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I kind of want to see a goose scream at a Ringwraith now...

#i love this so much! #its perfect #and your art is stunning! #lotr #art

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Hi everyone,

So I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this but the past week has really kicked me around and I have fallen behind in my posting and reading. As such I have made the decision to take a break for a week or two to regroup before I continue with the Middle Earth Read. I will definitely be back by December if not beforehand but I do need some time to get a few other things sorted out first. Thanks for understanding.

#the great middle earth read #update

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“It was said to me by Elrond Halfelven that I should find friendship upon the way, secret and unlooked for. Certainly I looked for no such friendship as you have shown. To have found it turns evil to great good.”

- Journey to the Cross-Roads, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #frodo baggins #faramir #tolkien #quote

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“But I promised that if he came to me, he should not be harmed. And I would not be proved faithless.”

- The Forbidden Pool, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #frodo baggins #gollum #tolkien #quote

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“The servant has a claim on the master for service, even service in fear.”

- The Forbidden Pool, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #frodo baggins #gollum #tolkien #quote

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“Your land must be a realm of peace and content, and there must gardeners be in high honour.”

- The Window on the West, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #faramir #the shire #tolkien #quote

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“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”

- The Window on the West, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #faramir #tolkien #quote

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TTT Book Four: Chapter Four - Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit

Chapter Notes

So we open with a curious moment for Gollum. He mentions how hungry he is and places his hands on his stomach and a “pale green light came into his eyes”. This happens a few times, generally when he’s slipping more into his darker self - thinking on the ring and ways to get it back etc. I noticed it this time and thought about how his desire for the ring is linked to his literal hunger - he hungers for the ring even though it has literally destroyed his ability to eat certain foods which means he can’t eat the food Sam and Frodo have brought to sustain them on this journey. He complains about how he must starve and yet he still longs for the ring. It’s a continuous cycle that he can’t seem to break out of.

That last point becomes even more interesting when you consider the chapter as a whole. The chapter is literally named after food and there is a lot of focus on Sam cooking the rabbits and the way he will do it. Gollum even plays a role in searching out the ingredients which is rather ironic as its for a meal he won’t/can’t eat. It makes his arc even more tragic - if his people were truly like hobbits than the loss of his ability to eat good food is a big deal. It’s such an integral part of hobbit culture that to lose it is like losing a part of their identity. Which sounds an awful lot like what happened to Gollum.

Sam’s affection and devotion to Frodo really shines in this chapter. Sam loves poetry and songs but his simple words I think hit all the harder for being straight to the point. He has been watching Frodo sink lower and lower as they come closer to Mt Doom and there isn’t much that he can do. He can see that Frodo is being changed by this journey but that doesn’t affect Sam’s regard. He loves him, “whether or no”.

We get a great insight into Sam’s mind towards the end of the chapter where he witnesses his first real skirmish between Men. He sees one of the fallen members of Sauron’s forces and wonders at the mans motives and life. It shows a real sense of compassion. It’s really mature and raises the question of who they’re really fighting against. The people who are on the ground may not have a choice and might actually have been forced into their situation.

On a final note, I love that Sam did get to see an Oliphaunt. He’s been faced with all these horrors out of legends it’s nice that he got to see something not inherently bad that he had heard about only in stories and songs before.

#the great middle earth read #lord of the rings #the two towers #gollum #samwise gamgee #frodo baggins #chapter notes

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“He wondered what the man’s name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace.”

- Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #samwise gamgee #tolkien #quote

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TTT Book Four: Chapter Three - The Black Gate is Closed

Gollum leads Frodo and Sam to the Black Gate, per Frodo’s order, only for them to find that the gate is impossible to get through undetected. Gollum then tells them that he knows of a different way into Mordor.

Chapter Notes

Sam mentions that his father always thought he would come to a bad end. I wonder if this is because Sam was always running in and out of Bag End as a child and had his head filled with stories of adventures.

There’s something interesting about Sam’s names for Smeagol and Gollum - Slinker and Stinker. he doesn’t trust either Smeagol or Gollum. In fact, judging by those names Gollum is the more obvious danger - stinker- but Smeagol is the slipepry one that they should keep an eye on - slinker. Less obvious in his plans but Sam knows that he could prove to be just as dangerous.

So Gandalf didn’t tell Frodo any of his plans on getting into Mordor which has left Frodo feeling very unprepared. It is possible that Gandalf didn’t have any plans. Frodo views Gandalf as this figure of limitless knowledge whereas we know that Gandalf is fallible - he’s still a person even if he is far more powerful than many others. I still think the Fellowship should have sat down and had a brainstorming session at Rivendell. Then everyone would have more info.

Sam recite the old Shire poem about Oliphaunts and this appears to lift Frodo’s spirits. The reminders of his home give Frodo his spirit back and he seems more refreshed after the reminders. Not only does it remind him of the better times in his life but it also acts as a reminder as to what he’s fighting for - to save the Shire and to go home (even if he is losing faith in the latter idea).

#the great middle earth read #lord of the rings #the two towers #frodo baggins #samwise gamgee #gollum #gandalf #chapter notes

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“May the light shine on your swords.”

- Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #faramir #tolkien #quote

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“He shook his head, as if finding words useless, and murmured: ‘I love him. He’s like that, and sometimes it shines through, somehow. But I love him, whether or no.’”

- Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #samwise gamgee #frodo baggins #tolkien #quote

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“It was an evil fate. But he had taken it on himself in his own sitting-room in the far-off spring of another year, so remote now that it was like a chapter in a story of the world’s youth, when the Trees of Silver and Gold were still in bloom.”

- The Black Gate is Closed, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #frodo baggins #tolkien #quote

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“I will trust you once more. Indeed it seems that I must do so, and that it is my fate to receive help from you, where I least looked for it, and your fate to help me whom you have long pursued with evil purpose.”

- The Black Gate is Closed, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #frodo baggins #gollum #tolkien #quote

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TTT Book Four: Chapter Two - The Passage of the Marshes

Gollum leads Frodo and Sam through the Marshes of the Dead. During their journey they hear the cries of a Nazgul and see the dead bodies of elves and men in the marshes surrounding them.

Chapter Notes

I’m not going to lie. Not a lot happens in this chapter. It’s primarily Sam and Frodo following Gollum across the marshes and seeing the lights of the dead. It mostly seems to be focusing on building the dynamic. I also just realised that this is the first time we’ve really been in Sam’s head and we see the way he views his master more and more.

I love how one of Sam’s big problems with them taking Gollum with them is the issue of food. Sam’s very practical and is aware of the little struggles they-re going to face - primarily that of potential starvation. 

After Frodo gives Gollum some lembas and Gollum promptly spits it claiming he can’t eat it, Frodo makes an interesting comment - “perhaps you can’t even try, not yet anyway.” This seems to imply that Frodo thinks he can save Gollum or at least reverse some of the damage the ring has done to him. I mean, Frodo isn’t an idiot and he already is aware of what the ring can do to its bearer so he knows this could be his future. Him thinking he can save Gollum gives away the fact that he thinks he can save himself - or at least prevent himself from becoming like Gollum.

So there’s a really nice passage about how Frodo and Gollum can feel the darkness pressing down on them but Sam is so consumed with concern for Frodo that he pays this darkness no thought. Sam is definitely the character I think of most when I think of hope in Tolkien’s work. Sam doesn’t let the darkness weigh on him and in this moment we can see how he fights it off - with thoughts for others, primarily Frodo. It’s Sam’s care and devotion to Frodo which really saves him and I feel as if this mirrors other characters like Theoden who regains his hope and really leans on his niece and nephew - their love for him help him regain himself. It’s truly shown to be our love for others which can save us from falling into despair.

I do think it’s interesting that the movie focused so much on how Smeagal could be saved when here in this chapter we see him already plotting against the hobbits. He is certainly not as sympathetic as the movies made him and this chapter really makes it clear that there is always suspicion about his real motives.

#the great middle earth read #lord of the rings #the two towers #samwise gamgee #frodo baggins #gollum #chapter notes

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“When lights appeared Sam rubbed his eyes: he thought his head was going queer. He first saw one with the corner of his left eye, a wisp of pale sheen that faded away; but others appeared soon after: some like dimly shining smoke, some like misty flames flickering slowly above unseen candles; here and there they twisted like ghostly sheets unfurled by hidden hands.”

- The Passage of the Marshes, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #samwise gamgee #tolkien #quote

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“But Samwise Gamgee, my dear hobbit — indeed, Sam my dearest hobbit, friend of friends — I do not think we need give thought to what comes after that.”

- The Passage of the Marshes, The Two Towers

#lord of the rings #the two towers #frodo baggins #samwise gamgee #tolkien #quote