[WIR] The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

[Libertad]

Book 4, Chapter 1: the Taming of Sméagol

1. Darkly amusing that for all his earlier fussing about needing rope, Sam nearly forgets about it during their descent down a cliff. But it doesn't feel totally out of character, for him and Frodo were undergoing significant stress from wandering alone and relatively lost. The chapter does a good job of showing that the pair aren't operating at their best.
2. Two words learned today: ell, a unit of measurement, and ninnyhammer, a foolish person!
3. I can get the use of ninnyhammer as a cry of frustration, but "noodles!" is certainly a new one. The context is Sam cursing himself for leaving the rope tied to a stump further up the cliff, for it will make it easier for Gollum to follow them.
4. Nice throwback to Gandalf's speech about Gollum in Fellowship of the Ring, and showing why Frodo decides to initially spare him yet still keeping him on a metaphorical short leash.
5. I like how in Frodo getting Gollum to swear not to harm them, Sam starts to see a bit of an uncharacteristically authoritarian demeanor, an implied influence of the Ring.

Book 4, Chapter 2: the Passage of the Marshes

1. I find it funny how Gollum calls the Sun the "Yellow Face."
2. I'm wondering if the lembas actually tastes that bad to Gollum, or if it's more the bad memories of being a prisoner of the elves prevents him from enjoying it. Maybe a little bit of both.
3. "The hobbits soon found that what had looked like one vast fen was really an endless network of pools, and soft mires, and winding half-strangled water-courses." I forgot its name, but I'm suddenly reminded of a Newgrounds flash game where you played as Sam, Frodo, and Gollum maneuvering in a rickety bowboat through a series of rivers and pools while avoiding crashing.
4. I find it funny how during his multi-personality crisis of conscience, Gollum's fantasies of being "Gollum the Great/Lord Sméagol" are merely to spend his days eating fish. Which is what he was doing way back in the Hobbit. And probably goblin and orc flesh, too.

Book 4, Chapter 3: the Black Gate Is Closed

1. Can't believe that I'm agreeing with Gollum, but there's little chance of Frodo getting past the Black Gate without being captured and thus effectively delivering the Ring to Sauron.
2. It seems that both Gollum and the Ring are bringing out Frodo's darker side, with him threatening Gollum of the power he can wield should he put on the Ring and command him.
3. In the real world, there's a saying that an elephant never forgets. Apparently in the Shire, the saying is that an oliphant can never tell a lie.

Book 4, Chapter 4: Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit

1. While I am aware that Mordor itself has breadbaskets around the Sea of Nirn, I do like how the text notes that not all lands claimed by Sauron are ashy wasteland and actually have grassland, forest, and other places where agriculture is plausible. But it also still bears the telltale mark, such as pollution left behind by orcish industry. It both makes the world feel more plausible while also showing that the shape of evil is not always so obvious.
2. I like the touch of Sam discovering skeletons in a burned forest, but choosing not to report back on what he saw out of concern that Gollum would disturb their graves. It shows mindfulness on his part.
3. You can tell that Gollum has fallen far from his Hobbit roots when he cannot appreciate the use of a cooking fire to make meat more savory.
4. For Dúnedain names, Mablung and Damrod don't have the same fancy ring to it as Aragorn.
5. Interesting choice to use the term Swerting for the Haradrim/southern humans. Looking it up, it's a name from a character in Beowulf.

Book 4, Chapter 5: The Window on the West

1. Frodo's interrogation by the Rangers is very tense; he can't easily tell them the truth about Boromir, due in part because telling the Rangers of their struggle over the Ring can give suspicion that Frodo was the one who murdered him and not the orcs. And also reveal that Frodo has the Ring on him, and thus risk a similar temptation.
2. With Faramir referring to Sauron as the Unnamed, and also referring to the One Ring as Isildur's Bane instead of something more direct, makes it sound like the Dúnedain have a cultural aversion in referring properly to objects and people they find distasteful. I take it this ties into the "giving a name to something gives it metaphorical power" trope that persists across many real-world cultures and folklore.
3. Even despite their ill-fated last meeting, Frodo can still see in and speak good of Boromor during the breakfast with Faramar, highlighting his best moments during the Fellowship's journey.
4. Tying back to point #2: Near the end of the chapter, when Faramir finds out that the hobbits have the ring and is quite understanding of it causing Boromir's fall, he mentions to Sam to not name it again: "once is enough."

 

[Libertad]

Book 4, Chapter 6: the Forbidden Pool

1. Another rare error in this printing of the book, describing Sam surreptitiously following Frodo and Faramir: "As he went by the cave-mouth he saw that the Curtain was now become a dazzling veil of silk and pearls and silver thread; melting icicles of moonlight."Should be either 'has now become' or 'was now becoming."
2. "Frodo crept forward, using his hands Gollum-like to feel his way and to steady himself." Y'know, ordinarily I'd think this is just a comparison referring to Frodo's manual dexterity in navigating a tricky pathway at night, but given the earlier passage of Sam noticing a change in Frodo's temperament regarding his threat to Gollum (and then again later in this chapter to indirectly save Gollum's life from the Rangers), I wonder if there's more to this line.
3. I wonder why the privilege of Faramir's pronouncement of legally-binding free travel is referred to as a "doom." It doesn't sound like a restriction or burden in and of itself. His pronouncement of "doom of death" to Gollum makes sense by comparison, in that he lives only at the behest of Frodo's sponsorship.
4. New word learned today: troth, or loyal or pledged faithfulness!

Book 4, Chapter 7: Journey to the Cross-Roads

1. Frodo asking all three of them to be blindfolded and not just Smeagol is a nice callback to what Aragorn did when the Fellowship faced a similar dilemma when visiting Galadriel's realm. He's learned from the best!
2. Two more new words learned today: ilex, or a synonym for a holly tree, and laund, an open grassy area among trees!
3. Frodo taking notice of a metaphorical crown growing on the head of a broken statue in the form of flowers showcases how people often learn to find beauty in the grimmest of situations.

Book 4, Chapter 8: the Stairs of Cirith Ungol

1. Sam showcases his valuable companionship for Frodo's moral support, by snapping him out of his despair-induced stupor upon seeing the Ring-Wraith's warband.
2. The narration does a good job of showing the creeping sense of dread that comes from crossing into the lands of the Enemy, from the description of the dark, inhospitable mountains to eerie names such as the Nameless Path.
3. Sam and Frodo fantasizing about their adventure being written down and becoming one of the most popular tales feels quite tongue-in-cheek, and also prophetic with how popular the Lord of the Rings became.
4. Frodo getting a lap pillow from Sam was likely the incident that launched a thousand fanships.
5. For no reason in particular, I find Gollum's passive-aggressive nature and backhanded compliments pretty hilarious.

 

[Parmandur]

Another rare error in this printing of the book, describing Sam surreptitiously following Frodo and Faramir: "As he went by the cave-mouth he saw that the Curtain was now become a dazzling veil of silk and pearls and silver thread; melting icicles of moonlight."Should be either 'has now become' or 'was now becoming."

Not an error, just a bit of an archaic prose flourish.

 

[Parmandur]

I wonder why the privilege of Faramir's pronouncement of legally-binding free travel is referred to as a "doom." It doesn't sound like a restriction or burden in and of itself. His pronouncement of "doom of death" to Gollum makes sense by comparison, in that he lives only at the behest of Frodo's sponsorship.

Similarly, "doom" here is an archaicism, meaning more generally "decree" or "administrative decision", but Tolkien knew to a modern English ear it sounds badass and ominous.

 

[Dioltach]

Not an error, just a bit of an archaic prose flourish.

See also Oppenheimer's "I am become Death, destroyer of worlds."

 

[Maxperson]

1. Between losing Moria and the Lonely Mountain, dwarves seem to have quite the history of being driven from their homes by monstrous forces. Additionally, Sauron's messenger giving the dwarves a bargain where they have their Rings of Power returned and "Moria shall be yours forever" carries the implicit threat that Sauron would take it from them if they don't cooperate.

The dwarves also lost Ered Mithrin in the north to a cold dragon..

1. Gandalf mentioning seeing Saruman wearing a ring on his finger could be a subtle way of showing that he is in league with Sauron, given that the dwarven representatives told of Sauron's messenger offering to return them the dwarven rings. But I don't know if it was meant to be just a ring in the text, or indeed one of the Rings of Power Celebrimbor forged. Also, Gandalf saying that he "liked white better" at Saruman showing off his amazing technicolor dreamcoat is rather funny.

The elves forged a number of lesser rings that were not tainted by Sauron. The one worn by Saruman would almost surely have been a lesser ring, as Sauron would not have allowed a ring of power to be given to another Maia who might then use it to challenge him.

1. I like how potential plot holes regarding ways of keeping the One Ring out of Sauron's reach are addressed. Tom Bombadil is an unreliable steward and his power only affects a relatively small area; they can't throw the Ring into the sea because there are entities within the sea that can be corrupted and Sauron has the capability to change and "torture the land;" they cannot send it across the sea to foreign lands, for such lands will not accept the Ring within their boundaries; and as for using the eagles to fly to Mordor, the eagle who rescued Gandalf said that he can only bear someone for so long and for so far.

The Eye of Sauron would also have seen eagles flying into his territory with the ring, and given Sauron's Fel Beasts that could fly(with Nazgul on some of them), it would have been serving the ring up to Sauron on a golden platter to attempt it that way.

 

[Maxperson]

1. I tend to not have much to say when it comes to fight scenes, but one thing I noticed is that during the retreat from the orcs, Gandalf was visibly fatigued. The text demonstrating that he was struggling, along with saying that he met his match, does a lot to put him on the level of the rest of the Company. A lot of media portrayals of Gandalf display him as being more powerful than the others, and can definitely see where the "Gandalf is a 5th-level Magic-User" essay came from.

It was an act, because he's supposed to limit himself to what mortals can do. Right afterward he fought with the Balrog(Balor) for 3 days and 2 nights before killing it solo.

He also cast several lightning bolts in The Hobbit, and cast many fireballs at Weathertop when fighting the Nazgul. He can cast too many 3rd level spells to be 5th level.

1. I find it interesting how in the book, the otherwise fatal spear-blow to Frodo came from an orc leader and not a cave troll like in the Peter Jackson film, and when the others comment upon his luck/endurance Frodo doesn't reveal or bring up the mithril armor yet. I remember it becoming immediately apparent in the movie, so I'm curious why that was changed from the book. Perhaps to cut down on/speed up content?

It was probably changed because a cave troll would be more exciting in a movie. Tolkien probably didn't use one because a cave troll would have crushed Frodo to death with the strike, even if the spear didn't get through the mithril mail.

 

[Maxperson]

1. In regards to Sam mentioning seeing a "log with eyes" while traveling the river, the first thing that comes to mind for me is an alligator's head. I presumed that they're in a heightened state of anxiety that their thoughts jump to Gollum or some unseen monster, but it appears that Sam was more perceptive than initially appeared when it is indeed Gollum.

I always read that passage as a literal log with eyes. Gollum hanging onto a floating log with his eyes just above the log in an effort to remain unseen.

 

[gban007]

The dwarves also lost Ered Mithrin in the north to a cold dragon..

Including/ plus Mount Gundabad (a bit unclear whether part of Ered Mithrin), the place where Durin I awoke.

 

[Hriston]

Including/ plus Mount Gundabad (a bit unclear whether part of Ered Mithrin), the place where Durin I awoke.

Gundabad can be identified with a real-world location, Triglav in Slovenia, the highest peak of the Julian Alps which are a range of the Alps, so I would say it's in the Misty Mountains which I would identify with the Alps. I would identify Ered Mithrin, the Grey Mountains, with the Dinaric Alps which border on the Julian Alps but are a separate range from the Alps proper.

Mount Gundabad was invaded by orcs along with the servants of Sauron shortly after Eregion fell in S.A. 1697 and was probably occupied by them more or less continuously until the War of the Dwarves and Orcs (T.A. 2793-2799) when they were driven out for a time. They seem to have returned quickly, and, by the time of the Battle of Five Armies (T.A. 2941), "the great mountain Gundabad of the North" was the location of the orcs' capital.