I have recently started reading The Lord of the Rings. I am currently reading the second book, The Two Towers. As many of you might know, one of the main characters in this book is Smeagol, also known as Gollum. Actually, Smeagol gave place to Gollum when the former lost his mind and killed one of his best friends. Gollum is, in a way, the dark side of what used to be Smeagol. At the beginning of the book Smeagol is described as a rather dislikeable person. After all, he killed his friend to get a magic ring. However, as the story develops, Smeagol is revealed to be worthy of much pity, since he is not inherently bad. On the contrary, he was a normal fellow who just got corrupted by the seductive power of the ring. When Smeagol describes the afternoons that he used to spend under the willows, by the side of a big river which provided him both with food and fun, it is nearly impossible not to pity him.