On reputation

We begin our adventure all over again with A Long-Expected Party.  The party in question is Bilbo's 111th as well as Frodo's 33rd, which is the hobbit age of adulthood.  This chapter is very much about Frodo's entry into adulthood, a transition he is ready for in Shire terms.  Bilbo is leaving and Frodo inherits a great deal of his things.  But some things Bilbo is leaving behind come with much more baggage than Frodo is prepared to deal with.  Namely, the One Ring.  I want to highlight two quotes before moving into our Talmudic-style dialgoue.

The first is when Gandalf is telling Bilbo to leave the One Ring, something Bilbo apparently had already agreed to but is now resisting.  Bilbo responds:  "It is mine, I tell you.  My own.  My Precious.  Yes, my Precious."

The second quote is when Frodo comes home and finds Bilbo has indeed left.  

"You'll find his will and all the other documents in there, I

think," said the wizard.  "You are the master of Bag End now.

And also, I fancy, you'll find a golden ring."

"The ring!" exclaimed Frodo.  Has he left me that? 

I wonder why.  Still, it may be useful."

"Why is the word ring, which refers to The One Ring, not capitalized?"
"Because Frodo does not know it is that particular ring."
"But it is also not capitalized when Gandalf says it."
"Gandalf does not know either, though he suspects."
"Why does the Creative Wizard* not capitalize it anyway?  The written conversation is for the audience, not the characters."
"But the audience may not yet know and could see the capitalization as an error and thus be distracted."
"And why should this not be the case with Precious?"
"Precious is repeated and capitalized both times, so a new reader would be less likely to conclude it's just an error.  Further, Gandalf remarks it "has been called that before," thus demonstrating it has special import. One could say it is distracting enough even for the characters notice. 
"Does The One Ring lose power if merely called a ring?"
"No - the Ring is powerful nonetheless. Bilbo and Frodo both become invisible with it without knowing its full story.  That, alone, shows its power is inherent."

"As true as that is, throughout our studies we know knowledge of the Ring's power has a power of its own. If knowledge of its power makes it more dangerous, then ignorance of its power must make it less dangerous."
"Why not differently dangerous?"
"Because Gollum hangs onto it for hundreds of years and is quite unaware of its connection to Sauron, who in turn is unable to find it during that time.  If Gollum was constantly worried about Sauron, Sauron may have been more clued into its whereabouts."
"But Sauron was also weak during that time, and we know the Ring conspired to escape Gollum."
"Bilbo holds onto the ring for many years, unaware of its power."
"Not completely unaware - the text says he often carried it with him and wanted to know where it was at all times, or else his thoughts became obsessed with it.  And note the priority.  The Ring insists on being on the person or on the mind."

"Had it remained in the riverbed before Deagol and Smeagol found it, could this all have been averted?"

"Delayed.  Differently done, likely.  But as long as it remained, its power would have endured."

"So it has some power nonetheless, but its power is magnified by acknowledgement it is The One Ring."

"Well, even while missing it's existence was known.  No one believed it had been destroyed."

"So what does all this tell us?"
"In our world reputation magnifies power. Many people will find it difficult to have a normal conversation with a celebrity they like. But if that person were not recognized it would be easier to have a normal conversation."
"Or if a different person saw a celebrity and simply didn't recognize them in the first place."
"Exactly. Whatever charisma this person has is still theirs but the lack of reputation will mean they must depend purely on their own displays."
"This conversation is supposed to be about ethics."
"And yet we began about capitalizaitions!  OK, listen, we're discussing two types of power. Let us call them displayed power and reputational power. Displayed is what someone brings to the table. Charisma or cunning or intelligence or experience or kindness or sternness, etc."
"But if people believe you are cunning, they're going to be more easily cunned. (Cunned?  Anyway:) Even if you're not on your A-game people are very likely to get into their own heads and read triple entendres into every sentence you say. And God help them if you're actually trying. Reputation matters."
"Reputations can be used for good or ill."
"Aah, ethics, FINALLY!"
"If you develop a reputation..."
"How is that done, anyway?"
"By consistently displaying the same power. The One Ring has a well-known history in Middle Earth, as does Sauron, with whom it is closely connected. If you consistently show a strength or virtue (or weakness or vice), then you will not need to show it as much because people will know you have it. Thus, developing a good reputation allows you to get to work faster because you don't need to prove yourself to be X or Y.  Or it could be bad, as people could use knowledge of your weakness to undermine you."
"Are there benefits to not having a reputation you should deserve?"
"Yes, because this means you can keep your strengths (or weaknesses) hidden, the benefits of which are varied but obvious.  But there are other cases where keeping your strengths hidden are a hinderance, and you only feed your ego by suddenly announcing your strength."
"And are there benefits to having a reputation you do not deserve?"
"Rarely, because you will one day be revealed.  When that happens it'll cause people to then question every part of your reputation because how could they know when to stop doubting? You should establish a reputation you can maintain."

"Are there benefits to not having a reputation you do not deserve?"
"Yes, people will not expect you to be something you are not. That is one less pedastal from which you may fall."

"But what if one develops a reputation they did not intend to establish and have no interest in maintaining?"

"Then they must go out of their way to display the powers they wish to be reputed to have, and they must do so consistently and often - perhaps even performatively in some cases.  It is difficult to change a reputation.  Plus, reputations we do not intend to establish, in some way, are the most true."

"And how should we deal with the reputations of others, false or true?"
"If we see a friend with a reputation we don't think they can maintain we should tell them.  They may disagree, or see too much advantage in the deception, but as friends we should be willing to speak up."
"And of true reputations?"
"Reputations which our friends wish to have, which we can attest to truly, we should speak up for. In public we should extol their virtue or strength, perhaps also with a ready story to demonstrate. This increases their power, a core currency in our world."
"Didn't we just share a link about how power is the real villain?"
"Yes, but that post itself was inconclusive.  In Middle Earth power, at least as represented by the Ring, is a real source of evil that must be destroyed. Unfortunately, power doesn't have such physical manifestations in our world."
"Are you so sure?"
"Aah. Good point. All those have immense reputational power, which can increase the displayed power potential of anyone associated with them. But we are not such movers and shakers of the world. Our ethics is of a personal nature and to affect change we need power."
"And what if one accrues power and uses it for evil?"
"Then one isn't being ethical, you nit! But at least at this stage we should say build your reputation on something you can maintain, and beware of those whose reputations are built on fabrications, and know others will beware those whose reputations are built on fabrications, thus don't build your reputations on fabrications. It is a good unto itself to make your reputation based on truth."
"Throughout this conversation sometimes we have said ring and sometimes we have said Ring. Why?"
"Because this is all being written down and a choice of some kind had to be made."


*Throughout this project I have decided to refer to Tolkien in this way.  It's fun!

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