How did you feel about the end of the books?
 

I would like to know how you felt about the end of LOTR, about Elves living Middle-earth, and Gandalf, and Frodo, and Sam. For a moment I felt angry, I think perhaps because I didn't want to leave Middle-earth and all the dear characters. It took me some time and eventually I calmed down. But there is more to it and I think I can't figure it out. Because of the appendix we know when each one dies or leaves Middle-earth but I suppose that's life, even in Middle-earth. Changes are necessary. It was the beginning of the Fourth Age, The Age of Men.

Anyway, I was surprised at my reaction.

Did anyone feel the same way?

<font color=bronze>Well, at first I was confused because I didn't quite understand where the ships were taking them. My friend told me it was a metaphor for death, but then I read The Silmarillion and I learned the truth.
I still find it heartbreaking that Frodo and the others left Middle Earth to a place the most cannot visit.
By the end of the book you become so attached to the characters that you don't want to see them leave either.
Then, you go and read the appendixes which mentions the deaths of all who remained in Middle Earth, and that is depressing. It is quite heartbreaking overall.

I, too, was mad at first because I didn't know what was going on. Now, it makes me really sad. The Lord of the Rings is one of the only books I have read that truly affected me emotionally in such a strong manner.

I have the childish problem of wanting things to last forever. So at the end of every book I read I feel sort of cut off. Not matter what the ending is like It feels like I've lost somthing. This feeling I felt even more at the end of LotR. I had built up the fantacy that what was left of the fellowship should stay together forever. I think it teached me that things DON'T last forever. I didn't like the last sentence either. I know this is kind of picky but after Sam says "Well I'm back" I wish Tolkien had put "And he lived happily ever after to the end of his days." The appendix was good though and it calmed my feelings. Because I knew that Sam was able to eventually join his master. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

The end of The Return of the King broke my heart. I cried a little (as I often do at the end of a series or book that I really like when no one can see me). The appendix made me sad too, because I had to read about the Fellowship going their separate ways and then dying off or leaving Middle-earth. I think the deaths that bothered me the most were of Merry and Pippin, not only because they seem so young in the book and it's hard to imagine them ever aging, but also because they die and are buried in Middle-earth, far from Frodo, Sam, and Bilbo.

Hullo Angoriel:

* bows deeply in greeting * A star shines on the hour of our meeting. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

As for the Elves leaving Middle Earth, and Frodo and Sam ... I certainly shared the nostalgia of departing. But this remembrance of the past mingled with the even greater sense of looking forward to satisfying a longing that would finally be fulfilled ... longing for the harbor of home and promised welcome, in a place of richest belonging, where I would need wander no longer. One last journey, then.

Oh, and even now it is possible, you can still catch glimpses of Elves and their legacy here in this Bent World. As well as Hobbits. And even Old Tom Bombadil, if you are very fortunate. It is a matter of seeing, and recognition.

* smokes thoughtfully *

At your Service,

Gandalf the Grey

Hullo Tigerlily Gamgee:

You say,

To my mind, Miss Tigerlily, ... your friend was right ... and so are you, I expect.

* bows *

Gandalf the Grey

I was so sad when I finished the book that I started reading it all over again. I didn't want it to end either.

Gandalf when I read your posts, I can hear your voice [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I felt good about nmyself. I had finnished the longest book I had ever read. But I felt sad, so I bought The Hobbit.

I didn't like the end. But then, it isn't really an end so much as it is a begining of a story that has been written by history.

I was kind of upset because I didn't want it to end, but then I remembered I could read it again. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Well, I comforted myself with the fact that I still have read Unfinished Tales and History of Middle Earth. Unfortunately, where I live, it is hard to find these books.

I didn't think that when Frodo went to Valinor and Sam sounded like Sam. I mean, he stayed with Frodo through thick and thin, and now that the adventure was over, they separate! I personally thought it was kinda sad...(I SO agree with Rose Cotton about the ending).

<font color=red> I started crying! I couldn't help myself and i feel sort of weepy thinking about it, it was really bittersweet and i don't really know how I felt about it - I wanted to know more about what happened in Valinor.

It was the sort of ending that catches in your gut and eats away there like an ulcer until you've reinstated some semblance of equilibrium. For weeks I was consumed with something akin to thoughtful despair. I would find myself continuing the adventures in my mind, and I forsook schoolwork entirely.

A little dramatic maybe, but I tend to develop a psychological dependence on the books I read, especially the long ones. LotR had been my waking reality for something like six days. It was followed by this excruciating withdrawal period during which I tore to the nearest bookstore in a frantic search for anything with Tolkien's name on it. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

I felt a little cut off by the book ending in Sam saying "well, I'm back" But if you read this other book hmm I think its called something like "the end of the Third Age" or "The Biginning of the Forth Age" or "the War of the Ring but any way, it gives another ending to it, about maybe 15 years later, when Sam is talking to all his kids and telling them the story from the Red Book. Then he gets a letter that King Elessar is coming and the kids are all excited. So maybe try to find that book and you'll have satisfaction with the ending. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

I have the book you're talking about, Calencoire. It's called "The End of the Third Age" and yes, it offers some consolation in that there is a brief continuation of LotR and it gives a satisfying amount of info on Sam's children.

Well, for me the end of the book was like a sudden awakening from an exciting and so realistic dream. And I felt real grief, because for me it was the end of a great book, and the end of that world which I came to love. I think I felt sort of a loss, as if something disappeared from MY life forever and will never be again. Much later I read the Silmarilion and re-read The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit, but some bitterness remained, as I just KNOW what is going to happen and I'm not happy about it. http://216.40.249.192/mysmilies/otn/ez/pi_cry.gif

<font color=gold>Well, after reading The Silmarillion I didn't think it was meaning death as much so, but I know that they eventually die (the mortals, that is), but I can see how it can mean both at the same time. It's just a little less depressing for me to look at it the other way.
PS - Gandalf, you needn't bow to me... I am just a little hobbit [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I should be bowing to you, Mr.Wizard, sir.

I always feel extremely sad at the ending of LotR especialy with Sam's last words. I have never cried after reading a book or watching a film because i'm a man GRRRR! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] but have come pretty damn close (nearly cried when Boo in Monsters inc started crying after being scared by the big blue guy).
I always feel a sense of loss. I think to myself that nearly everything that was fair and great from the Elder days is finally passing forever and all we are left with is a boring world full of men and the odd dwarve. The elves are abandoning ME and the Valar have long forgotten Men. The only way i can ease my suffering is with a good dose of Silmarillion and a quaff of the finest Unfinished Tales. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I was sad and confused at the end. I still get that way when I finish it. I always time it so that I finish it right before I go to sleep, that way I don't need to talk to anyone for a while after I finish. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

My mom said she cried at the end, and she wanted to know why Frodo went to the Grey Havens.

<font color="blue"> I always thought it was sad and i wanted to go back to the good ole days when the black riders were chasin them thorugh the Shire. The i relized that i could do that, so i picked up FotR and read it again and agian.. and again, and again gee whiz, now i'm on the Two Towers for the 34th time ....... hehehehe

[ July 01, 2002: Message edited by: Lindolirian ]

The last time I reread the book, which was right after I saw the movie, I felt so shut out from the magic that I sat down in frustration and wrote this poem. It's not a great poem, but it tells exactly how I felt.

Colours of Middle-earth

A world I've never seen holds me dear,
Something from beyond etched in grey,
I stand as exile on a distant shore,
With small hope to guide my way.

I smell the sweet brown loam of the Shire,
I am certain of the round green door,
I can sense the rhythm of the great Red Book,
Whose tales I long to explore.

The soft yellow of elanor,
The pale gold of a mallorn tree,
Mist of silver on mountains high,
These still cry out to me.

Something in me belongs back there,
But I can not get through,
Something in me needs the colours of that world,
Which hold so clear and true.

But, as my eyes raise up,
To catch its rainbow dawn,
I blink, I turn, and, in a glance,
Its colours soon are gone.

And I am left behind,
With faded grey and white,
Memories of my mythic past,
Locked in a mirror of light.


sharon, the 7th age hobbit

sad....very sad. oh you mean how I felt, well sad, very sad. And lost. WHY DID HAVE TO END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The end of the book...? Oh, I have a ritual with which I go into denial.

Well, not right away. When I finish reading the Grey Havens (and grieving Frodo's departure), I sometimes review the Tale of Years, and think about Merry and Pippin, living out their lives and being buried in Gondor; and Legolas and Gimli; and most of all, Sam, finally sailing to Frodo. I sit, and think, and cry for as long as I have to, and get up and wander about for a while, and when I am "done" processing-- sometimes that takes several hours-- then I return to the book, flip open to Sam's "Well, I'm back."; Stare at it for a moment, then close the book, turn it face-front, and open up to "A Long Expected Party" and look at it, flipping pages back and forth, reading about Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin.

"See, it's not over. Frodo is still here. Sam is still here, and Merry and Pippin are alive and well and joking and laughing, and watching Frodo to make sure he doesn't run off after Bilbo. They're all still right here."

And then I'm okay.

[ June 27, 2002: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

BTW, Sharon, I loved the poem.

************

I stand on the quay and gaze at you
As your ship recedes from my eyes
Slipping away (don't leave me, don't go)
Farewell, wait for me, I cry

For a short time we will be apart
in the light of eternity
I'll come to you, hold me in your heart
Remember me, wait for me


I stand on the prow, my eyes drift back
To the receding shore and to you
Hope lies before me, love lies behind
In time, hope will call you too

But love lies before me all the same
Love travels with me, strengthens me
Love waits behind for you, at home
And before me, far beyond the sea

For a short time we will be apart
in the light of eternity
I'll wait for you, hold you in my heart
Remember me, come to me

Beyond our sight, we see by hope
Beyond our vision, we wait in faith
Beyond the circles of the world
We'll find all our loves again

For a short time we will be apart
in the light of eternity
The Creator waits, and says in his heart
Remember me, come to me

*******

[ June 27, 2002: Message edited by: mark12_30 ]

I was so sad when I finished the last book. I wanted to read more, much more about the members of the Fellowship. I didn't liked that they separated when they were such good friends. The appendix made me so sad. I would like to know that the members of the Fellowship live forever in the wonderful Middle Earth.

I needed more LoTR things. That's when I found that Barrow-Downs exists. I'm glad that here I meet people who like LoTR books as much as I do.

I was sad at the end of the trilogy because

1) Frodo never got a chance to get married and have kids and be happy after the Ring was destroyed. Poor Frodo.

2) It was the end! The fact that Tolkien didn't write anymore stories about the hobbits made me unhappy.

I don't feel alone anymore! My friends here are not as in love with the books as I am, and they would not understand this. When I read the appendix, and found out that Merry and Pippin died, I was so sad. It was like my best friend had died. And it wasn't much better to know that Sam went to Valinor, because I will never get to go there and see him. It's the saddest thing ever. And it seems like I did the same thing as the rest of you: re-read it. again and again and again and again....10 times in a row. Just to reassure myself that Merry was not dead. (By the way: the saddest part in FOTR: Merry after being brought out of the Barrow: "Ah, yes, now I remember. The men of Carn Dum came on us at night and we were worsted. Ah! the spear in my heart!" I cried for 10 minutes.) And Pippin was still singing the bath song, and Frodo was still calling on Elbereth and Eärendil and Lúthien, and Sam was still threatening suicide over his supposedly dead master....

*wipes tear**blows nose*
*picks up nearest copy of LOTR and begins again...*

Wow. As someone who just finished the LoTR for the fourth time TODAY, *is proud of her accomplishment* I must say I know exactly how I should respond to this. *sighs* After reading those words, "Well,I'm back," I promptly release all the tears I've been holding back since the scouring of shire. For days I can burst into tears at the slightest prompting, usually when it's LOTR related, and randomly quote from the books. *grins* I don't snap out of it until I've gotten another good, thick book to get into. And yet, though I cry like crazy each and every time I read it, I wouldn't change a word. It's real, more real than any other book I've ever read, and that's why I love it so.

I think another deep wrench for me is that the members of the Fellowship all part ways and live separate lives and in the end, die. I would be so pleased if every one of the characters I so love could simply stay at the court of Minas Tirith forever, but destiny took them elsewhere. It's just a shock to hear that the fairy-tale heroes I love die like any other mortals. Yes, I suppose I've gotten off topic, haven't I?

I think the end of LotR is just the way it had to bee. I mean, I would have felt a bit cheated if Frodo became perfectly normal again after the ring-war was over. If the Ring didn't leave some kind of scar or something, I would think that maybe it wasn't that dangerous afterall. But I also think it's a very sad ending, but also happy in some way. Sam needed to be independent, and Frodo and company will see Valinor. But most of all it's beautiful, it's the only way this story could end, at least that's what I think

When I got to the end of the ROTK for the first time, I just kind of sat there and had this look of horror on my face. [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] And for a couple of minutes I kinda went crazy. No, no, thats not the end, no no uh uh theres more too it isnt there? And then I realized there isn't and I sat in a misbelieving comatose state for a couple of hours. Sure, I can read it again, but I know what is around the bend. I know when Gandalf takes a hit from the balrog, I know when boromir passes away, I know where Gollum is leading Frodo and Sam. Its just not the same. I wish my memory of Lotr could be erased so I could go back and enjoy it anew....but it will never be.....

Mae govannen!

Nimiriel, I completely agree with what you wrote ! The end at the Grey Havens is so sad and yet it is also hopeful.
Frodo is so changed and hurt he wouldn`t be able to enjoy a normal life in the shire anymore. I also believe that the West always held a draw for him . (See also the thread "Frodo`s sacrifice")

All the same, when I read the the farewell scene, it leaves me with an aching in my heart and a peculiar longing. For days I walk around musing and every now and then picking up the books and reading favourite parts over and over again.

Suilad, Guinevere

PS:I really like that poem of yours ! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Thank you Guinevere. That is how Legolas' song of the sea made me feel.

Most of you tell about the first time you got to the end. I think I feel the way I do about the end, because I can't remember the first time my mother read LotR to me, so I can never tell when someone asks me: How did you feel the first time you read this or that. And in some way, I am very sorry about that. But on the other hand, I'm so glad that I have been raised in a home where everybody love LotR.

Well, that was a bit of the story of my life, hope I haven't bored you too much.

The first time I read the books, I was sort of disappointed by the end. Even when the characters were leaving Minas Tirith, I began to get a little sad, because it was sort of... the beginning of the end, I guess. And I cried when Frodo went to the Grey Havens without Sam, wondering how Frodo could leave Sam, when Sam had gone through so much with him. I wished that Frodo could have stayed a little while longer in the Shire, and live in the place he loved with all of his old friends. But now that I've read it 9 more times, [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img], I think that the way Tolkien ended his story was good. The best example I can think of is the passing of the elves. The end of the story is the end of an Age, and some things are passing away, like the elves, and Middle-Earth will never quite be the same. Frodo couldn't return to the life he had before. Maybe I got a little off track there, [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]. Anyway, Every time I read it it leaves me feeling a bit sad, and wistful... But I still love it [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I was so sad that I cried my eyes out! I couldn't believe that after everything that had happened it would just end like that. The thought that Frodo never saw any of his friends or family again tore my heart apart. [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img] Then when Sam left, that was twice as bad, because he was going to see Frodo and I started crying again, and then it told about how everyone died and the Elves were all gone... I guess I am just an extremely emotional person; always have been. [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

I sobed for days at the end I just couldnt believe that frodo left sam then i read he later(much later) joins them so in my happy neverending world sam frodo gandalf ext.(those whos deaths where not mentioned) are imortal [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

*sigh* I know I just changed the end but I want them to always be there.......somewhere *sobs again*

When you get involved in such a large epic as Lord of the Rings, you start to get involved in the character's lives..you begin to identify with them and by the time the book is over you feel as if you've gone on the adventure along with them. They sail away to the Grey Havens and there sails some very good friends that you have made while reading the book..I know I felt that way when I was done..It was a bittersweet ending that couldn't have ended any other way..we know that the fate of men was a blessing from Eru so Frodo was going to a better place..