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Ethel Duath
Gondolin
Oct 19 2024, 7:11pm
Post #1 of 12
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Character discussions: Whither shall we wander? Maybe to a Merry Moot? Or
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a Wormtongue Wag?
Perhaps it's the time of year, but not having any particular feedback since Elentari, NoWiz, andCuriousG weighed in, shall we go forward, possibly with Merry first, and then Wormtongue after that? I can likely start things off with Merry, although I'm fine with someone else starting.
In the meantime, I'm going to message Oliphaunt and Curious and maybe a few other folk to see if they might want to join in and do some posting.
Also, we don't necessarily have to stick with Tuesdays either. It's probably too short of a notice to try to start at any point next week, but I'm feeling like it might be a good idea to get things rolling as soon as possible before the holidays hit.
Any thoughts or ideas, weigh in at will!
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elentari3018
Nargothrond
Oct 21 2024, 1:51am
Post #2 of 12
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but wondering about how we go about it-- are we taking the suggestion of Merry and relationships? Should we go sequential in the book? Shall we try from how he grew or perhaps how others perceived him? or a bit of both?
Merry- as a simple hobbit who planned the conspiracy
to
Merry who helped slay the Witch-king
to
Merry who led the hobbits in Bywater against the ruffians
to
Master of Buckland... (more MErrys i can see from the book i'm omitting vital Merry who roused the Ents, disobeyed Theoden to ride out with the Rohirrim, etc)
Can go several weeks if we used those as prompts for discussion q's?
if we decide format, i can post something perhaps in two weeks? (I want to reread a bit first ;)
"By Elbereth and Luthien the fair, you shall have neither the Ring nor me!" ~Frodo
"And then Gandalf arose and bid all men rise, and they rose, and he said: 'Here is a last hail ere the feast endeth. Last but not least. For I name now those who shall not be forgotten and without whose valour nought else that was done would have availed; and I name before you all Frodo of the Shire and Samwise his servant. And the bards and the minstrels should give them new names: Bronwe athan Harthad and Harthad Uluithiad , Endurance beyond Hope and Hope Unquenchable.." ~Gandalf, The End of the Third Age , from The History of Middle Earth series
"He knew now why Beregond spoke his name with love. He was a captain that men would follow, that he would follow, even under the shadow of the black wings."- Siege of Gondor, RotK
(This post was edited by elentari3018 on Oct 21 2024, 1:53am)
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Ethel Duath
Gondolin
Oct 22 2024, 12:23am
Post #3 of 12
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I'm thinking sequential with and emphasis on character growth.
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And you're right--there's possibly really quite a few possible topics, although each one may not end up being very long.
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oliphaunt
Menegroth
Oct 22 2024, 11:45pm
Post #4 of 12
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I'll take a topic or two, very fond of Merry.
Thinking sequentially, here's a quick list of timeline elements and the characters Merry encounters.
I'd think we could group together segments - like Merry in the Shire + the Road to Bree or Merry in Fangorn + Orthanc.
Merry in the Shire. Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Fatty
Merry on the Road to Bree. Farmer Maggot, Tom Bombadil
Merry sees Black Rider and meets Strider at Bree
Merry travels to Rivendell. Gandalf, Elrond
Merry and the Fellowship. Legolas, Gimli, Boromir
Merry reaches Lorien. Galadriel
Merry the Captive.
Merry in Fangorn. Treebeard.
Merry at Orthanc. Saruman, Theoden
Merry the Squire of Rohan.
Merry the secret soldier.
Merry on Pellenor Fields. Eowyn
Merry suffers the Black Breath.
Merry at the gates of Mordor.
Merry returns to the Shire.
Merry rouses the Shire with the Horn of Rohan.
Merry parts from Frodo at the Grey Havens.
Merry in the Appendices.
Then thinking about Merry's life: He was raised the scion of a wealthy family, but outside the four farthings. He's half-Took.
Leaving the Shire with Frodo - for friendship or adventure? How does Merry handle himself as the adventure becomes something much larger and much more dangerous?
What does he offer to/gain from the other three Hobbits? We can especially look at the Merry/Pippin relationship. Merry 'mentors' Pippin a lot, but what does Pippen do for Merry? What does he learn from or offer to the other five members of the Fellowship? Why does Merry attach himself to Theoden? And then Eowyn? Merry was terrified at Weathertop, but managed to stab the Witch King at Pellenor, and then leads the Battle of Bywater. Merry is intelligent and a good planner, he shows compassion, and is capable of violence at need.
*** Middle Earth Inexpert ***
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Ethel Duath
Gondolin
Oct 24 2024, 12:22am
Post #5 of 12
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And yes, an interesting a complex person.
I do like the idea of putting the first 2 together. I'm also thinking that maybe we don't have to give any real parameters for each discussion--just location and people as you have, and then let the person do the posting flesh it out with questions?
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elentari3018
Nargothrond
Oct 24 2024, 2:02am
Post #6 of 12
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You already have quite excellent questions
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We can use your list and group the Merry encounters to be a bit more concise - for example as you mentioned Merry in the Shire, Merry in Fangorn.. (as you wrote in the beginning of the post)
I am wondering too what Tolkien thought of Merry? Which would be a post towards the end.
"By Elbereth and Luthien the fair, you shall have neither the Ring nor me!" ~Frodo
"And then Gandalf arose and bid all men rise, and they rose, and he said: 'Here is a last hail ere the feast endeth. Last but not least. For I name now those who shall not be forgotten and without whose valour nought else that was done would have availed; and I name before you all Frodo of the Shire and Samwise his servant. And the bards and the minstrels should give them new names: Bronwe athan Harthad and Harthad Uluithiad , Endurance beyond Hope and Hope Unquenchable.." ~Gandalf, The End of the Third Age , from The History of Middle Earth series
"He knew now why Beregond spoke his name with love. He was a captain that men would follow, that he would follow, even under the shadow of the black wings."- Siege of Gondor, RotK
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noWizardme
Gondolin
Oct 24 2024, 2:11pm
Post #7 of 12
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I could post something about Wormtongue next Tuesday
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I could post something about Wormtongue next Tuesday. And that would give us something to discuss while others work on Merry. Would that be good?
~~~~~~
"I am not made for querulous pests." Frodo 'Spooner' Baggins.
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Ethel Duath
Gondolin
Oct 24 2024, 4:07pm
Post #8 of 12
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Ah! I think that' a good idea. What does
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everyone else think? That would give us time to nail down things, plus I do want to discuss Wormtongue, but I can't imagine needing more than one post.
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oliphaunt
Menegroth
Oct 24 2024, 5:57pm
Post #9 of 12
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Looking forward to it, though I don't expect to be merciful as Frodo.
*** Middle Earth Inexpert ***
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noWizardme
Gondolin
Oct 25 2024, 4:07pm
Post #10 of 12
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Wormtongue week next week then//
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~~~~~~
"I am not made for querulous pests." Frodo 'Spooner' Baggins.
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Silvered-glass
Nargothrond
Oct 26 2024, 11:40am
Post #11 of 12
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I have a one-off theory post approaching ready to go for some character-related discussion, but Tolkien's changing beliefs on reincarnation are proving a bit of an obstacle and threatening to steal the focus from the main point. I think I'll just try to hammer out the issues without getting tangled in the details too much.
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noWizardme
Gondolin
Oct 28 2024, 12:10pm
Post #12 of 12
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So, having finished, I thought I might as well post...
~~~~~~
"I am not made for querulous pests." Frodo 'Spooner' Baggins.
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