When we imagine ourselves in epic stories with legendary characters, we often consider ourselves comparable to those greats. You can be Aragorn or Gandalf. Even Boromir, while coming up short, is a character of great renown. But who imagines being a hobbit?
As we've seen, the hobbits are not particularly "fun" characters to be. What I mean by that is: Aragorn and Gandalf are strong and push the plot along. If we were them, we would be given control over our destiny. The hobbits are swept along by the plot. Even the parts of the story where they seem to make choices, they are largely forced into that position. When Frodo volunteers to take the Ring, he doesn't do it because he really wants to, he does because he knows it must be done, and apparently no one else will do it. When Frodo leaves the Fellowship behind, he does it in reaction to Boromir's attempt to take the Ring. Merry and Pippin stumble into Fangorn by accident, and aren't even particularly instrumental in urging the Ents to attack (Treebeard indicates he was just on the verge of calling the Ent Moot to deal with Saruman anyway). Throughout the text, the Hobbits are just along for the ride.
This week's chapter is called "The Palantir." After the confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman, Wormtongue threw something from the top of the Tower of Orthanc. It's unclear whether he was trying to hit Saruman or Gandalf. In any event, he misses them and the object falls into a small pool of water near Pippin. Pippin goes to retrieve it. It's a glass orb of some sort. Gandalf rushes to him and takes it out of his hands.
Later, on their way back to Edoras, Pippin complains to Merry about how he was treated. Merry reminds Pippin of what Sam used to say: "Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards..." Pippin responds, "But our whole life for months has been one long meddling in the affairs of Wizards. I should like a bit of information as well as danger."
That evening, Pippin is unable to sleep. His mind is stuck on the orb (Which is the titular Palantir - a sort of crystal ball that allows far-reaching communication). He sneaks out of bed, finds it, and looks inside it. He is entranced by it. Suddenly, he hurls the orb from his grip and falls with a shout. The company is stirred, and Gandalf, seeing the orb rolling away, intuits what happened.
Pippin says he saw Sauron. Sauron gave Pippin a message to give to Saruman, that "this dainty is not for him. I will send for it at once." Gandalf explains that Pippin's actions, while foolish, may have unforeseen consequences. "The Enemy, it is clear, thought that the Stone was in Orthanc - why should he not? And that therefore the hobbit was captive there, driven to look in the glass for his torment by Saruman... It may take some time before he learns his error. We must snatch that time."
It would be easy to say the lesson here is even the smallest of us can have an impact. Here, finally, a Hobbit makes a choice he could have refused. And look how well it turns out! But is it so good?
Pippin's stated desire was information. He did not get much. He and Merry already figured out Saruman had captured them (Instead of having them killed them as they had Boromir) because he knew the Ring was held by a hobbit, and so this is the 'dainty' Sauron describes. There is little new information. Meanwhile Sauron now believes it is Pippin, personally, who holds the Ring. The danger of this is difficult to overstate.
Gandalf comforts Pippin as he recovers from the episode. When it is clear Pippin is going to be alright he tells him: "If you will meddle in the affairs of Wizards, you must be prepared for such things."
Pippin absolutely does not get what he wants, and in fact gets far more of the thing he already believes he had too much of (Danger). While his actions help the Free Peoples, it doesn't really help Pippin, personally. Maybe hobbits are better off standing to the side...
While we like to imagine ourselves as great heroes, most of us are not. Commoners is a better word. And that's what the hobbits are - commoners. And while we like to tell ourselves to be the hero in our story, the truth is a bit less grand. The story of humanity is relatively short, and even Earth is pretty small compared to everything else. And even if we are the hero of our story, that story is small. We need to be aware of that.
If we're all Hobbits and the War of the Ring is the reality in which we live, this analogy would suggest that we should shrink back and let others take the reins. The problem is there are very few people in the world who can read this text and honestly say, in this world, they are like Gandalf and Aragorn. Most of us are like hobbits. Most of us have small lives, limited power, and make choices that are largely dictated by events around us.
If all I say sounds somber and pessimistic, I'd challenge you to wonder why you think that. I'm not saying our story doesn't matter - I'm saying it is small. I'm not saying we're powerless, I'm saying we aren't omnipotent. There's nothing wrong with living a small life, being happy, affecting change where you can. But be aware of those limits. You can't solve all the world's problems. You can't even solve the problems of everyone you know and love. Hell, you probably can't even solve every problem you have. But that's no reason to despair.
We often compare our lives to an ideal that has never been the case. Things were different 100 years ago, but they weren't necessarily better. The world has never been perfect. Your life has probably never been perfect. I like my life - I like my job and my hobbies and my friends and am able to (barely) find time for them all. But something could always improve my life (Like: More time).
The universe is a big place. Earth is small, your life is yet smaller. But that doesn't make it unimportant. However, and here's the crux, you need to understand what is within your capacity and what isn't. Pippin did not understand what he was doing - that it worked well for his friends is happy chance. As Aragorn says to Merry, who later chastises Pippin, "If you had been the first to lift the Orthanc-stone, and not he, how would it be now? You might have done worse. Who can say?" Pippin did not succeed due to any skill on his own part.
It is important to appreciate what we have and what changes we can affect. But it is tempting to try to reach beyond our means. And I have nothing against that - I try to do it myself from time to time. Sometimes you make it and sometimes you don't. But, "if you will meddle in the affairs of Wizards, you must be prepared for such things." You must be prepared for results beyond your comprehension, and for effects you had no desire to have. Pippin was not ready, though perhaps he is now.
Perhaps you're someone more adept to leaping into mystery. That's for you to decide. But one thing can be said for certain: Go with little hope of being able to predict how things will go. You'll have to expect the unexpected, and then be able to react when something even more unexpected happens.
Hopefully you will succeed, or at least not make a mess. Still, Gandalf has one more lesson for us. He says to Pippin, "If you will meddle in the affairs of Wizards, you must be prepared for such things. But come! I forgive you." If someone reaches, misses, and makes a mess, we can follow this example, and forgive our friends who were only trying too hard. And hopefully they will forgive us when we do the same.
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