J. R. R. Tolkien created some of the most magical and inspirational works of fiction ever known to man, full of rich history and lore. The Lord Of The Rings is perhaps his greatest work and spawned a movie trilogy so popular that its legacy would endure for several decades, and will continue to live on through the sequel trilogy of The Hobbit, as well as Amazon's upcoming Lord Of The Rings series. In the story, the character Frodo Baggins of The Shire is tasked with carrying the one Ring across Middle Earth to be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. The Ring possesses the power to corrupt and control the minds of all those near it, so why are the hobbits so resilient?
Although similar in appearance to man, hobbits are actually about half the size of an average person, which is why they are referred to as halflings. Where man would be more concerned with power and creation, hobbits are simple folk who tend to their lands all while barefoot, perhaps as a way to show how connected to nature this fictional breed of humanity is. Even their homes are one with nature, as they are usually built into the side of hills as to not disturb the land, which is known as a hobbit hole. Hobbits love nature, food and drink, and good company. Their love of nature extends to their wardrobes, as they usually are dressed in earth tones like green or yellow.
RELATED: This Is The Reason You Didn't Like The Hobbit Movies
On the other hand, the race of mankind in Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings universe is very different. The race of man is concerned with power and domination. Where hobbits are comfort-loving people, mankind is much more complex. Some choose to seek ultimate power, some are manipulative thieves, and others are more kind and caring. The Ring promises men all that they desire, to have anything they want and to be able to control others. With the Ring, the human that carries it will be feared by all, and no harm can come to them. But the Ring is both evil and addictive, and once it takes hold of someone, it never lets go.
Sauron's life force has been bound to the Ring and therefore has "a will of its own" and will try to get closer to evil and Mordor anytime it can. The Ring will use the desires of the one carrying it in order to better control them. Since man desires great power, the Ring can use this desire to entice man to do its bidding. In order to resist the will of the Ring, the mind of the person holding it must be very strong. Because the Ring does not sense any threat nor does it find the hobbits remarkable, there is not as much of a pull from the Ring on the hobbits. All of this is not to say that the Ring has no effect on the hobbits.
If worn on a mortal or more specifically someone of the race of man, the Ring would physically and mentally corrupt the one who wore it much like what happened with the Nine Rings who turned the men into wraiths. The more the Ring is worn, the more it has a pull on the one wearing it. Although hobbits are much less concerned with power, they can still be corrupted if they wear the Ring too often. The creature Gollum had the Ring for some 500 years before it abandoned him, and although it physically changed him, he still maintained some control over himself because he did not wear the Ring very often. Bilbo also seemed to be slightly corrupted mentally, and at one point appeared to even be changing physically, but he was able to remain good.
The Ring fuels the desires of the one who wears it. Sauron had a will to dominate all life, and the Ring enabled him to do so. If man wears it, the Ring will take the desire for power they already have and amplify it. Hobbits are simple creatures and do not wish for much, so there is nothing for the Ring to use against a hobbit. Frodo is the hobbit that is corrupted the most next to Gollum and Bilbo, which is why he is unable to throw the Ring into the fire. But even Frodo remained good at his core. One could also argue that Gollum still had traces of a hobbit in him as he was able to briefly regain control and seem good, something a man (like the wraiths) would never be able to do.
The hobbits are perhaps the only creatures in The Lord Of The Rings that can stand against the power of the Ring because of their love of all things good and simple. Not even the elves or wizards are able to fully resist the draw of power or evil. Because of their intense love of the earth, the Ring does not sense hobbits as a threat, which is why they were able to be overlooked and complete the quest.
MORE: Did J. K. Rowling Copy Lord Of The Rings In Her Harry Potter Series?