Sauron’s Propaganda: Fear, Ambition, and the Curious Case of Hobbits

The history of Middle Earth is littered with examples of Sauron’s corrupting influence. From the fall of Numenor to the many corrupted by the Ring, Sauron clearly has the power to impose his will upon individuals and even whole communities. What’s especially interesting is that this power is impossible to resist; most characters are swayed by Sauron’s will (often through the Ring) almost immediately (such as Smeagol), while even the hardiest give in after enough time (Frodo at Mount Doom). Sauron’s triumph almost feels inevitable for those directly under his influence or that of the Ring.

When discussing the Ring’s power over its bearers, language within the books suggest that they lack the same degree of free will others have. Gollum is an extreme example; Gandalf says that he both hates and loves the ring, but “has no will left in the matter.” Frodo also experiences compulsion even though he had possessed the Ring far less than Gollum—at Weathertop he “felt that he must take the Ring and put it on his finger” and that “resistance became unbearable.” That’s not to say that everyone completely loses all free will under Sauron, nor are characters completely absolved of responsibility for the choices they make while under Sauron’s will. But Sauron appears to reduce the ability to make choices contrary to his will or act against his interests.

This power of Sauron’s is exactly what makes hobbits so fascinating. Hobbits systematically seem to be most able to resist Sauron’s influence and also evil in general, far more so than other races of Middle Earth. Gandalf comments after Frodo survives the splinter of the Morgul-knife (another form of Sauron’s influence) that “hobbits fade very reluctantly,” meaning Frodo was able to hold out against the evil influence. This is borne out by Frodo’s ability to resist the Ring until the very end, far longer than anyone else we’ve seen, and also in how Sam is relatively unaffected by it. This strength of the hobbits is sometimes characterized as stubbornness, which is definitely part of how they are able to resist, but I’m not convinced that’s a full enough explanation.

To understand why hobbits seem to react so uniquely to Sauron’s influence, we first need to understand how Sauron is able to sway people so consistently. Conceiving of Sauron’s influence as propaganda is very useful here, but to see exactly what his propaganda is preying upon requires us to look at actual examples within Tolkien’s work. The two that are most relevant are Sauron’s words as spoken to Ar-Pharazon in the Akallabeth, and Boromir’s conversation with Frodo in which he attempts to take the Ring for himself.

The first visible technique of persuasion is that Sauron or the Ring directly exploit some underlying fear that Boromir and Ar-Pharazon have. Boromir obviously fears the fall of his city, and rants about how unwise he thinks it is to have “a halfling walk blindly into Mordor.” Ar-Pharazon and the Numenoreans in general, meanwhile, fear death, and even before the arrival of Sauron they question why they are subject to death while the elves are not. Sauron then exploits this fear, pushing the character to act in a way that is dangerous and harmful.

Yet I would argue fear alone isn’t enough to explain why Sauron’s propaganda is so effective; he’s also exploiting the underlying ambition of the characters as well. It’s telling that Boromir’s train of thought on how to use the Ring first begins with using it against the Enemy, but ends with him envisioning himself as leader of the host. There’s clearly an underlying ambition of being recognized and admired as a powerful leader. Ar-Pharazon also desires power—when he arrives in Arda, he “claim[ed] the land for his own,” suggesting he is immensely ambitious given he is claiming the literal land of the gods. 

This combination of fear and ambition combines under evil influence to produce a sense of entitlement or ownership over something the character definitely does not control. Boromir finishes his rambling speech, in which he slowly appears more and more corrupted by the Ring’s influence, by declaring that “men of Numernor” are the true owners of the Ring and that “it should be mine.” We have been told numerous times that attempting to claim the Ring is impossible, and yet the Ring’s exploitation of Boromir’s fear and ambition allows it to happen. Similarly, Sauron convinces Ar-Pharazon to sail west by telling him that “the gift of life … is only for such as are worthy, being men of might and pride and great lineage,” suggesting it is unfair that “the King of Kings” Ar-Pharazon is deprived of the eternal life he deserves.

So Sauron is able to influence the wills of others through propaganda that preys on their fear and ambition, thus developing a sense of entitlement to something they cannot control. This then opens them to evil action. Now that we’ve established how Sauron’s propaganda is effective, we can look to hobbits to find why this may not influence them to the same degree it does Men. It would be silly to claim hobbits don’t fear—Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin definitely experience fear throughout the course of the books. It is true that your average hobbit is definitely insulated from fears on the scale that Boromir and Ar-Pharazon experienced, but they can still be scared. Ambition, on the other hand, is worth looking more closely at.

In general, hobbits could best be described as being content with the Shire. Bilbo is thought of as very odd for having left to go on his adventures in The Hobbit, and adventuring in general is described as “not entirely hobbitlike.” Furthermore, when meeting Gandalf, Bilbo declares “We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures …. Make you late for dinner!” Bilbo is of course not being entirely honest about his own desire for adventures, but his sentiment is broadly true—hobbits don’t really have grand desires or ambitions beyond the borders of the Shire. In fact, Bilbo’s comment on dinner feels particularly apt, as hobbits are generally more concerned with food and simple pleasures than any sort of ambition Sauron could easily exploit.

This relative lack of ambition then eliminates the sense of entitlement or ownership that corrupted both Boromir and Ar-Pharazon. Hobbit society in general comes across as fairly generous—it is the custom to give out presents on one’s birthday instead of receiving them. They are not without greed, as the Sackville-Bagginses can attest, but it is again limited to things far beneath Sauron’s concern (e.g. the possession of Bilbo’s silver spoons). Thus if hobbits don’t really have worldly ambitions or entitlement that Sauron can effect, it stands to reason that they would be much more resistant to his “propaganda” than those whose lives involve the fate of kingdoms. Hobbits are on a much smaller scale than Sauron ever bothers to think, and combined with their stubbornness that makes them poor targets for Sauron’s will.

-AS