A key question here is was it a wise decision to provide boats and thus put off a
decision. Given following book descriptions (and ignoring the movie) it would
seem that on either side of the Anduin there would have been at least a period of
relative freedom from immediate danger. If the eastern side was chosen Boromir would presumably have left the fellowship, to the benefit of Gondor (at least during the War of the Ring), and with obvious major changes in the story plot. If the western side of the Anduin one would presume the existent plot would basically have remained intact. I am not at all convinced that it was a wise decision to take to the boats. When reading that passage I'm always struck by a feeling that a crucial "decision" is made, for some reason, more so then in say, entering Moria. Atmospherically, it has the feel to me of the scene (and music) in the movie "Death on the Nile" when the cruise ship sets off down the Nile.
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Aure Entuluva!
Last edited by Tuor of Gondolin; 10-31-2004 at 10:23 PM.
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