"Homeward Bound" - Eric's Thoughts

Wherein herein lies a transitional chapter, wherein herein it only deserves a transitional analysis.

Homeward Bound (the chapter) could be best described by Homeward Bound (the movie), which assuredly everyone watched growing up. Remember that one? No?

I will summarize. There are two dogs and a cat in that movie (I think). The animals get lost. They have to find their way home. Antics ensue, including a porcupine attack to one of the dog's faces. (I'm pretty sure that happened. Anyone willing to (re)watch it to make sure?)

All right, maybe the chapter is not all that similar with the movie, but you get the point. The hobbits are bounding towards home -- i.e. they are homeward bound. Along the way they see Butterbeer, err, Butterbur. Him and Knob and Cobb are much more suspicious towards outsiders. Tolkien is doing this to show that the world the hobbits left behind has changed. As have the hobbits.

Gandalf leaves, again. (You may be be wondering: why is that wizard always running off at critical moments?? He did the same thing in The Hobbit! [Spoiler below***])

The chapter ends with a real cliffhanger as the hobbits approach home. Is everyone the way it was??? Can Sam go back to a peaceful life of gardening notwithstanding the visions that he saw in Lothlorien and Butterbur's ominous foreshadowing in Bree??? Dum - dum - dum!!!! We'll have to see!!!!

***Answer: Because that way the characters can develop without a crutch. The wizard / helper figure generally has to be taken out of the equation so that the hero can truly demonstrate his/her apotheosis. See Campbell.