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Fantasy » alt.fan.tolkien » Re: CotW, Book 4, Ch.7, Journey to the Cross-roads
| Re: CotW, Book 4, Ch.7, Journey to the Cross-roads [message #121906] |
Di, 30 August 2005 08:33 |
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On 3 Nov 2004 21:29:53 GMT, me [at] privacy.net (Jamie Andrews; real
address [at] bottom of message) wrote:
>In rec.arts.books.tolkien Michelle J. Haines <mhaines [at] nanc.com> wrote:
>> Frodo and Sam return to bed, just to rest for a little bit. After a
>> while, they're roused to have breakfast with Faramir, who has not
>> slept since he appeared on the scene. Some stamina on that guy.
>
> In my last two times of re-reading LOTR from cover to cover
>(once about 8 years ago, and once just this summer/fall), I was
>struck by how much emphasis there is on sleep, lack of sleep,
>sleep deprivation, miraculously being able to get a good sleep
>even where you think you won't be able to, and so on. It seems
>that Tolkien was very familiar with all these issues. I probably
>noticed it recently because I too have (unfortunately) become
>more familiar with them.
As others in this thread have commented, sleep deprivation was a major
problem for soldiers during World War I. There were reports of
soldiers falling asleep even while marching (a variation on
sleepwalking, I presume) and even when they were rotated to the rear
or on leave, most soldiers found it difficult to break the habits
acquired in the trenches. Tolkien was certainly no exception.
>
>> Faramir's final gift is two walking staves, resized for Hobbits, made
>> of lebethron. Any significance to this tree besides what is
>> mentioned?
>
> I looked it up in the index when I got to this passage, and
>it seems that the only other place it is mentioned is where it
>is said that the box that the Crown of Gondor was kept in was
>made of black lebethron. Now, is he saying here that lebethron
>was *always* black, and just pointing out the colour for readers
>that didn't know that, or are there different varieties of
>lebethron, some black and some non-black? And is lebethron
>anything like ebony? Ebony is very hard and would be an
>appropriate material for walking-sticks (and important boxes).
>
>> And here we have again the issue of men and spells,
>> because he utters his words "A virtue has been set upon them of
>> finding and returning." I'll leave you folks to battle it out as you
>> will.
>
> My theory (story-external) is that Tolkien had something
>planned for the staves, but then never got around to it, or
>forgot about it. AFAICT they are never mentioned again, except
>when Sam cracks his in half across Gollum's back while Shelob is
>making her Frodo burrito.
Wasn't Frodo's stave taken or destroyed when he was captured by the
Orcs? I wonder if the Orcs disliked the touch of lebethron as much as
they disliked lembas?
>
>> They creep down, stand at the crossroads itself, and feel terrified.
>> A shaft of light from the setting sun shoots out, and touches a
>> crumbling status of a kind with beauty, showing that ugliness can't
>> always conquer, then the sun sinks, night falls, and we end our
>> chapter.
>
> The passage with the fallen head of the statue of the king
>is one that I always cite when people complain that there is no
>"good writing" in LOTR. By which they seem to mean ... well, I
>don't know what they mean exactly, but this passage ranks with
>the best of any other "serious" novelist I've read.
I personally find it an expression of hope in more ways than one.
Tolkien did revisit France after the war and I am sure that he must
have found it rather poignant how nature was slowly regenerating the
hideous wastelands created by shells and other weapons. I think that
is one example of Tolkien suggesting that if we can only stop
destroying the world with our machinery, Nature can eventually erase
much of the damage - but not completely. The flowers covered the
abuse that the Orcs had inflicted upon it, but did not raise the
statue anew.
Morgoth's Curse
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