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balbo biggins
Rohan
Mar 20 2015, 5:13pm
Post #1 of 5
(1798 views)
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Fog on the Barrow Downs
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Ive always wondered if this chapter in the book is though enjoyable the least needed in the entire LOTR story.
Some would say In the house of Tom Bombadil is, but i love that chapter for many reasons and though not important for the story as a whole provides a welcome stopping point for the company, explores ancient myth ideas,presents something magical, a great character and a wider perspective on middle earth and becuase FOG over the DOwns comes after this it feels like too much of a sidetrack.
granted that chapter provides one very important thing, in the barrow blade to kill the witchking, but that could easily be incorporated into the story elsewhere, like at lothlorien or in rivendell.
so what is the point of the barrow downs chapter? i feel that the 'safe house' of bombadils is covered in the previous chapter, and the nazgul would be put of the scent, so although the barrows provide a little respite from them, that has already been achieved. then we get the barrowights, the unconcious hobbits, the second rescue from tom, it all feels like a repeat of previous story points.
can someone with greater insight explain the significance of the chapter , or is it just a nice extra bit of story to enjoy.
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Brethil
Half-elven
Mar 23 2015, 1:14am
Post #4 of 5
(1643 views)
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Yes, I can't believe we pick up again next week.
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And anyone interested in leading a chapter in the second half of Book II - the Leader Phishing Post will go up in a few weeks. 
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SirDennisC
Half-elven
Mar 27 2015, 3:52pm
Post #5 of 5
(1561 views)
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- and maybe an UUT...
Perhaps Tolkien was following the tradition of older epic tales? Though the Barrow Downs is placed chronologically in the overall narrative, it seems a digression of the sort often found in stories of knights errant. Yes, maybe he was playing with the structure of his novel, harkening to a time before such structure was so firmly established?
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