Posted on 03/15/2002 6:54:33 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
Repost – Highlights from chapters 1-5 copied from the original forum to the new one. To reference the full version, click here: Original Green Dragon Inn Within the first five chapters... disregard the reply numbers... they wont work.
Thank you ecurbh, for copying and editing our old thread so that the highlights could be moved here! Highlights of the first five chapters from the old thread are pasted into the first 5 replies here. For those of you who are just joining you… as of this post we are beginning Chapter 6.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to The Green Dragon Inn
Approaching The Green Dragon Inn
Hobbiton, in The Shire
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And wither then? I cannot say.
- JRR Tolkien
Politics also goes ever on and on.
This is a place for FReeper Tolkien fans to come and take a break from the impure reality of conservative activism and relax a little with a great story. We (the other co-conspirators and I) would like to study together the writings of Tolkien, beginning together, and discussing as we go through The Lord of the Rings together.
This is a chapter discussion, roughly one chapter per week, with the discussion mostly centered on the books, though of course the movie will be contrasted and compared, and perhaps used to illustrate another interpretation of the story.
Every week, someone from the group (maybe me) will ping The Green Dragon List to the new Chapter, but we will continue this one thread until it becomes too cumbersome…. Let me know if you would like to be on - or off - this list. I will for now serve as the Thain of the list.
If you are joining late, jump right in, but please stick to the chapter currently being discussed.
Some have loved this story a long time, and some are newly discovering it. If you fit either category, we invite you to join in, but we would like this thread to stay mostly focused on the chapter at hand and keep moving, but at a pace everyone can keep up with… No jumping ahead, and no lagging behind! If you have other news to report or wish to discuss something Tolkien in more general terms… May we recommend the equally homey Hobbit Hole where my co-conspirators and I frequently have plenty of good talk.
One other request…. This thread will get long. In recognition that images slow down the thread for many, let’s keep the posting of images to a minimum on this thread. If there is a great illustration you wish to share, let’s try to use links instead of images wherever possible.
So lets read, listen and become inspired by the many aspects of The Lord of the Rings that touch us deeply and reconnect us to the values we aspire to. Many great discussions have already been had, and I hope that this thread will produce even more. Many FReepers have wonderful things to say about LoTR, whether the fantasy reconnects them with their faith, with their relationships with friends and family, or simply illustrates the splendor of great acts of heroism and sacrifice in the constant battle of virtue versus corruption.
Though it is a work of fiction, we believe the inspiration to be gained can only help us in our larger political goals: to appreciate and defend our freedom, our culture and our political ideals. May the fellowship and insight gained from this discussion help us to work through the issues that are the basis for our many shared ideals.
Besides, we Tolkien fans* need something to keep us busy during the next two years of waiting for the next two films. If you do not enjoy this story, then please simply leave us be.
*Also known as Geeky Hobbity Weirdos, obsessive fanatics, you name it, we have heard it and we see these names as compliments. In other words: don’t act like a troll, or we will distract you with our endless babble until the morning sun turns you to stone.
Actually, it's carpet-cleaning day at my house as the temperatures will be in the 80s.
We read LOTR and The Hobbit last fall and my husband and I took turns reading aloud to the kids. Dear Hubby decided that during his turn at reading, he would sing all the songs that were in his assigned chapters.
By the time we got to The Old Forest and In the House of Tom Bombadil, he had rather petrified into the same tune for all of Tom's songs.
We all groaned that he used the same tune throughout the rest of LOTR.
The Old Forest:
Merry:
But the Forest is queer. Everything in it is very much more alive, more aware of what is going on, so to speak, than things are in the Shire. And the trees do not like strangers. They watch you. They are usually content merely to watch you, as long as daylight lasts, and don't do much. Occasionally the most unfriendly ones may drop a branch, or stick a root out, or grasp at you with a long trailer. But at night things can be most alarming, or so I am told.What is it about forests that bring out that primal fear? Look through all those fairy tales and how the forest is the locus for much mischief and angst.I thought all the trees were whispering to each other, passing news and plots along in an unintelligible language; and the branches swayed and troped without any wind...
For my part, I love it. Our house is surrounded by pine forests. Though at night, when the moon is full and the owl is hooting and the trees sway...and in the distance, a twig snaps...
Our Mr. Tolkien, it seems, most definately had a fear associated with forests. In The Hobbit, there was Mirkwood, in our story, The Old Forest (so far)
Now, in the end, the forests turn out to be more queer than evil. Scary, but only because they are very mystical. Perhaps those who grow up in more open country (like rural England) become fearful when they cannot see the horizon.
First off, it's huorns. And I'm not entirely sure that Old Man Willow is a huorn. I wouldn't be entirely surprised to find out that the Willow is some sort of Maia gone wild. Likewise I think Bombadil is probably a Maia, if he's anything that we know about.
A neat thing is how Bombadil speak in rhyme, even when it's not written out as poetry. Read it aloud and you'll see what I mean.
Our little Hobbits aren't as resourceful as we think, are they? All right, so getting eaten by giant trees is hardly something they would expect, but Frodo and Sam lose their heads rather quickly. Overtaxed, are there wings over in Took's Corner yet?
Oh, and odd spoiler thing I thought about - notice how Merry and Pippin, the ones who are taken prisoner by the evil tree, are the ones who get to meet Ents? It's an interesting symmetry or irony or something.
Hair, great job re-posting. Let's get to the next page quick, though.
‘Put it out! Put it out!’ begged Merry. The branches of the willow began to sway violently. There was a sound as of a wind rising and spreading outwards to the branches of all the other trees round about, as though they had dropped a stone into the quiet slumber of the river-valley and set up ripples of anger that ran out over the whole Forest. Sam kicked at the little fire and stamped out the sparks. But Frodo, without any clear idea of why he did so, or what he hoped for, ran along the path crying help! help! help! It seemed to him that he could hardly hear the sound of his own shrill voice: it was blown away from him by the willow-wind and drowned in a clamour of leaves, as soon as the words left his mouth. He felt desperate: lost and witless.
Thank you again ecurbh, for giving us the Word file of this book... Quoting is so easy!
Hroom Hom! Ents and trees are not the same. Oh Drat! I ended up in Took's Corner sooner than I expected!
Sometimes Maia is the term, sometimes Maiar; I think Maia is the singular.
It isn't confusing to me, just pretend you are deep within our old thread... Things were harder to find when we were 700 posts long, as we will be soon.
Looks like we're opening the Corner early this weekend! We're on for wings although I'm trying to figure out how to get shrimp to the Shire. Do you think that some of the Elves at Grey Havens might do a little shrimping on the side?
Now Bombadil, that is a different story.
Suddenly he stopped. There was an answer, or so he thought; but it seemed to come from behind him, away down the path further back in the Forest. He turned round and listened, and soon there could be no doubt: someone was singing a song; a deep glad voice was singing carelessly and happily, but it was singing nonsense:
Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo!
Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!
Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!
Of the many spirits that descended into Arda at its beginning, those of lesser stature than the Valar, though they were still powerful, were known as Maiar. Each of the Maiar was attached to the 'people' of a particular Vala. So, for example, the Maia Ossë, as a spirit of the sea, belonged to the people of Ulmo, while Curumo, the Maia who came to Middle-earth as Saruman, belonged to the people of Aulë the Smith.In the Third Age, there were still Maiar in physical form to be found in Middle-earth. The most important of these were Saruman, Sauron (originally also of Aulë's people), and Olórin, known as Gandalf, who belonged to the people of Manwë and Varda.
People who move here to our heavily-forested part of NC comment on feeling claustrophic at first, not being able to see the horizon and having to crane their necks to see open sky.
In that way, I am familiar with the disappearing nature of the paths in the Old Forest. paths I may stumble on here, made by deer and other critters, meander and disappear, leaving you know choice but to crash through ahead or turn back.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.