Replies

seven stars and seven stones and one white tree

What are the seven stars? are these the Silmarils? What are they? I know of the seven stones, I believe these are the Palantir, and the white tree, which was planted but has withered (we learn later) in Gondor.

Well, the seven stars are not the Silmarils - there were only three of them and by this time, only the one that Earendil wears is still around. I'm not entirely sure what the seven stars are. Possibly some jewels - after all, Isildur does wear a jewel on his forehead. The seven stones, yes, are the palantiri, and the white tree is the one that got planted at Minas Tirith.

In the movie, I liked the way PJ made the ring a character. Until this reading I didn't realize that the ring-character was in the book all along! (Usually, I rush through the early chapters to get to Bree.)

Okay the ring doesn't talk in the book, but the way Gandalf talks about it makes it a malicious tricksy piece of jewelry.

"The Ring was trying to get back to its master. It had slipped from Isildur's hand and betrayed him; then when a chance came it caught poor Deagol, and he was murdered; and after that Gollum, and it had devoured him. It
could make no further use of him: He was too small and mean; and as long as it stayed with him he would never leave his deep pool again. So now, when its master was awake once more and sending out his dark thought from Mirkwood, it abandoned Gollum. Only to be picked up by the most unlikely person imaginable: Bilbo from the Shire!"