On an ever so important quest as the journey to the destruction of the one ring, everyone closely involved in promoting its success finds their own way to persevere and push forward because they all have the strong desire to survive. Whether this survival is thought of in a grand-scale mindset, as saving everyone once the ring is destroyed, or a smaller, more self-focused mindset, one thing is for certain: survival is incredibly important to this diverse group of characters.
In his Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn analyzes the full meaning of what such a will to survive in terrible circumstances truly is. The “awesome vow” of said will “takes shape” as the will “to survive at any price” (Solzhenitsyn 302). One character in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings…or more accurately one creature… may take to this concept quite seriously.
Ever since Smeagol’s first interaction with the ring, it has been evident that he was willing to do whatever it took to pursue his own self-interests. Now corrupted by the ring, Gollum finds himself struggling with conflicting self-interests as he reluctantly joins Sam and Frodo. Gollum could have easily forced a stronger attack and, as the vile creature he is, at least done considerable damage to Sam and Frodo. Why? The one ring is Gollum’s survival. As Solzenhitsyn continues to explain, “but simply ‘to survive’ does not mean ‘at any price’”, “‘at any price’ means: at the price of someone else” (Solzhenitsyn 302). So why does Gollum not survive at the cost of Frodo and Sam?
While the group eats, Gollum exclaims that the “poor thin Smeagol […] will starve” (Tolkien 622). While this could easily be interpreted as Gollum just guilt-tripping Sam and Frodo, it brings an entirely new understanding of the factors involved in his survival. With Gollum’s hunger increasing for both sustenance and the ring’s power, he must have internally recognized that this “survival at any price” concept meant that Frodo and Sam had to live, at least until he could satisfy both hungers. Sam and Frodo needed Gollum, and it seems as if Gollum actually needed Sam and Frodo as well. Whether that “need” be interpreted as just “the precious” itself or the fact that he could have other uses for them, it becomes clear that the survival of Sam, Frodo, and Gollum becomes instantly reliant upon each other’s respective survival as well.