Approaching The Green Dragon Inn
Hobbiton, in The Shire
Posted on 02/15/2002 7:01:31 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
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.
When we are ready to move on, 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 and take up bandwidth, 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 guard 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.
It is easy to see pre-World War I England in both the Shire and the Hobbits. Things valued by rural England at the turn of the century are the same things valued by hobbits -- love of land, love of family, love for one another, and love of king and country. (In the Shire, the head of each family represents the king)
The danger England faced in both wars parallels the danger faced by the Shire. The reaction of Tolkien and his boyhood friends to that danger mirrors the reaction of Hobbits when confronted by the same danger. Both the soldier in the trenches of France and the Hobbits face a superior enemy with resolve and courage. They summon up strength they do not know they possess and do what has to be done to defend their home.
But in the first chapter, as we prepare for the party, we see the Hobbits and the Shire without the stormclouds of war on the horizen. What occupies their time are silly things. A birthday party, gossip, strained relations, and greedy relatives.
After 9/11, a columnist wrote that the last decade found America consumed with "petty" things. After 9/11, that changed. Everything was different. New definitions were imposed. (For example: now when I think of heros, I think of firefights and policemen running to their deaths at the WTC. I think of passengers calling home to say I love you before overpowering hi-jackers and driving a plane into the ground)
The Shire doesn't have the jadedness that '90's America had because Tolkien did not know those times. Instead it has the ease of country living. The values and the things that would preoccupy a society before "war and modernization" drove away the innocence and replaced it with cynicism.
In the first chapter, we see the Hobbits untried by danger, terror, fear, and war. When the important things in life was whether you would be invited to the big party or not.
That will change. The crucible of events will break them open and expose what lies at the heart of the race...but that is a future they can't even envision. In Chapter 1... the ring is just a bauble to make you invisible so you can hide from the Sackville-Baggins, Bilbo is 111, Frodo is 33, and Gandalf has come to visit.
Interesting to me, that Frodo and Bilbo do not interact at all in the beginning, and yet we feel that they are close from the writing... interesting that Tolkien did not write a parting sequence or dialogue between them.
I like how the Hobbits explain away anyone who likes adventure as being unduly influenced by Took blood.
The Hobbit allows you to learn how Bilbo came into possession of the Ring of Power.
"At ninety-nine they began to call him well-preserved; but unchanged would have been nearer the mark."Whew! What amazing irony and it's only the third paragraph.
"It will have to be paid for," they said. "It isn't natural, and trouble will come of it!"
That was all really well said... Thanks everyone!... I have my hands full just keeping up with all these invitations and requests and arrangements!
And by Gandalf:
"I shan’t often be visiting the Shire openly again. I find that I have become rather unpopular. They say I am a nuisance and a disturber of the peace. Some people are actually accusing me of spiriting Bilbo away, or worse. If you want to know, there is supposed to be a plot between you and me to get hold of his wealth."
I believe Tolkien himself said it was loosely based on historical events.
I feel that the first chapter was not only an introduction to Middle-Earth for the non-initiated, but also an introduction to the Kuduk culture for those who had only read The Hobbit before. Tolkien establishes early on that Bilbo, as much as we loved him from the previous work, was very much different from his fellow Hobbits, and so this was a look at Hobbiton, in particular, up close. We see the personal politics, get a feel for the government, understand the Hobbits suspiscion for outsiders, all from this first chapter. Those who have problems later on telling Merry and Pippin apart (Why, they are as different as a Took and a Brandybuck!), have not read the first chapter carefully. I believe the good Professor wanted to flesh out this simple and healthy people, and he has a very good start in the first chapter.
Bump
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