"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.