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telain
Lorien
Sep 10 2012, 10:45pm
Views: 576
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* * * A Warm Welcome * * * 1 - approaching Doom
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I don’t want to tread on dormouse’s discussion, but I won’t be able to post this one tomorrow -- so, my apologies for jumping the gun a bit.
I intend on posting three discussions and perhaps a final wrap-up post. The first covers the beginning of the chapter until “But this legend did not much affect their daily business.”
Escape for our Party from the Elvenking's Halls is successful! Now they must hope the barrels hold and that they will come to rest on friendlier shores. The first part of the chapter is almost entirely from Bilbo's perspective (with a bit of help from the Narrator) and he observes the landscape and the talk of the raft drivers and traders on the River.
1. “A Warm Welcome” Really? If you remember the first time you read it, did you think it would be a truly pleasant experience, or did you think the title would be misleading, especially after all the narrow misses they’ve been through so far? Does our Party (and the narrative story arc) deserve a bit of reprieve from all the action and tension right about now?
2. “The lands opened wide about him,...” The opening description of the landscape mirrors the song sung by the Wood-elves in the former chapter. Of the two versions, which helps you visualize the landscape better? (I promise this is not one of my research topics!) Which do you prefer? Is there a difference in the way the Wood-elves (who live in this place) sing about the landscape and the way Bilbo (who has never seen it before) describes it?
3. “...it’s dark head in a torn cloud,...” This view is Bilbo’s (and our) first look at Mount Doom. What is your impression of the Mountain? Is it truly “lonely” given Smaug’s presence? Furthermore, Tolkien describes the Mountain in very personal terms: “...it rose and looked across the marshes to the forest.” and “...the Mountain seemed to frown at him and threaten him...” Does this treatment give it a more sinister or less sinister feeling? What other landforms get this anthropomorphic treatment from Tolkien?
4. “Those lands had changed much since the days when dwarves dwelt in the Mountains...” Why does Tolkien concentrate so much on the landscape here and how it has changed over time? Do the great floods, earthquakes, and vanishing roads and paths signify something (if so, what?) What connection is Tolkien trying to get us to recognize?
5. Overall I felt a sense of barely concealed dread in this first part of the chapter. The Lonely Mountain, the changing landscape, the “strange town” of Men perched precariously in Long Lake are just a few examples I noticed. Did you feel the same? What other examples caught your eye? How does a sense of dread contrast with the title: “A Warm Welcome”?
6. Any other thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns welcome!
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* * * A Warm Welcome * * * 1 - approaching Doom
