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Old 02-22-2008, 02:18 PM   #40
Legate of Amon Lanc
A Voice That Gainsayeth
 
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In that far land beyond the Sea
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Legate of Amon Lanc is spying on the Black Gate.Legate of Amon Lanc is spying on the Black Gate.Legate of Amon Lanc is spying on the Black Gate.Legate of Amon Lanc is spying on the Black Gate.Legate of Amon Lanc is spying on the Black Gate.Legate of Amon Lanc is spying on the Black Gate.
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Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar View Post
At the end of the chapter, an open door and light await them, with Goldberry’s welcoming song. I find the last sentence wonderfully evocative:
The last sentence is definitely wonderful, almost otherworldly. One would expect the hobbits in the next moment floating in the stellar space or something

Quote:
Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar View Post
One of the most interesting things about this chapter is the fact that for once in Tolkien's writing, trees are used as enemies with a negative image. We have the old story of the attacking trees that were burned (now that would certainly be politically incorrect today, wouldn't it?!), the devious malice of the trees in misleading them, and Old Man Willow, who would have killed the Hobbits if left to his own devices. For someone like Tolkien, who had a great love for trees, this is a departure, is it not?
Definitely. But I think it's this ambiguity Tolkien writes about always, even when he is mentioning the "magical realm", Faërie, he says that it's a world beautiful but dangerous. And if I make a little excourse into the future, Tom is going to tell the Hobbits later about the forest and explain some things about the trees' minds to them. And the Faërie comparision is quite appropriate here I think: the Hobbits, after what Tom tells them, feel like intruders in the place which is alien to them. But that's not, as I said, in the chapter itself, only in the next one (but I believe it still relativises seeing the trees as "evil" - the only "evil one" here who remains is the Old Man Willow).

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At first, Merry is the strongest of the Hobbits, encouraging the others, finding the way, and showing little fear. However, Sam is the one who rescues them, the only one who doesn't fall asleep from OMW's singing. I wonder why?
First, Merry is definitely the leader here, at least until the time when the Old Man Willow comes (or, to be precise, when they come to him). But Sam is quite, well, practic still and "mundane" (first thing he does is to look for the ponies), so maybe there is some reason that due to his practical mind he was less vulnerable to such "unnatural" things? He does not even believe Frodo that the tree pushed him into the water. Just a thought, I don't know

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I can't help but wonder about the trees' ability to understand human language. It's not just the feeling that becomes oppressing, but when Frodo sings about the failing trees and woods, Merry admonishes him that the trees do not like that. If we assume that the Old Forest trees are a kind of Huorn, and that Elves taught the Ents and trees to speak, I suppose it is possible - though why they should understand Common Speech rather than Entish or Elvish is not entirely clear to me.
I thought about it and now it seems to me that maybe the trees with their long life could, you know, listen to hobbits' language and learn it over the ages? They are their neighbours, after all; and Bombadil uses the language as well, speaking of it; and there were others earlier (some remnants of the Dúnedain from Arnor at one time were hiding in the Old Forest). And maybe, during all the ages, some more daring Hobbit who kept visiting the Old Forest may have talked to some trees, maybe not even realising what he's doing or that it has any actual effect, but the trees listened to him and learned to catch the meaning of some words.

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This is the Hobbits' first dangerous adventure outside of the Shire (and the danger within the Shire was brought in from outside, in the persons of the Black Riders). It shows that the perils do not begin in far-away foreign countries, but right outside their own borders.
One thing about Old Man Willow - I find it insteresting that he is in fact the first "otherworldly" creature (apart from the Black Riders) the Hobbits encounter. And since The Hobbit, it's the first creature of this type; and also a new one, unseen before.

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One more thing - it's interesting to compare the Fatty of this chapter with the one at the end of the book - not only will his appearance have changed, but his courage will have grown so much that he leads a rebellion against the invasion of the Shire!
Obviously. A reader always notices how the four hobbits' personalities have changed over the time of their adventure (Merry and Pippin being the strongest examples), but Fatty went through at least similar change.
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