LotR: The Two Towers (Part 1)

Slight spoilers for Book III of LotR.

The post on The Two Towers will be split into two parts, one for Book III and one for Book IV.

I finished Book III! I decided to just re-read everything I had previously read and started at the beginning and the start of the break. While I respect and admire Tolkien and the world he created, I still have a hard time "getting into" the story. It is told more as an account than a story, and even though the differences are subtle, they are crucial in the suspense, character development, and plot.

But, I greatly enjoyed two sets of characters and the relationships between them that are being developed. First is the hobbits Merry and Pippin and the Ent Treebeard. Though Treebeard has never heard of hobbits before, he treats them with respect and listens to them. Maybe it is just my long-standing love for Harry Potter creeping in and the treatment of creatures as equals, but I get annoyed anytime a character puts hobbits down. Gandalf frequently does this. But, I digress. Treebeard and Merry and Pippin grow into a relationship of mutual fondness and respect. They both think of the other group as curious and different, but they trust one another.

The other relationship is between Gimli the dwarf and Legolas the elf. They occasionally made me laugh out loud and also warmed my heart with their unlikely friendship. One way this is demonstrated is by their competition during the battle at Helm's Deep. They both keep track of how many Orcs they slayed, and compare every time they meet. There is a deep bond of loyalty between the pair that is both unexpected and welcomed. It is almost ironic that the most human relationship in the books thus far is between two characters that are not humans.

On to Book IV! I hope to finish that before I go back to school on the 10th of January so I can watch the movie with my family.

DFTBA and best wishes!

Nadia

Gandalf!

He's back!

And, sadly, I knew it was coming.

While watching the FotR movie, I commented on Gandalf's death to my brother. I told him that I figured that he couldn't be dead yet, because the wise mentor isn't allowed to die til almost the end. My brother, being the secretive creature that he is, stared at me with a guilty look and commented that Gandalf the Grey wouldn't be coming back. That, of course, led me to the realization that Gandalf would come back as Gandalf the White. I came to this conclusion mostly because of the Christian implications on how Gandalf is the "Jesus Christ figure" in the LotR series.

I just didn't expect him to come back in Chapter 5 of The Two Towers, "The White Rider". That was a lot sooner than I could have expected, or even hoped. But let me just say, welcome back Gandalf, even if you are a little different. I've missed you greatly.

----------------------

Well, I'm almost two months into this project and I've finished a grand total of... zero items off the list. I'm not going to give up, but I'm starting to realize how impossible a year is for the time length of this project. Especially because I have other responsibilities and readings for school. I still want to work my way through this list, but not in a year. I feel like this quotation from Arthur Ashe sums up my feelings nicely, "Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome".

Til next time, happy reading and DFTBA!

WTH JRRT?

Spoiler for the beginning of The Two Towers book or the end of tFotR movie.

In the Fellowship of the Ring movie, Boromir's death was this great event of redemption. He fought of tons of Orcs single-handed. It was, to put it simply and colloquially, epic.

In The Two Towers, his death is practically glazed over. Aragorn hears Boromir's horn and runs to help him. But, alas, Boromir was "pierced with many black-feathered arrows; his sword was still in his hand, but it was broken near the hilt; his horn cloven in two was at his sing. Many Orcs lay slain, piled all about him and at his feet". Then, Boromir and Aragorn have a brief conversation, in which Boromir tells Aragorn that the Orcs took the "Halflings" (which is his word for "hobbits"). But, he fails to mention which hobbits were taken before he died.

This is just another instance of how the movies go into more emotional depth than the books. Which, as a contemporary reader, appeals to me greatly.

Just a quick note: now that I'm back at school, things might be going more slowly than I hoped. I'm taking eighteen hours at college, and also balancing a social life with two groups of friends. But, that will not hinder me!

DFTBA!