Sometimes it seems the sight — or even the mere mention — of the One Ring drives wizards, elves, dwarves, and especially men to the point of obsession.
Boromir, Isildur, Galadriel all feel its lure. Elrond and Gandalf fear its temptation. Saruman succumbs, even without seeing it. It haunts them all, preying on their weakness and ambition.
Yet two small Hobbits show an incredible resilience — carrying the Ring all the way to the heart of Mordor. In fact, Sam gives up the Ring without hardly a second thought. And Bilbo safeguards the ring for decades without turning power-mad.
So this weekend in the Hall of Fire chat we’re asking the question: are Hobbits really more resistant to the One Ring?
If so, what is the nature of their resistance? Is it something to do with Sauron overlooking them when he first distributed the rings of power in his quest to enslave the peoples of Middle-earth? Or could it be some inherent trait?
Yet, surely, Lotho and Lobelia show us that hobbits can be as venal and grasping as any other people? And what of Smeagol? Is he an example of resistance at the edge of madness? Or that even Hobbits will eventually succumb?
Join us tomorrow (Saturday August 20 at 6pm EDT) in #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net when we’ll discuss these questions and many others as we examine Hobbit resistance to the One Ring!
Upcoming chats in Hall of Fire
August 20 — Hobbit resistance to the One Ring
August 27 — The Hobbit Chapter 11
Time zone conversions
Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help.
America:
6.00pm EDT (New York)
5.00pm CDT (Chicago)
4.00pm MDT (Denver)
3.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)
Europe:
11.00pm GMT (London)
Midnight CDT (Europe)
Asia-Pacific
8.00am (Sunday) Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
11.00am (Sunday) Wellington
Our chats usually last 45 mins to an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation!
Where — connection details
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our embedded Mibbit client that works inside your web browser.
Alternatively, you can install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer and just plug in the following connection details.
Server: irc.theonering.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #thehalloffire
