Pippin Took: A Character Study

By Amy Spivey
Bradley University Student

In choosing the Fellowship that is to accompany Frodo in his quest to destroy the Ring, Elrond speaks against the hobbits joining him, especially Pippin, because he is the youngest and cannot understand what this task truly entails.

In defiance, Pippin states, “Then, Master Elrond, you will have to lock me in prison or send me home tied in a sack. …For otherwise I shall follow the Company” (Fellowship, 310).

Pippin Took as portrayed by Billy Boyd in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.

Pippin, a distant cousin and close friend of Frodo’s, grew up listening to Bilbo’s tales of adventure far from the Shire. When Frodo decided to leave Bag End, Pippin accompanied him and Sam to Crickhollow, where Merry was waiting. Upon revealing that they all knew of the journey Frodo was about to take, they set out together for Rivendell.

Pippin’s first major display of foolishness is in Bree, when he entertains the crowd at the Prancing Pony with the story of Bilbo’s farewell party. The Black Riders are on their trail, and Pippin would likely have been careless enough to mention the Ring, had Frodo not interrupted him—though Frodo’s song and dance did not help their situation. When the Riders threaten the inn, Pippin endures the journey through the wild with Strider until they reach Rivendell.

Though Elrond was opposed to Pippin’s going, when it came time for the Fellowship to set out, he was among them. However brave he might have felt at first, Pippin became weary of the journey before long.

After the failed trek over Caradhras, the Fellowship makes its way to Moria, but not before being threatened by a pack of Wargs, and Pippin beings to doubt his coming. “I wish I had taken Elrond’s advice. …I am no good after all. There is not enough of the breed of Bandobras the Bullroarer in me: these howls freeze my blood. I don’t ever remember feeling so wretched” (Fellowship of the Ring, 334).

And yet his dismay does not stop him from asking foolish questions once they come to the gates of Moria, where Gandalf explains that the doors cannot be pushed inwards from the outside.

“‘What are you going to do, then?’ asked Pippin, undaunted by the wizard’s bristling brows. ‘Knock on the doors with your head, Peregrin Took,’ said Gandalf. ‘But if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will seek for the opening words’” (Fellowship, 343). However, more than thoughtless words would get Pippin in trouble once they entered the mines.

Curious though Pippin is, there is no excuse for some of his foolishness. When stopping to rest in a chamber for the night in Moria, Pippin was strangely attracted to an old well hole in the middle of the room. “Moved by a sudden impulse he groped for a loose stone, and let it drop” (Fellowship, 351).

This angers Gandalf more than any question ever could. “Fool of a Took! … This is a serious journey, not a hobbit-walking party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance. Now be quiet” (Fellowship, 352)!

Pippin’s punishment from Gandalf was to take the first watch, a miserable task, but justified. Gandalf could not sleep, though, and came to take over for Pippin after his anger subsided. He slept, but had not quite learned his lesson.

For a while, Pippin falls into the background, until Fellowship comes to Amon Hen, where Pippin and Merry are captured by the Orcs and Boromir dies in his attempt to defend them. But, in The Two Towers, the narration is given from Pippin’s point of view for the first time.

Once he regains his memory, he again regrets coming on this journey. “He felt cold and sick. ‘I wish Gandalf had never persuaded Elrond to let us come,’ he thought. ‘What good have I been? Just a nuisance: a passenger, a piece of luggage…I hope Strider or someone will come and claim us’ (Two Towers, 42)!

But, Pippin starts to use his wits, and cuts his bonds when the orcs are preoccupied. While marching, he also suddenly decides to drop the brooch from his cloak, in case Aragorn should try and find them. He afterwards doubts his actions, though. “There I suppose it will lie until the end of time…I don’t know why I did it. If the others have escaped, they’ve probably all gone with Frodo” (Two Towers, 48).

Despite his doubt, Pippin begins to show his worth as the Riders of Rohan threaten the orcs and Grishnákh comes to find the Ring for himself. Pippin starts taunting him about the Ring, and Merry joins in, trying to persuade him to untie their legs until Grishnákh loses his temper and drags them from the camp.

Though this could have been a fatal move, it stirred the Riders of Rohan first, and Grishnákh was slain. And now, thanks to Pippin’s secret cutting of the bonds from his hands earlier, he is able to free himself, and Merry, completely. They then come to Fangorn Forest.

Pippin and Merry tell their adventures to Treebeard, and rouse him with the mention of the orcs from Isengard. Treebeard appears to have long wondered what Saruman and his orcs were up to, and now that he understands, he becomes determined to stop Saruman.

Pippin and Merry are eager to join, and Pippin says, “I should like to see the White Hand overthrown. I should like to be there, even if I could not be of much use: I shall never forget Uglúk and the crossing of Rohan” (Two Towers, 77). Interestingly, Pippin reiterates again that he “could not be of much use,” but is nevertheless willing to go with the Ents to war, after having suffered the torment of the orcs.

However, even in his anger, Pippin could not fully comprehend the wrath of the Ents until they stood on the brink of the forest near Isengard.

“Pippin looked behind. The number of the Ents had grown—or what was happening? Where the dim bare slopes that they had crossed should lie, he thought he saw groves of trees. But they were moving! Could it be that the trees of Fangorn were awake, and the forest was rising, marching over the hills to war? He rubbed his eyes wondering if sleep and shadow had deceived him; but the great grey shapes moved steadily onward.” (Two Towers, 92)

Though the battle with the Ents was the greatest event of the journey for Pippin thus far, the actions of Gríma Wormtongue determined his fate for the last stage of the war. After picking up the Palantír, and having Gandalf promptly take it away, Pippin found himself longing to look at it.

“Well, if Gandalf has changed at all, then he’s closer than ever that’s all. …That—glass ball, now. He seemed mighty pleased with it. He knows or guesses something about it. But does he tell us what? No, not a word. Yet I picked it up, and I saved it from rolling into a pool. Here, I’ll take that, my lad—that’s all. I wonder what it is? It felt so very heavy.” (Two Towers, 216)

Merry thinks Pippin is acting ridiculous, but Pippin won’t relent in his desire. “All right! What’s the harm in my telling you what I should like: a look at that stone? I know I can’t have it, with old Gandalf sitting on it, like a hen on an egg. But it doesn’t help much to get no more from you than a you-can’t-have-it so-go-to-sleep” (Two Towers, 216)!

Pippin is unusually enamored by the Stone, more so than he was by the well in Moria. When Merry won’t relent, Pippin makes his most foolish mistake of all and takes the stone while Gandalf sleeps; though, he does regret it almost immediately. “You idiotic fool! …You’re going to get yourself into frightful trouble. Put it back quick!” (Two Towers, 218). But he does not, fearing to wake Gandalf, and instead takes it near his bed to look at.

Soon all the inside seemed on fire; the ball was spinning, or the lights within were revolving. Suddenly the lights went out. He gave a gasp and struggled; but he remained bent, clasping the ball with both hands. Closer and closer he bent, and then became rigid; his lips moved soundlessly for a while. Then with a strangled cry he fell back and lay still. (Two Towers, 218)

Gandalf comes to Pippin and learns that Sauron has spoken to him. Though Pippin barely avoided revealing everything to Sauron, Gandalf believes it worked out to their advantage, for he had considered looking into the Palantír himself, but now realizes how perilous that would have been. And, Sauron still believes the Stone is in Orthanc.

Gandalf determines it best to set out for Gondor that night, and takes Pippin with him. When the Nazgûl fly overhead, Gandalf calls for everyone to leave immediately, though the rest of the company will return to Edoras while he and Pippin make for Gondor.

In these swift and sudden actions, a significant event could be overlooked: the separation of Merry and Pippin. From the first venture out from the Shire, they have been together; but now, they are drawn apart. Pippin is too preoccupied, listening as Gandalf explains the history of the Palantíri, to realize that it will be a long time before he sees Merry again—if ever.

Upon arriving at Minas Tirith, Gandalf brings Pippin before Lord Denethor, Steward of Gondor, who wishes to hear more of his son Boromir’s death. Denethor is suspicious of the hobbit, wondering how he escaped when Boromir did not.

Pippin reacts by offering his servitude to Denethor, to repay for his son’s death. “Little service, no doubt, will so great a lord of Men think to find in a hobbit, a halfling from the northern Shire; yet such as it is, I will offer it, in payment of my debt” (The Return of the King, 13).

After swearing his oath, Denethor asks for the story of the hobbit’s journey. “Pippin never forgot that hour in the great hall under the piercing eye of the Lord of Gondor, stabbed ever and anon by his shrewd questions, and all the while conscious of Gandalf at his side, watching and listening, and (so Pippin felt) holding in check a rising wrath and impatience” (The Return of the King, 15). But Gandalf was not angry at Pippin, and indeed gave him what advice he could before leaving for the council Denethor had called for.

Pippin came into the friendship of Beregond, a guard of the citadel, learning the passwords he would need for duty, but also learning of Gondor and its people. He also earns the friendship of Bergil, Beregond’s son, who shows him around the city, and together they watch the coming of armies for the aid of Gondor, including Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth.

Pippin finally meets with Gandalf again that night in their lodgings, but with few good tidings, for The Darkness had begun. By morning, Pippin felt disheartened again, asking Gandalf why he was here. “You know quite well…to keep you out of mischief; and if you do not like being here, you can remember that you brought it on yourself” (The Return of the King, 72).

Being arrayed in the gear of a warrior of Gondor, Pippin may have looked like Ernil i Pheriannath, but he now felt the oppressive force of Sauron stronger than ever. “In some other time and place Pippin might have been pleased with his new array, but he knew now that he was taking part in no play; he was in deadly earnest the servant of a grim master in the greatest peril” (The Return of the King, 74).

Pippin has been thrust into the heart of the battle against Sauron, and when the Nazgûl drew near, chasing Faramir, Pippin quails in terror. Certainly, Elrond was right when he told Pippin he could not imagine what lay ahead. But with Gandalf’s aid, Faramir comes to Minas Tirith and reveals his encounter with Frodo and Sam, leaving Gandalf to wonder of their chosen road, and Pippin to wonder what hope they have.

The worst days came after Faramir was brought back wounded from battle on the Pelennor Fields. “No hours so dark had Pippin known, not even in the clutches of the Uruk-hai. It was his duty to wait upon the Lord, and wait he did, forgotten it seemed, standing by the door of the unlit chamber, mastering his own fears as best he could” (The Return of the King, 93).

As Minas Tirith began to burn, Denethor released Pippin from his service, giving him leave to follow in what he deemed to be Gandalf’s foolishness. But Pippin becomes valiant, and won’t give up yet.

I will take your leave, sir…for I want to see Gandalf very much indeed. But he is no fool; and I will not think of dying until he despairs of life. But from my word and your service I do not wish to be released while you live. And if they come at last to the Citadel, I hope to be here and stand beside you and earn perhaps the arms that you have given me. (The Return of the King, 95)

However, seeing that Denethor was set to burn Faramir alive, Pippin immediately went in search of Gandalf, hoping to save Faramir from the madness of his father. He found Beregond and told him to do what he could, despite orders to not leave his post for any reason.

When Pippin finds Gandalf, the wizard is about to go out to battle, but Pippin begs for his help. “Denethor has gone to the Tombs…and he has taken Faramir, and he says we are all to burn, and he will not wait, and they are to make a pyre and burn him on it, and Faramir as well. …And I have told Beregond, but I’m afraid he won’t dare to leave his post…Can’t you save Faramir” (The Return of the King, 126)?

Pippin knew time was short, and that Gandalf was the only one who could help. Horrific though Denethor had become, Pippin also knew Faramir had to be saved.

When finally the Battle of the Pelennor Fields was ended, Pippin and Merry are reunited at the gates of Minas Tirith, though Merry is wounded from stabbing the Witch King. Pippin tries to lead him through the City, but Merry is weak, and Pippin feared he will die.

“‘Are you going to bury me?’ said Merry. ‘No, indeed!’ said Pippin, trying to sound cheerful, though his heart was wrung with fear and pity. ‘No, we are going to the Houses of Healing’” (The Return of the King, 136).

Pippin tells Bergil to send message to the Healers. Gandalf comes, and gently lifts Merry up. For all of Pippin’s doubts of coming along with the Fellowship, Gandalf acknowledges the honor the hobbits have earned. “…for if Elrond had not yielded to me, neither of you would have set out; and then far more grievous would the evils of this day have been” (The Return of the King, 137).

Though Gondor had been saved, for the time being, the most dangerous journey of all now lay ahead of Pippin: giving Frodo a chance by marching to the Black Gate for battle. When the Mouth of Sauron, brings seemingly devastating tidings, Pippin beings to lose all hope. But he takes courage, standing next to Beregond, and awaits the onslaught.

He drew his sword and looked at it, and the intertwining shapes of red and gold; and the flowing characters of Númenor glinted like fire upon the blade. ‘This was made for just such an hour,’ he thought. ‘If only I could smite that foul Messenger with it, then almost I should draw level with old Merry. We’ll I’ll smite some of this beastly broad before the end. (The Return of the King, 176)

And so he does. As a great troll comes upon Beregond to kill him, Pippin stabs at him, but is crushed as the beast falls on him. Knowing that this is the end, he felt darkness take him, until he thought he heard a great cry: “The Eagles are coming! The Eagles are coming! For one moment more Pippin’s thought hovered. ‘Bilbo!’ it said. ‘But no! That came in his tale, long long ago. This is my tale, and it is ended now. Good-bye!’ And his thought fled far away and his eyes saw no more” (The Return of the King, 177).

Fortunately for Pippin, Gimli was in the right place at the right time, and found him before he was lost. With the defeat of Sauron and the Ring destroyed, it was finally time for the Fellowship to reunite.

Sam, upon seeing them for the first time, is astounded, and Pippin articulates his pride. “…we’ll begin telling [our stories] as soon as the feast is ended…For the present Merry and I are busy. We are knights of the City and of the Mark, as I hope you observe” (The Return of the King, 251). When Sam notes that it’ll take weeks to get everyone’s stories straight, Pippin also shows that, despite all the hardships he’s endured, he still has a sense of humor. “Weeks indeed… And then Frodo will have to be locked up in a tower in Minas Tirith and write it all down. Otherwise he will forget half of it, and poor old Bilbo will be dreadfully disappointed” (The Return of the King, 251).

Thus they stayed in Gondor for a while, but soon, even the joyful reuniting must end as the Fellowship members go their separate ways. After traversing back through Middle-earth, the hobbits come to the Shire, only to learn that ruffians have invaded it.

When the four hobbits encounter a group of them near The Green Dragon, Frodo draws the ire of one, who begins to taunt him. Pippin rushes to Frodo’s defense, and for once, has the chance to call out someone else as a fool. “I am a messenger of the King. …You are speaking to the King’s friend, and one of the most renowned in all the lands of the West. You are a ruffian and a fool. Down on your knees in the road and ask pardon, or I will set this troll’s bane in you” (The Return of the King, 309)!

The four hobbits devise a plan to rouse the Shire, and Pippin rides to Tuckborough to gather the Tooks for the uprising. Using the tactics they’ve learned in battle, Pippin and Merry earned the titles of Captains as they fought and won the Battle of Bywater, 1419, and successfully scoured the Shire.

When Frodo decides to leave Middle-earth a few years later, Pippin, though deeply saddened, understands why. “‘You tried to give us the slip once before and failed, Frodo,’ [Pippin] said. ‘This time you have nearly succeeded, but you have failed again. It was not Sam, though, that gave you away this time, but Gandalf himself” (The Return of the King, 339)!

He wept as Frodo departed, but his story was not over yet. As the Appendices tell us, Pippin married Diamond of Long Cleeve and had a son, Faramir, and became the Took and Thain of the Shire.

Aragorn, now King Elessar, also makes him a Counselor of the North-kingdom. After long years, Pippin and Merry leave the Shire; pass down their offices to their sons; and ride to Edoras and Gondor, where they die. They are laid in Rath Dínen with honor, and when King Elessar passed, he was laid next to them.

Pippin’s maturity and growth—from the first encounter with the Black Riders to the last battle in the Shire—is significant. He started the journey as a rascally young hobbit, but by the end he became a Knight of Gondor, one of high honor and in the favor of the King.

He learns from his foolish, and sometimes dangerous, mistakes, earning a great deal of respect along the way. Pippin’s accomplishments are altogether remarkable, and being part of the Fellowship opened his eyes to the world beyond his home. But perhaps his most significant achievement was becoming a great leader among hobbits—among his kin, his family.

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