Who is Tom Bombadil?

[bobstod]

Without question, Tom Bambadil and his Wife Goldberry are among the most engaging personalities in Book One. His bounding energy, and her pure and innocent beauty captivate the Hobbits; and us!

Who is Tom? What does he symbolize in the story? Why doesn't he just go take Sauron by the throat and throttle him?

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ALABAMA: Tradition; Class; A name to respect in College Football

 

[porkchop]

Tom is Nature. Atleast that's what I think and have also heard it mentioned in some of the Tolkien forums. Otherwise, I guess I would call him a spirit or something? Goldberry might be called a Nymph or something? It never really says what either of them are, but I feel that Tom has some kinship with nature. He can in some aspects control it. Maybe very limited, but just the same. I think it was Treebeard who sounded a bit suprised to find out that Tom was still around and states something to the effect of, "He was old when I was young" and that's totally paraphrased.
But I really like Tom and if I were in a pinch, he'd be the man I looked on. Or Gandalf. Can't go wrong with either. He's a great charecter.

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I TAUGHT KURT WARNER
HOW TO THROW

 

[CapstoneStan]

Tom could definitely be nature, but I always envisioned him as sort of a spry Father Time. The reference to Treebeard thinking him very old served to re-enforce that idea for me.

 

[Crimson Legacy]

Who is Tom Bombadil? Good question to which there is no specific answer for. To me, right off the bat, Tom seemed like a god-like figure who had, for reasons unknow, exiled himself to the Old Forest to live out a pacifist existence. It was also obvious to me that Tom was not the least bit threatened by the Dark Lord, and that he was uneffected by the power of the One(he put the ring on and could still be seen, he could also see Frodo when he had the ring on, plus he never showed signs of possibly being corrupted by the Power of Ring like many others do throughout the trilogy). Tom was definitely one with the earth, and a real enigma in terms of how he fits into the grand scheme. Was he ever mentioned again in any other Tolkien books? I don't think he was.

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Crimson Legacy

 

[bobstod]

If I may be permitted to offer an opinion here, I would have to say that Legacy has struck near the mark.

I think Tom IS the earth. Chopper said Nature, and by that I think he implies all kinds of life on earth. Perhaps Tom is even more than that...the earth itself and everything in it.

He is unaffected by the One Ring. That powerful object has terrible force on living (and undead) things. But it is made from elements of the earth, and cannot change what IS, as regards the planet and its existence. Same goes for Tom Baombadil.

What do you think?

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ALABAMA: Tradition; Class; A name to respect in College Football