J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy “The Lord of the Rings” teems with inspiring characters. Aragorn, the rightful heir to Gondor’s throne, embodies just leadership. The irreplaceable Frodo Baggins demonstrates what it means to selflessly accept a burden. Even Gondor’s elite warrior Boromir, who reflects the human proclivity to be corrupted by power, offers readers an example of loyalty.
Amid these towering figures, it’s easy to overlook Peregrin Took, whose character development throughout the saga illustrates Tolkien’s perceptive insights into the nature of courage, virtue, and sacrifice.
The book that started it all: J.R.R.Tolkien's "The Hobbit." Erman Gunes/Shutterstock
‘Fool of a Took!’
Peregrin Took, nicknamed “Pippin,” is one of the hobbits at the heart of Tolkien’s fantasy world. The bucolic hobbits dress in bright colors and live barefooted in cozy underground homes. Pippin is incessantly playful, helplessly clumsy, and not really a fan of manual labor. He’s an extravagant character, even by hobbit standards. Though his cheerfulness often lightens the mood, it also puts everyone in danger.To counter the evil that threatens Middle Earth, the leaders of men, elves, and dwarfs create a Fellowship. Nine Fellows have to venture into enemy territory to destroy the Ring of Power, through which the Dark Lord Sauron has been controlling the world. Among the companions are four hobbits from their native Shire: Frodo the “ring-bearer,” his loyal friend Sam, Pippin, and Pippin’s best friend and cousin Merry. The Fellows’ journey takes many twists and turns as they split and reunite time and again. But their first dangerous challenge is a direct consequence of Pippin’s unawareness, which almost costs everyone’s lives.
The journey to destroy the one ring throws Pippin into an adventure that helps him grow up. Link58/CC BY 2.0
To avoid inhospitable trails, the Fellows take a detour through an ancient dwarf settlement. As soon as they enter the subterranean tunnels, they sense the presence of a hostile force. The innocent and curious Pippin fails to heed the need for alertness. He sees a well and, enthralled by its apparently bottomless depth, drops a stone into it. The stone tumbles and crashes, echoing throughout the vast shadowy halls. Drumbeats begin to pulse. He awakened something that should have been left asleep. A horde of bloodthirsty orcs pursues the company, which barely escapes after putting up a fight.
“Fool of a Took!” Gandalf the wizard scolds the mortified hobbit. This is no place for an absentminded simpleton. A lack of awareness can kill. But luckily, Pippin has plenty of chances to redeem himself.
Pippin’s First Test
Shortly after their escape, another platoon of orcs swarms the Fellowship, which splits into three groups. The warriors are forced to abandon the hobbits. Frodo and Sam continue their journey alone, while Pippin and Merry are captured. The orcs think Pippin has the Ring, so they intend to deliver him to Sauron. In a moment of ingenuity, Pippin drops a brooch he received at the beginning of the journey. The brooch is attached to a necklace made of elvish metals, which never comes loose unless untied by hand. Pippin knows that the warriors will be looking for him, and the fallen necklace will give them a trail to follow. The hobbit is starting to think like a member of a team united by a common purpose, using everything at his disposal to ensure his survival and his team’s success.
Pippin’s decision proves effective. He and Merry aren’t saved immediately, but they manage to escape the orcs. Their friends now know they’re alive. They continue their mission with renewed hope, which inspires them to make a series of pivotal decisions. Yet Pippin is still mainly concerned with his own survival. To become a hero in his own right, he has to learn the value of courageous sacrifice, even at the risk of dying.
From Hobbit to Hero
By the time Pippin meets Gandalf again, the wizard has come to possess “a smooth globe of crystal” called a “Palantir,” which allows Sauron to peer into the mind of whoever holds it. Merry tells Pippin to “not meddle in the affairs of Wizards,” but the hobbit’s insatiable curiosity gets the best of him once again. When Gandalf is asleep, Pippin steals the Palantir and glances into it: “It held his eyes, so that now he could not look away. Soon all the inside seemed on fire; the ball was spinning, or the lights within were revolving. Suddenly the lights went out. He gave a gasp and struggled; but he remained bent, clasping the ball with both hands. Closer and closer he bent, and then became rigid; his lips moved soundlessly for a while. Then with a strangled cry he fell back and lay still.”Pippin described his vision, which included “a dark sky, and tall battlements,” as “cruel. It was like being stabbed with knives.” In “The Hobbit and Philosophy,” Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson noted that Pippin’s face-to-face encounter with evil inspires one of the most radical transformations in Tolkien’s saga. The hobbit starts out as a “thoughtless and immature” character who hardly fits among the Fellowship’s stout, resilient heroes. He’s the direct descendant of the hobbits’ ruler, but has embraced his mischievous side since childhood. Supper, ale, and leisure are his favorite pastimes. The simple life he craves is no match for the great halls of kings.
That quickly changes when he faces the dreadful “fire” of Sauron. Pippin’s “complete ethical makeover” begins. He already knew the world risked annihilation at the hands of evil. But for the first time in his life, he feels the severity of that possibility, hence his physical paralysis. Once he comes out of his shock, Pippin realizes that the battle against evil is his as much as anybody else’s. Evil will spare no one from destruction. Defeating it requires courageous sacrifice, which Pippin is now ready to perform.
Gandalf eventually takes Pippin with him to Minas Tirith, the impenetrable citadel of men and the orcs’s latest target. In a meeting with the city’s steward, Pippin offers his lifelong services as a sign of respect for the death of Boromir, the steward’s son and one of the Fellows, who had died defending him and Merry. Shortly after his offer, the steward despairs and tries to burn himself and his other surviving but wounded son on a pyre. Pippin senses the madness and fetches Gandalf. With the hobbit’s help, the wizard saves the steward’s son, who later plays an essential role in the fight against evil.
(L–R) Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan in a moment from the film "Lord of the Rings: A Fellowship of the Rings." New Line Cinema
Pippin also volunteers to join the Army of the West, which distracts Sauron’s troops so the Ring can be destroyed. He becomes the first and only hobbit to kill a troll. After returning home, he rallies the hobbits to expel the evil forces that had infiltrated the Shire, becoming even more famous than Frodo.
After fulfilling his heroic potential, Pippin finally reconnects with his roots. He becomes the hobbit’s leader, governing the Shire justly for 50 years. He dies of old age and is buried next to the great King Aragorn. This sequence of transformative events began with Pippin’s vision of evil. Armed with an intense sense of duty towards the world, Pippin learned to put aside his desires for comfort and act bravely whenever the world needed him.
Serving the Greater Good
Why did peering into the Palantir change Pippin so much? Here, Tolkien displayed his typical perceptiveness about human psychology. He tried to show readers that one of the most consequential motivators of moral development is the contemplation of evil. What would happen if evil conquered the world? How would indifference help evil expand? And what would become of our loved ones if we fell short of our potential for goodness?Before his vision, Pippin had never thought about the pitfalls of indifference. His contemplation of death and destruction made him feel the likely consequences of indifference. This vivid experience prompted him to sacrifice himself willingly for the greater good. He serves a lord out of respect, saves a life, fights valiantly in battle, and frees his homeland as its rightful heir.
A movie set for the "Lord of the Rings" movies has been preserved and maintained by the series' fans. Jackie.Ick/CC BY 2.0
Tolkien’s portrayal of Pippin offers readers an important lesson: virtue isn’t about natural endowment. The most essential ingredients to mature ethically are hope and perseverance. Pippin wasn’t “born” a hero. He discovers his heroic potential and learns to risk his life for a greater cause, without ever failing to lighten the mood.
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