tookish results

general questions

what be thy name?
aiko-chan, by all internet formalities.

where do you currently reside?
northeastern ohio, usa. if you don't like the weather here, wait a minute or two.

have you read "the lord of the rings" novels? if so, which is your favourite book and why?
yes i have, and rotk is undoubtedly my favorite because... because... because it is beautiful and lovely, and it breaks my heart.

have you seen the film versions? how many times? why?
indeed i have; actually, i was first introduced to tolkien, lotr, hobbits, and pippin through the first movie, completely fell in love and finished all the books shortly after seeing the two towers. but as for the movies themselves, i've seen the first two in the theater three times each and rotk only once (actually, i'm going again today. hoorah!) as for why, i first saw fotr because a friend told me i had to, and the rest because i wanted to. oh yes.

is pippin your favourite character?
yes. yes yes yes yes and yes.

book questions

describe how you imagine pippin.
young. rather carefree, somewhat babied and sheltered. incredibly loving. a bit foolish, but he's young, you know. and... and... wonderful. yes. wonderful.

what was your initial response to pippin's character?
in the book? i was pleasantly surprised, because in the movie i really didn't learn much about him except, "oh, he's adorable, i think i love him." i was very glad to see so much more of him when i got to reading the book. and yes, i loved him from the start, although sam was initially my favorite (this changed, of course. ah hah).

what in his character do you like?
his unbridled, unabashed *love.* pippin strikes me as so, so, so loving and sweet, and it just bowls me over.

what do you dislike?
not much. he certainly has his faults, but i don't really dislike them too much, or him for them, if you follow me.

what do you consider pippin's strongest suit?
his love, and his ability to maintain his self and wholeness and innocence, in a way, while also gaining strength and maturity. does that make sense? oh dear.

what are his weaknesses?
well, his youth, for one. he's rather silly at times, certainly foolish; he seems a bit overactive, doesn't always know when to shut up, is a bit of a whiner (at first)... generally his youth, yes, and his naive... ness. naive-ness? um, yes. that.

to what degree did pippin's tookish nature play into his leaving the shire? was pippin searching for something when he left, or was it purely to help frodo?
perhaps in the top of his mind it was purely to help frodo, but deeper down he also thirsted for an adventure. (but the poor lad didn't quite realize how dreary and awful adventures can be, did he?)

what purpose did pippin have with the fellowship?
friendship and light and love, of course. he also set into motion some very very important events, you know.

what would have happened if he had been left behind? how would he be different? how would the others be different?
no stone down the well = no balrog? who knows? no looking into the palantír = who can say? no bringing gandalf when denethor went psycho-crazy and tried to barbecue his son = no faramir? who can tell? not to mention that there would be less chatter, less silliness, less smiling and less singing in the fellowship, and that would be very sad after all. and merry would have been captured all alone. oh sweet mercy, i don't even want to think about that.

how does the grand adventure change pippin?
it's not even so much that he changes, i think, as it is that he grows and becomes more of who he always had the potential to be. without the "grand adventure," if he had stayed home in the shire, he would never have grown to all he is supposed to.

was pippin unsure of himself at the beginning of the tale?
not at the very beginning because he doesn't really understand how difficult things will become; but later on, when he keeps making mistakes and is surrounded by all these people so much older than he and seemingly so much wiser, i think there's a degree of intimidation and definitely self-doubt. poor pippin. **cries**

does pippin have a hero? who and why?
merry! and gandalf! and boromir! and frodo! and... and denethor?... no, not denethor. cackle cackle.

describe how you see pippin's relationship with merry.
close from the beginning i think, because very close, always close. might as well be brothers, you know, except even better. best best friends, love-you-forever, so darling. eep. i love them.

do you think merry was ever disappointed in his cousin (ie during the palantír incident)?
not disappointed, exactly; but certainly frustrated, upset, annoyed. he knew pippin was capable of so much more and so much better and though maybe not quite disappointed in him, certainly unhappy with his actions.

what do you think gandalf felt towards the young took? what was their relationship?
gandalf adores pippin. at least, i think so. i see him as quite taken with this bright little lad, and very aware of the potential in pippin. that's why he's sometimes a bit hard on him - he *knows* pippin is capable of so much more and so much better and it's frustrating to him, perhaps, to see pip behave so foolishly. because though he *is* young, pippin *does* have the common sense to keep himself out of some of those messes. he just doesn't think enough before he acts, is all.

do you think gandalf was particularly hard on pippin? why?
not really. i mean, *somebody* has to be hard on him, eh?

when the fellowship first meets galadriel it is said, "each had felt he was offered a choice between a shadow of fear that lay ahead, and something he greatly desired: clear before his mind it lay, and to get it he had only to turn aside from the road and leave the quest and the war against sauron and the others." what do you think pippin was offered?
food. ha ha, no. i don't really know. the chance to erase what had happened, to go back and be in the shire with his parents and sisters and cousins, and frodo wouldn't be so burdened and the whole mess with the ring had never happened - i think he might have liked that. or simply to go home, or to have gandalf back, or... or... or i have no idea. that's a hard question.

what do you think boromir represented to pippin?
strength. protection. great things. he looked up to boromir, certainly, and even loved him. very very much looked up to him, yes.

how did the death of boromir affect pippin?
shattering. boromir was, as previously stated, strong and protective and sturdy in many ways. seeing him die broke that apart. it happened for pippin when gandalf fell and it happened again when boromir died. oh my... i think i need a moment. excuse me. **cries**

why do you think faramir so moved pippin?
well, in part because he's boromir's brother. eep. oh my. and... and because... i don't know. just one of those *things*, i imagine. um, next question.

what do you think motivated pippin to swear fidelity to gondor?
partially rashness and being caught up in the moment, i imagine. he doesn't always think things through very well. and i imagine it had something to do with boromir's death. and other factors... i don't know. hm. must go back and re-read that scene, pick it apart... yes, precious...

was it appropriate pippin ended up serving denethor, not théoden? why?
i think so. i'm not really sure *why* - again, i think it has something to do with boromir; also... i just don't really know. it just seems right that way. um... yes. next question.

when pippin was confronted with death during the battle before the black gates, how do you feel he reacted?
beautifully. bravely. bittersweetly. that scene just breaks my heart.

why do you think pippin later named his son after faramir, not boromir?
you know, i've often pondered this and i'm not sure. if i thought about it long and hard, i imagine i could formulate an opinion; but as i have not thought about it long and hard, but only pondered it on occasion, i really cannot say.

how do you imagine pippin as a father?
fantabulous. marvelous. indulgent. the favorite of all little faramir's friends.

in the end, what do you feel pippin lost and what did he gain from his journey?
he lost a bit of innocence, a bit of foolishness and a bit of his youth, but he gained much more of himself - a bravery and strength that had laid dormant within him so long, an ability to act on his own without leaning on someone else for constant support... i like to sum him up generally with the phrase "strength of a soldier, soul of a butterfly." that butterfly bit is a smidgen of bad poetry, if you will, but i think it describes him well, both parts of him - the knight of gondor and the young hobbit of the shire. he gained that strength, those eyes that had seen so much more, and so much more understanding; i think now he's more careful with his words, cherishes the love of others more and remember that loving heart of his i babbled about earlier? it's swelled to humongous proportions, because he couldn't see and experience and do all he did and not learn to love even more than he did before.

favourite scene or quote?
the palantír, the black gate, finding merry after the battle on the fields of pelennor, the troll... and of course the scene in the scouring of the shire when the ruffian calls frodo a "little cock-a-whoop" and pippin goes forth and draws out his sword and says all the business about himself being the king's messenger and frodo being the king's friend and "down on your knees in the road and ask pardon, or i will set this troll's bane in you!" hoo ha.

film questions

how do you think pippin was portrayed in the movie?
very well, i think. not enough screen time, though, except in rotk. yum.

many felt pippin in the film came off as "stupid," do you agree?
no. well, his character isn't, but it's never emphasized just how young he is, so he comes off as a bit stupid instead of merely young and foolish.

did you enjoy the performance of billy boyd as pippin? how so?
yes yes yes yes. again, my only complaint is that he doesn't look young enough. otherwise, yes yes yes. and yes. yes precious precious.

did you think pippin's character was slighted in the two towers film?
why. eee. ess. yes.

how did you feel about pippin's enlarged role in rotk?
yum. good. liked it. hahaha. but poor merry was very slighted, that made me sad.

favourite scene or quote?
mm... love the scene in rotk when he and gandalf are talking about... oh crud, was it about death? and after death? i believe so. it was lovely. and also... well... everything. sigh. i am pitiful. but yes, everything.

if you've seen the movie and read the books

which scene from the books which didn't make it into the film do you miss most?
the troll falling on him. would have broken my heart to see it, but wanted to see it anyway. oh yes, and the scouring of the shire, but that's a given.

was the pippin of the films accurate to the pippin you imagined?
well, i saw the movie before reading the books... but i generally picture him as a bit younger (of course), with slightly blonder hair and freckles. yes, freckles! eee!

how did you feel about pippin not having his troll felling moment? did he prove himself otherwise?
grr. wanted it. grr.

dude, was that diamond at the end?
i don't know. ha ha. but it was cute.

if you magically had the chance to change one thing concerning film pippin (be it action, line or trait) what would it be?
mm... he would be taken more seriously in fotr and have more screen time in ttt. yes. and look a wee bit younger.

extra

can you think of think of any other questions which would be nice here?
i don't know... hm. maybe appendix-ish questions (like the one about diamond - liked that one). i don't know, i'm obsessed with the family trees for some reason... maybe a question about "how did pippin feel about faramir and goldilocks?" or something like that. ha ha, i am silly, my suggestions are dull... but that's okay. also, i apologize for babbling so much in this survey. that's just me.

anything to say or ask about this site?
i love it. i love you! **glomp** ah hah. yes, it is wonderful, and you have pretty wallpapers here. hoom ha, maybe i should submit some of my pippin fanart for your fanart section. hoom ha hoom... ma? yes. i love it here. squee!

who's another favourite character (from anywhere, not just lotr) of yours, and why?
hm... ron stoppable from disney's cartoon "kim possible." he is darling and brown-eyed, hoorah! ooh, ooh, and mr. monk from... well... "monk." yes. he is wonderful.

guest questions

do you think pippin was tolkien's favorite character? why or why not?
i don't know. did he have a favorite? i read somewhere that cs lewis wanted tolkien to kill pippin. what?!

if you could say anything to billy about his performance, what would you say?
it was fantabulous, marvelous, wonderful. you have lovely eyes and make the best expressions. you are so pippinful. good show, my skirt-wearing fellow! ... or something to that effect.

how do you feel about most of the songs (ex: "the bath song") not making it into the whole of the theatrical release and only part of the extended edition?
the bath song was so cute. but no stopping in crickhollow anyway, so what does it matter? curses.

do you consider pippin a hero?
oh yes, at least to me. **starr-eyed**

lse says!

aiko chan! hooray! i know your face... er, uh, mmm, or net pseudonym. whatever. har! i liked your description of pippin's weaknesses, especially the bits about whining and such.
me: aw, it's like me!
had there been no pippin there would have been no faramir? say it isn't so! oh my god, middle earth would have been so much less without those too. i lurve faramir. why can't i have an action figure of you?
nice bit that, with your poetry. very true! i liked it. here's more simple poetics i enjoy concerning pippin: he went from seed (pip) to falcon (peregrin).
hmm. i'm looking at the notes i took on your responses and i have this phrase which reads, "noo ha. merry" and i haven't a clue what it means. so let's just leave it there.
and there it is.
oh wait! i remember now. merry in rotk! he was slighted! oh my god. did it take you a moment to figure they hadn't even shown him swearing fidelity to rohan? because i took forever with it.
me three days after viewing: OH MY GOD!
thank you for your survey, ms. aiko. you leave the nicest gbook entries. i'm glad you like the wallpapers... ha ha! i should make more someday. talk to you later.
p.s. dude, denethor is so MY hero. he makes me laugh endlessly. i call him denny.
p.p.s. "starr-eyed"? ringo starr? hee.

... x