I think that the part of the book that takes place in the Shire might have felt different because Tolkien was writing it after World War II (I think that that is what he said in the foreword of the edition that I have). He might have written it as a light-hearted tale because of the sad environment around him in the aftermath of the war. The image of the Shire in all its perfection sure is a good anti-depressant (spelling?)
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Ho! Ho! Ho! to the bottle I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe.
- excerpt from A Drinking Song
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