XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: mr@sandman.net   
      
   In article ,   
    "No One in Particular"  wrote:   
      
   > >I think that even in The Hobbit - he referred to himself as "us" and "we".   
   > >I was never quite sure if he was dealing with the split personality, or   
   > >referring to himself and The Precious.  ( I read LOTR first.)   
   >   
   > >It's no stretch to believe that an encounter with his own kind (Bilbo)   
   > >could make him split a bit.   
   >   
   >   
   > He did indeed.  At the time JRRT wrote The Hobbit the ring seems to have   
   > been nothing more than a magical doodad to make you invisible, a MacGuffin   
   > to make Bilbo a better burglar.  All of the other layers of power and   
   > ability were added later, to my understanding.   
   >   
   > Based on that, Gollum referring to himself as 'we' and 'us' and 'precious'   
   > might have been nothing more than just a vocal quirk to add a little depth   
   > to the character.   
      
   Intentional or not, it is a defining part of the charachter, that both   
   JRR and the filmmakers fledged out in subsequent stories.   
      
      
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