēaġan, a verb meaning "to ponder". If this was Tolkien's intention, then the accute may have been meant to substitute for the macron. In any case, when trying to pronounce Sméagol, it should be kept in mind that the pronunciation rules given in the Appendices for The Lord of the Rings are for the Elvish languages, and not for (old) English representing Westron and related languages.
Sméagol's "real" Westron name was Trahald, of the meaning "burrowing, worming in" or "apt to creep into a hole". In both Westron and Old English, Sméagol's name is related to Smaug's: Smaug's name in "true Dalish" was Trâgu, and the Trah- stem in Trahald and Trâgu is thus a cognate of the Germanic stem present in both Sméagol and Smaug (with a meaning of squeezing through a hole).