tookish results

general questions

what be thy name?
diamond.

where do you currently reside?
the shire.

have you read "the lord of the rings" novels? if so, which is your favourite book and why?
return of the king - it's the end of all things!

have you seen the film versions? how many times? why?
fotr- several times, ttt- 3 or so... was not fond of ttt.

is pippin your favourite character?
pippin! and sam and merry and gollum too...

book questions

describe how you imagine pippin.
young, happy, but brave and not at all stupid.

what was your initial response to pippin's character?
he was cute and amusing.

what in his character do you like?
his cheerfulness.

what do you dislike?
ehm... nothing that i can think of now...

what do you consider pippin's strongest suit?
his ability to still be somewhat optimistic in the face of danger and never giving up hope.

what are his weaknesses?
a wee bit too curious... ie, stone and well in moria...

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?
pippin just wanted to help frodo and perhaps he wanted to go and see interesting things...

what purpose did pippin have with the fellowship?
he was the reason merry wanted to ride with the rohirrim, thus being there to help éowyn slay the witch-king.

what would have happened if he had been left behind? how would he be different? how would the others be different?
faramir would be dead and pippin would've been shut up in tookland until sam and frodo and merry came back.

how does the grand adventure change pippin?
he knows that he himself is dangerous and that he can take care of himself.

was pippin unsure of himself at the beginning of the tale?
he wasn't really unsure of himself... just unsure of the world.

does pippin have a hero? who and why?
either gandalf (he's so smart!!) or aragorn (brave, kind, the perfect king).

describe how you see pippin's relationship with merry.
they were close before the quest because both were frodo's "special friends" (look in fotr!! it says that merry and pippin were frodo's "special friends"!!!).

do you think merry was ever disappointed in his cousin (ie during the palantír incident)?
i think merry just appreciated pippin's company and probably thought, oh, pippin's gotten into trouble again... oh well... during the palantír incident.

what do you think gandalf felt towards the young took? what was their relationship?
he probably thought pippin was a dear little hobbit, if sometimes a big nuisance. it was sort of a father/grandfather-son/grandson relationship... there was family love, fondness, but also the annoyance of being with the person every day.

do you think gandalf was particularly hard on pippin? why?
if merry had done taken the palantír or thrown a stone in a well gandalf would've reacted the same. in an early draft of lotr, sam throws the rock in the well and the whole incident is the same, except for gandalf calling sam a "fool of a fellow"

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?
lots of food! no, maybe to go home and marry and have cute little hobbit-children and become thain of the shire...

what do you think boromir represented to pippin?
a brave but strange man who frodo wasn't overly fond of.

how did the death of boromir affect pippin?
he felt sad but admired boromir more because he had tried to protect him and merry.

why do you think faramir so moved pippin?
he had seen frodo last and was such a kind person.

what do you think motivated pippin to swear fidelity to gondor?
he felt guilty because denethor's favorite son had died protecting him; he wanted to help denethor.

was it appropriate pippin ended up serving denethor, not théoden? why?
yes; pippin needed to learn about death, but not straight away.

when pippin was confronted with death during the battle before the black gates, how do you feel he reacted?
oh no! where's merry?

how do you imagine pippin as a father?
a very jolly person, telling his son about his adventures with ents and orcs.

in the end, what do you feel pippin lost and what did he gain from his journey?
he lost his innocence, but gained maturity.

favourite scene or quote?
pippin quote: "i am a halfling, hard, bold, and wicked!" and sam quote: "frodo, me dear, me dear... don't go where i can't follow!"

film questions

how do you think pippin was portrayed in the movie?
as a stupid little guy who liked second breakfast.

many felt pippin in the film came off as "stupid," do you agree?
yes quite.

did you enjoy the performance of billy boyd as pippin? how so?
yes quite; the book lotr was based on the hobbits, not on a tiny little battle.

favourite scene or quote?
ehm... not really... "i think we made a mistake leaving the shire, pippin..."

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 bath song!!!!!!!!

was the pippin of the films accurate to the pippin you imagined?
sort of... now that i've read the book more than once i understand pippin's character more... he really isn't stupid at all.

what do you most look forward to in return of the king?
mount doom, the grey havens, éowyn and merry and the witch-king.

which scene are you most worried about?
the death of saruman.

if you magically had the chance to change one thing concerning film pippin (be it action, line or trait) what would it be?
make him smarter! they exaggerated his stupidity; he wasn't stupid, he was naive and had no experience with the outside world.

extra

can you think of think of any other questions which would be nice here?
no.

anything to say or ask about this site?
this site is really great; the drawings are neat.

who's another favourite character (from anywhere, not just lotr) of yours, and why?
sam, gollum, merry!!!

lse says!

hey-ho, diamond! oh my god, the bath song! i love the bath song! if it had made it into the film i think i would have died from the squee. my favourite answer of yours was, "he wasn't really unsure of himself... just unsure of the world" very lovely sentence. it gives me such a dear image of pippin. yes, i also remember merry and pippin were frodo's special friends! really? i have never heard that bit about sam the "fool of a fellow," doesn't quite have the same ring as fool of a took now, does it?
thank you for the comments about the drawings. and oh! thank you for the bonus sam quote too.

... x