amysrevenge
Well-Known Member
I have a couple possible theories. I'm not sure I would actually support any of these, and some were strongly debunked during class, but here are some (add more!).
The thing that is missing from some of these theories is motive. For his rescuers, but especially for Gollum himself. With one exception (Shelob), Gollum isn't really known for collaborating with anyone. I can see Gollum taking advantage of a fortuitious Orcish distraction in order to escape, but actively collaborating with the Orcs to set it up seems... out of character. He's a loner, and mostly an opportunist. He can certainly make plans, but the idea of involving others in his plans is so strange to contemplate. I mean, he obviously wouldn't say no to escape, but he just isn't a conspirator. I would expect a Gollum-engineered escape to involve setting up a cunning trap for his Elven escort and bolting into the shadows. Not secret communication with outside friends.
Frankly, for me, the unlikeliness of Gollum conspiring his escape with the orc raiders makes the chance-if-chance-you-call-it explanation much more palatable than it would be otherwise.
1) Chance, if chance you call it. Bad guys don't get to benefit from this, but did bad guys ultimately benefit? "Providence" needed to have Gollum lurking around the Cracks of Doom at a specific time, and Gollum in prison in Mirkwood can't really manage that, now, can he Precious?
2) Shelob's Web. Spider-based communication, why not writing on webs as per Charlotte's Web? "SOME ORC (will rescue you on Tuesday)"
3) Orc signals during previous outings to the trees. I can't imagine communication with Orcs happening within the Elf King's halls. So it has to be outside the halls. Which means during previous trips out to the trees. It's been established already earlier in the book that a paragraph of information can be contained within the simple scratching of "G3" on a pebble. So maybe the orcs left 4 slashes in the bark of a tree where Gollum would see it (and the Elves wouldn't), and then 4 days later they came and busted him out.
The thing that is missing from some of these theories is motive. For his rescuers, but especially for Gollum himself. With one exception (Shelob), Gollum isn't really known for collaborating with anyone. I can see Gollum taking advantage of a fortuitious Orcish distraction in order to escape, but actively collaborating with the Orcs to set it up seems... out of character. He's a loner, and mostly an opportunist. He can certainly make plans, but the idea of involving others in his plans is so strange to contemplate. I mean, he obviously wouldn't say no to escape, but he just isn't a conspirator. I would expect a Gollum-engineered escape to involve setting up a cunning trap for his Elven escort and bolting into the shadows. Not secret communication with outside friends.
Frankly, for me, the unlikeliness of Gollum conspiring his escape with the orc raiders makes the chance-if-chance-you-call-it explanation much more palatable than it would be otherwise.
1) Chance, if chance you call it. Bad guys don't get to benefit from this, but did bad guys ultimately benefit? "Providence" needed to have Gollum lurking around the Cracks of Doom at a specific time, and Gollum in prison in Mirkwood can't really manage that, now, can he Precious?
2) Shelob's Web. Spider-based communication, why not writing on webs as per Charlotte's Web? "SOME ORC (will rescue you on Tuesday)"
3) Orc signals during previous outings to the trees. I can't imagine communication with Orcs happening within the Elf King's halls. So it has to be outside the halls. Which means during previous trips out to the trees. It's been established already earlier in the book that a paragraph of information can be contained within the simple scratching of "G3" on a pebble. So maybe the orcs left 4 slashes in the bark of a tree where Gollum would see it (and the Elves wouldn't), and then 4 days later they came and busted him out.