Often, evil disguises itself with good; it either blends in or stands out. Wickedness, at times, takes over without notice. In the formidable excerpt from the novel The Hobbit, J. R,R Tolkien describes Gollum and his world to show that wickedness is dangerous but often isolated. Tolkien describes Gollum’s world as a dark place to create a mood of wickedness. Gollum is said to live in the very roots of the mountains “ deep down” by the “dark’ water. This provides a fearful atmosphere in Gollum’s home and builds up a predatory setting.

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Dark has an original color of pitch black but “dark as darkness” is emphasized to be as obscure as it can be which is more like a hellish place. Society associates crime and wrong doings with darkness because it is certain that much of the action is done under no illumination of light but in obscurity. Tolkien uses the detail of action to show Gollum as a dangerous hunter. In actuality predators lurk around to catch prey and survive. In Gollum’s case he is waiting patiently on a “little boat” which he “rowed quite quietly” with large feet dangling from the side of the boat.

Tolkien uses imagery of action to show that Gollum has experience hunting making him a dangerous creature. As Tolkien describes Gollum, he uses words such as “slimy” and “thin, pale face” to signify that this is not a human but instead an ugly creature. This particular living thing known as Gollum lives in a secluded habitat and lets the reader conclude that he is not friendly if he is lurking around. When the word “old” is used as a descriptive adjective, it gives the sense of a wise and experienced elder.

In the case of Gollum, old is used to imply a weak and lifeless being, closer to death. When seclusion is involved with darkness, danger is not far behind. Gollum’s world was described in detail by Tolkien to be “dark” and “at the very roots of the mountain. ” He lives isolated and lurks around to find prey and feed. If there is ever an encounter between a normal human being and an ugly creature similar to Gollum, there won’t be hesitation to get away from it as far as possible therefore provides remoteness in which then comes darkness and finally danger.

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