^
*agrees* that's the reason why I like him, but I used to dislike him and it took me a long time to change that... I still don't really like Goldberry though, she seems so weird to me..

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[!+~^$#&:;]

I think in all my reading I am convinced that Tom Bombadil is a Vala:

Middle Earth was brought into existence by a group of singers,
The Holy Ones or Valar and Tom is a singer who controls
nature with his singing.

He says that he was here before Morgoth, the original Dark Lord, had officially turned renegade - the time when the "old" or original stars were made, before the creation of ME. Since the world was incomplete at that time and nothing lived on the earth except the Valar, it is hard to believe that Tom is anything but a Vala.

Tom had tremendous power and control over the ring even to the point of making the ring itself disappear. I don’t see how such power over the ring, displayed almost as a parlor trick, can be accounted for by classifying Tom Bombadil as an enigmatic or anomalous nature spirit. The way he dominates the ring I think gives him away as a Vala.

For an excellent short read on Tom go to this site:
http://www.cas.unt.edu/~hargrove/bombadil.html

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"If you do not find a way, no one will."

Tom cannot be a Valar. If he was in Ea before Melkor (who was the First Ainur to descend into Ea) then he is something older than a Ainur.

He is likely to be being that was brought about by the discord of Melkor in the Music of the Ainur. He was Eru's theme fighting against Melkor's discord which could be for example Ungoliant (living beings brought into form by this musical war).

There are many things older than the Valar (older as in who was in Arda the first). The nameless creatures far below Moria where Gandalf sought for the Balrog were gnawed away by creatures older than at least some of the Ainur:

"Sauron does not know of them for they are older than he" Says Gandalf to Aragorn and Gimli and Legolas.

Thanks for the link. I am pretty new and not as well read as I think you are. I may be wrong about him being a Vala but, as methodical and deep as Tolkien was, it is hard for me to conceive that he didn't have more in mind about Tom Bombadil than just an enigma or anomaly. There are too many clues that he has left us.

Of course, if no one ever figures it out difinitively that makes him an enigma, doesn't it. LOL!

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"If you do not find a way, no one will."

Indeed. I think Lord of All has a point there.

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Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!

I reread you post Lord of All and I think I can understand better what you are saying...I should have read it more than once before I responded...I apreaciate the explanation of someone like yourself with a quite a bit of knowledge on the subject.

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"If you do not find a way, no one will."

I totally agree with ya Lord of all. I also don't think that Tom Bombadil is a Vala. That wouldn't fit to his personality. Your explanation sounds quite reasonable.

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Thank you for the complement.

Yes great points Lord of all, I agree with the others regards your good post.

Although there have been some suggestions that Tom Bombadil might have been Ilúvatar himself.

Not sure if this is true and I don't know how it can be proved. But it sounds like a good concept to me. lol!

Thanks,
Eärendil The Mariner

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Tolkien said somewhere that he would never create a phisical image of God in some quote i cannot find.

To think that Tom Bombadil with his light hearted banter and his ridiculous image is Iluvatar I think is going completely against Tolkien's views...

That's exactly what I thought Lord of all. But I thought that in posting what others said, might come up with some new disovery.

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As I said on another Tom Bombadil thread, I have come to the conclusion that Tom is indeed a mystery. Exploration and discovery are wonderful elements or our world. There are so many things we don’t understand. These mysterious elements are ever before us and I, for one, would not want it any other way. Let Tom Bombadil, then, ever remind us of that!

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"If you do not find a way, no one will."

Well Tom Bombadil Is Wise. Elrond Was going to give him the One Ring for he was not effected by it. He is though mysterious as Tolkien hasnt wrote much on him : /.

Tom should hab been in the movie. He is so important. In the movie frodo and co arent captured and rescued by Tom.

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Well if P.J. had put Tom in the movie would have to add at least 30 more minutes, something that would really did not mind me but then the movie would be huge and some people may did not like it.

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