Gollum

The Character The character of Gollum first appears in the book, ‘The Hobbit’ and he later makes a reappearance in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is in Tolkien’s second book, ‘The Two Towers’ that Gollum becomes a main characters when he leads Sam and Frodo to Mount Doom in Mordor.

Why is he called Gollum? Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit of the River- folk, who lived near the Gladden Fields. His real name is ‘Sméagol’ but he was later named ‘Gollum’ because he makes strange noises when he swallows: ‘a horrible swallowing noise in his throat’.

How did he get the One Ring? On Sméagol's birthday, he and Déagol went fishing in the Gladden Fields. Déagol found the One Ring. Sméagol demanded it as a birthday present and strangled Déagol when he refused. The other Stoor Hobbits were suspicious when Sméagol returned alone. He also acted differently because of the One Ring. They nicknamed him ‘Gollum’ and banished him to the Misty Mountains. Gollum calls the One Ring his ‘precious’. He also calls it his ‘birthday present’ to convince himself that Déagol gave him the ring rather than Gollum being a murderer.

How old is Gollum? The power of the One Ring extended Gollum’s life dramatically. He is roughly between years old.

How does Gollum speak? Gollum speaks in a strange manner. He usually speaking in the first person plural when referring to himself: e.g. “Gollum is tired,” said Gollum. He will add ‘-es’ to the end of plural words: e.g. hobbits > hobbitses birds > birdses