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.
In case you haven't figured it out, we are on Chapter 4... new chapters each Friday!
Believe me, if I didn't have SOME LITTLE SHRED of self-restraint, it'd be 12 or 15 or 18 by now!
I've taken in recent viewings to watching the audience during certain parts. I'm sure your scene (which is very creepy) gets them tense. But a little later, at night, in the forest, when the hobbits start moving and the Black Rider bursts out of the trees with a shriek, the whole audience JUMPS! It's a beautiful thing.
Now you raise something I've wanted to ask the group, and I'm glad you did. What about those bugs? When I first saw it, I thought it yucky but gratuitous. I thought the point was, Ooh, this creature's so nasty, it brings its own bugs. It seemed one of the few cliche'd touches in the movie.
But on reflection I started thinking along the lines you suggest. That the point is: this creature is such a monstrosity, even the nasty bugs are terrified and want to get the he@@ away from it. The Dark Rider's so nasty he scares the worms right out of the ground.
Is that how y'all see it?
Dan
Another thought from here......Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the 'boys' were told to travel in daylight, and keep low at night,
What struck me as horrifying was the nightmarish black riders were going around in daytime too.......not waiting for night.
They were everywhere....all the time.....day & night!
There are no safe times.....
...What should have been safe.....in the proper perspective of the universe.....is not.
One could take that into deep levels of heavy :)
Look at us today...............what we once assumed was safe---is not.
What we once assumed as normal-----isn't.
I wonder if that's why we're so drawn to this trilogy?
I have the TV on in the other room..........and it's ALL horrifying.
Suspicious pkg at LAX (AGAIN!)...
Two Chinook helicopters fired on & casualties.
Mom drowns her kiddoes trial.
.....on and on and on.
Has this movie hit at the right time..........at the right place in our psyche..........
The evil WE'RE dealing with is so overwhelming ...........
.We find solace in Middle Earth with the young, courageous Frodo .....small in stature but brave of spirit ..... willing.... even determined, in the face of unspeakable evil... to see this to the end and bring about victory!
OK, y'all can send me back to my room now.....LOL
Obviously, I'm tilting towards the deep end with my imagination......:)
The story clarifies the basic truths that often seem lost, the fight between basic good and evil, courage, integrity, valor, patiotism, friendship...
For a short while after 9/11, we had that clarity. We were struck by something so horrible it united us in a way that I thought was not possible in such divided times... I think even petty crimes dropped. But of course it was only a matter of time until we went back to our bickering and gawking at all the Yates trials and child abductions of the world.
Alas - Tolkien's world never loses its way... It is an untouchable place uncomplicated by all of that. A refuge we can escape to at any time. One reviewer of the film put it really well. It makes you want to be worthy of Middle-Earth.
Notice my hairy feet, thus I could not be a special forces spy from the thermobaric bomb thread on a scouting mission.
FABULOUS!!!!
So, whats goin on???
Where are we going?
Wow! No I didn't, but it sure makes sense. Another of my favorites, Chronicles of Narnia, always put me in mind of Lord of the Rings. Lewis and Tolkien always seemed somehow connected. That is interesting to know.
.We find solace in Middle Earth with the young, courageous Frodo .....small in stature but brave of spirit ..... willing.... even determined, in the face of unspeakable evil... to see this to the end and bring about victory!"
I think you make some excellent points. The most successful of stories are rooted in the essence of our being. Those which speak most deeply to our needs and hopes and fears are likely to be those that endure. Many are based in truth, such as the story of the Pied Piper. Most beloved fairy tales have some basis in fact and often deal with issues of death and destruction in the real world and were designed to comfort the children.
An age of evil has dawned upon our once bright nation, and whatever regrets we may have and whatever blame may be placed changes that fact not one bit. But the deepest darkness can be dispelled by the tiniest light and therein lies our hope.
HOTD said this better than I could. There's something special about Middle-Earth that makes us better citizens of our own world. We're not really trying to escape, we're just taking a vacation so that Monday morning we can face the realities of terrorism and evil here. I think all of us would leap at the chance to go to Middle-Earth, but since we can't, we build our own Hobbit holes and try to learn something from Tolkien.
I can tell already i am going to have a major time just catching up to all of y'all...SO much to read ...and so many good things said that I don't think I could ever add to it...
What pray tell topic are y'all on at the moment so I can make my dive??
best,
There is another writer that is associated with Tolkien and Lewis (who formed a writer's group themselves called the Inklings) named Dorothy Sayers. She has written some very good stuff, although I have to confess the only thing I have really read of hers is something called 'The Mind of God" which deals with how a writer is an extension of God's creative power. It was very eye opening to me.
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