Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck, Merry for short, is a young Hobbit who, by
the reckoning of the Shire is not yet old enough to be fully an
adult, defined by Hobbits as age 33. He is boistrous, and considered a little odd by the
Hobbit who live in the Shire proper, as the Brandybucks live beyond its borders. He can
swim, as can Frodo, an unusual skill among Hobbits. He is good
friends with Frodo and Pippin, and is even more fond of eating
than many other Hobbits.
Tolkien uses Merry and Pippin as his primary examples of the maturing of the Hobbit race
over the course of the trilogy. They learn, grow, and settle over the course of the
story. The other two Hobbits, Frodo and Sam change as well, but
are addressed more personally and do not represent a type of their race.
