"The Field of Cormallen" - Eric's Thoughts

Jacob and Ben came down too harshly on this chapter, in my view. As Ben points out, the chapter is really divided into two chapters.

The first mini chapter involves the forces of good conquering the forces of Sauron and the rescue of the Hobbits. I think Ben and Jacob's criticisms are unfair. The Ring is destroyed. That was the true battle between the forces of good and evil. After all, as Tolkien demonstrated in the last chapter, this actually is not a battle of force. It is a battle of the minds and will (e.g. Sam lifting Frodo, and Frodo being light). It is a battle of small, relatively helpless hobbits versus the might of a powerful empire. It is the battle of everyday folks imposing their will against evil. If Frodo and Sam triumph, Sauron is vanquished. If they fail, then Sauron triumphs. The fate of the little people bearing the Ring determines the fate of Middle Earth.

To dive into an actual battle after the Ring was destroyed, or create guerilla holdouts, would have been inconsistent with these important themes and anti-climatic. Mount Doom elevated Lord of the Rings into the realm of literary. I would argue Tolkien's approach to the forces of evil so suddenly crumbling only builds on that. Tolkien continues to establish through this chapter that the forces are merely an idea--when the idea is destroyed, evil quickly is vanquished. I wholeheartedly agree with Tolkien's approach here. Swords ringing against plate mail would have rang hollow.

(However, I do agree this chapter should have been split into two chapters--the battle and rescue as one chapter, and then the hobbits waking up and finding themselves among old friends as another.)

The second mini chapter involves the king of Gondor kneeling to the hobbits. In my view, contrary to Ben's argument, the second part of chapter is hardly tripe. The hobbits have just literally descended into the bowels of hell and destroyed the root of all evil through both Frodo and Sam's mercy. (Note that the hobbits could not destroy evil by any direct act, but only indirectly--through acts of mercy and kindness.)

This chapter progresses the characters of Frodo and Sam. Who would have thought that the gardener from the Shire would have the most powerful lords of the world kneeling to him, and being praised with great praise? The hobbits deserve their triumph, and I felt pleased that they were awarded such  boons.  This chapter works to help resolve everything. The book could have ended with this chapter, with perhaps just a little more package tying.

What is interesting, though, is that the Return of the King continues for a while yet. This of course goes against classic story structure, where normally after the climax, the story quickly resolves. Instead, Tolkien pulls a strange one and continues the story. We shall see how this unusual structure holds up on the re-read. But, if I remember correctly, at this point we are so invested in this world, and the last few chapters have been so interesting, I am not prepared to leave Middle Earth just yet.

"Mount Doom" - Eric's Thoughts

This chapter IS Lord of the Rings. The whole is greater than the sum. Imagery, character, literal crushing weight. It is a keystone chapter that upholds vast world building by Tolkien. Suddenly everything Tolkien has done wrong seems to work. Not-scary wights in Barrow Downs? World building. Bombadil? Just world building. Feet dragging in Return of the King? World Building.

At this stage, the reader has been through forests, marshes,  mountains, and Elf-Kingdoms. Middle Earth exists, and the reader believes. Tolkien finishes the journey by forcing the hobbits to endure a final march of death:

• As the light grew a little he saw to his surprise that what from a distance had seemed wide and featureless flats were in fact all broken and tumbled. Indeed the whole surface of the plains of Gorgoroth was pocked with great holes, as if, while it was still a waste of soft mud, it had been smitten with a shower of bolts and huge slingstones. The largest of these holes were rimmed with ridges of broken rock, and broad fissures ran out from them in all directions . . . For the hungry and worn, who had far to go before life failed, it had an evil look.

Of course, what would be the external obstacles without internal conflict to match? Tolkien lets the Ring wreck havoc among old friends, foreshadowing Frodo's doom, causing the reader to wonder if Frodo is ready for the final test:

• ‘I can’t manage it, Sam,’ [Frodo] said. ‘It is such a weight to carry, such a weight.’ Sam knew before he spoke, that it was vain, and that such words might do more harm than good, but in his pity he could not keep silent. ‘Then let me carry it a bit for you, Master,’ he said. ‘You know I would, and gladly, as long as I have any strength.’ A wild light came into Frodo’s eyes. ‘Stand away! Don’t touch me!’ he cried. ‘It is mine, I say. Be off!’ His hand strayed to his sword-hilt. But then quickly his voice changed. ‘No, no, Sam,’ he said sadly. ‘But you must understand. It is my burden, and no one else can bear it. It is too late now, Sam dear. You can’t help me in that way again. I am almost in its power now. I could not give it up, and if you tried to take it I should go mad.

• ‘Do you remember that bit of rabbit, Mr. Frodo?’ he said. ‘And our place under the warm bank in Captain Faramir’s country, the day I saw an oliphaunt?’ ‘No, I am afraid not, Sam,’ said Frodo. ‘At least, I know that such things happened, but I cannot see them. No taste of food, no feel of water, no sound of wind, no memory of tree or grass or flower, no image of moon or star are left to me. I am naked in the dark, Sam, and there is no veil between me and the wheel of fire. I begin to see it even with my waking eyes, and all else fades.’

After addressing internal conflict, Tolkien again pivots back to describing the world and painting images:

• The Mountain crept up ever nearer, until, if they lifted their heavy heads, it filled all their sight, looming vast before them: a huge mass of ash and slag and burned stone, out of which a sheer-sided cone was raised into the clouds. Before the daylong dusk ended and true night came again they had crawled and stumbled to its very feet.

Back and forth, internal to external and back to internal, and the mountain and final test only looms ever closer. Mount doom, of course, is more than just a mountain. It represents an impassable obstacle given the Hobbits' weak strength. Frodo cannot do it. He begins to crawl. And whether Tolkien did it purposefully (or was it chance just like Gollum's slip and fall?), Tolkien captures something absolutely brilliant when Sam picks up Frodo and carries him up the mountain:

• As Frodo clung upon his back, arms loosely about his neck, legs clasped firmly under his arms, Sam staggered to his feet; and then to his amazement he felt the burden light. He had feared that he would have barely strength to lift his master alone, and beyond that he had expected to share in the dreadful dragging weight of the accursed Ring. But it was not so. Whether because Frodo was so worn by his long pains, wound of knife, and venomous sting, and sorrow, fear, and homeless wandering, or because some gift of final strength was given to him, Sam lifted Frodo with no more difficulty than if he were carrying a hobbit-child pig-a-back in some romp on the lawns or hayfields of the Shire. He took a deep breath and started off.

To Frodo, the Ring's burden is crushing. But to Sam, the Ring weighs absolutely nothing. Tolkien shows that the Ring is merely a psychological burden; it exists solely in the mind of the wearer. Tolkien does not advertise this fact, however. He almost addresses it in passing. Mount Doom (the chapter) is epic in scope but also contains subtleties even the most astute reader might miss given the chapter's page-turning nature.

The strangeness and other-worldliness of the chapter compounds. Gollum attacks, and the attack lights a fire under what life remains in Frodo.  Frodo commands Gollum to be gone, and Sam takes a more practical view: 'Look out!' cried Sam. 'He'll Spring!'

Frodo looked at [Sam], as if at one now far away. 'Yes, I must go on,' he said. 'Farewell, Sam! This is the end at last. On Mount Doom doom shall fall. Farewell!'

(Frodo's comments are to say the least . . . ominous.)

Gollum is defeated and instead of fighting back, curls into a ball. Suddenly Sam then sees "Gollum's shrivelled mind and body, enslaved to that Ring, unable to find peace of relief ever in life again." Sam forgives Gollum and turns to join Frodo at the summit.

What does Sam find? The light of Galadriel fails, and walls on either side cloven by a great fissure , out of which the red glare came, now leaping up, now dying down into darkenss; and all the while far below there was a rumour and a trouble as of great engines throbbing and labouring.

The light springs up, and there on the brink of the chasm, at the very Crack of Doom, stood Frodo, black against the glare, tense, erect, but still as if he had been turned to stone.

And in one of the creepiest moments in all of literature, Frodo claims the Ring:

• ‘I have come,’ he said. ‘But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is mine!’

Frodo attacks Sam and knocks Sam out cold. Sometime later, Sam awakes to find Gollum battling an invisible thing:

• Suddenly Sam saw Gollum’s long hands draw upwards to his mouth; his white fangs gleamed, and then snapped as they bit. Frodo gave a cry, and there he was, fallen upon his knees at the chasm’s edge. But Gollum, dancing like a mad thing, held aloft the ring, a finger still thrust within its circle. It shone now as if verily it was wrought of living fire.

Of course, we all know what happens. Gollum slips, and with that single unlucky slip Sauron's entire empire collapses.

What to make of this chapter? Has Tolkien dragged the reader through page after page, chapter after chapter, only to reveal that no one is capable of this task? That good conquers evil only as a matter of chance?

Frodo the mild-mannered hobbit is not the first to try this. All of this could have been prevented if Isildur had thrown the Ring into the fires in the first instance, but he could not. Frodo similarly could not. Tolkien suggests that no one has the power to throw the Ring away and destroy it. But then, just maybe, if Frodo had not undergone his long journey and transformation, might if he stepped into Isildur's shoes been capable of destroying it? Could Sam have had the strength to do it if he took it forcefully from Frodo?

The answer from the clues of the text is plainly no, but still the reader is left wondering. Would I have been able to? Would you?

"The Land of Shadow" - Eric's Thoughts

The hobbits are nearing the end of their journey. And before they can, they face the one of the most difficult obstacles yet -- the terrain.

There are many different types of villains in stories: criminals, corrupted allies, bullies, beasts, dark lords . . . but one of the biggest antagonists in Lord of the Rings is the terrain.

The terrain is rightfully the largest antagonist in this chapter, and in actuality is the driving antagonist of the entire book. Tolkien uses geography to great effect. The hobbits fall into a bed of sharp thorns, battle against the absence of water, and find themselves circling around trying to find a way through. The clock ticks, as supplies and strength begin to fail. Tolkien takes his time as well with this chapter -- the hobbits run out of water at least twice and repeatedly guess they have at least 40 miles to go to Mount Doom. I shudder at the thought of 40 miles, which would take at least 3-4 days of hiking in normal conditions, a clear path, and plenty of supplies.

But Mordor hiking is not normal conditions. I distinctly recall hiking Navajo Knob in Capital Reef with my fellow bloggers, having run out of water and skipped lunch, and endless passes around outjetting ledges, up and down. Although we had not properly prepared for that hike, we knew a car was awaiting us when we were done.

Frodo and Sam have it far worse, with Orcs chasing after them and that sneak Gollum on the hunt. As Ben and Jacob rightly point out, this chapter is heavy on plot and light on theme, but the chapter is essential. It's the only time really spent in Mordor, and Tolkien paints the world -- through how nothing seems to grow and when it does its hideous, to the brief encounter as to how one orc kills another for threatening to tattle tale to the Nazgul.

"The Tower of Cirith Ungol" - Eric's Thoughts

Am I reading the same book? It's as if going back to the hobbits gave Tolkien a second wind and jolted the novel with coffee + Red-Bull + methamphetamine. Tolkien takes the momentum from the last chapter and builds on it. Sam storms the castle, sings a magical song, a way is revealed, and up the stairs he goes to save Frodo.

When Frodo is finally reunited with Sam, the wine flows right? Wrong! Frodo recognizes the quest has failed, because, as Frodo explains, they took everything. Everything!

Not everything, Sam replies excitedly. We have the ring after all, Mr. Frodo!

Is Frodo excited about Sam's revelation? (Maybe a thank you Sam for saving it (and me) is in order?  How about just a simple "Nice job, man"?)

Nope. In return for Sam's valiant efforts, Frodo calls Sam a thief and demands the return of the ring. But Sam is reluctant. Not out of anger at Mr. Frodo. Not because of a desire to claim the ring for his own. But because he purportedly felt that he did not want to burden Frodo with it again.

The ambiguity of Sam's reluctance to return the ring is a powerful moment in the story. What is going on here? Would Sam have been a better Ring-bearer? Or is the Ring toying with Sam? (As the reader knows, Gandalf himself admitted he would wield the ring out of a desire to do good, but the Ring inevitably would corrupt him.) Probably the latter. You see Sam being seduced like everyone else; the Ring is merely playing off of Sam's penchant for helping others. Sam just can't see it. We can. Brilliant.

Of course, what would a chapter be without watchers at the Gate? Now that the mini-quest is done, the hobbits have to escape with their boon. With a little bit of elf-mumbo-jumbo, out they go. After all, we've got to make use of that magical artifact provided by Galadriel somehow, right?

There's more going on here than just on the surface. Tolkien makes his language carry weight thematically and in terms of plot. I'll give two examples. First, Frodo has achieved death and rebirth within the hero's journey. At this point, the reader has watched Frodo die and become reborn . According to Campbell, the reader should now completely relate to Frodo and identify with him. (Perhaps there's something to that theory after all, as I certainly feel sympathy for what Frodo has been through and continue to root for him.) However, as an interesting twist, Frodo's death and rebirth does not result in a Christ-like or other demi-god hero. Instead, Frodo is even worse off. In fact, this scene foreshadows Frodo's transformation into a mini-villain. We take this for granted now, of course, but Tolkien's novel capturing the slow descent of Frodo into villain-dom is masterful.

Second, the mithril coat deserves honorable mention. In the previous scene, the Mouth of Sauron shows that the free world's position is truly hopeless. The orc's escape with the mithril coat adds a nice tie-up to that particular sub-plot, showing that the alliance is not necessarily fighting in vain. It's up to Frodo and Sam now. Can they do it? We shall see.