Chapter 2: The Land of Shadow
I wonder how often, during the World Wars, Tolkien felt like Frodo and Sam in Mordor: eternally surrounded and besieged by the forces of darkness, hatred, and hopelessness, occasionally punctuated by brief moments of daylight and rumors of victories abroad...only to then be immediately beset once more by further shadows, doubt, and darkness. I'll be honest, I've been understanding that feeling a lot more than I'd like to lately.
Other things I'm tried of feeling: that I just read yet another bridge-gap chapter, one that doesn't give me much to talk about. I mean, I get what it's trying to do: it's giving us a firm sense of place, immersing us into the ugliness and horror of Mordor, making the reader feel the weight so fully that when victory finally comes, it will taste that much more sweeter, pack that much more of a punch.
What struck me the most, however, is the fact that, well, this is the only real chapter we spend in Mordor, isn't it! Like, doesn't it feel as though we've already spent chapters here? Haven't Sam and Frodo been trudging their way here all along? But no, they've only been making their way along the peripheries this whole time, they've only just now crossed the borders of this polity. I guess what I'm saying is that it feels almost superfluous to have spent this extended chapter in Mordor; we've otherwise gotten such a strong sense of place from other peoples' descriptions and our encounters with its inhabitants, that to actually be there is a just tad anticlimactic, since we are encountering exactly what we expected.
Moreover, Sam's idle curiosity as to how the heck Sauron feeds and keeps all his soldiers and slaves in this arid wasteland, far from hand-waving away the logistical dilemma, serves only to foreground it. How on Middle-Earth does Sauron keep his all his vast hosts supplied?? I almost wonder if the real reason Sauron is so intent on conquering the world isn't just because he's power-hungry, but because he just plain needs more arable land. ("We need breathing room!" "Earth, Hitler, 1938.")
Ben's Thoughts (3/20/17)
Another chapter light on theme but heavy on plot. I tend to enjoy these "traveling" chapters, where the characters must get from point A to point B. What can I say? I enjoy the journey.
Tolkien does an excellent job at evoking Mordor. Jacob believes it's anticlimactic, but I'm with Sam: all of this lead-up has finally gotten them close to their objective, but he hadn't given much thought to what would actually happen when they got inside the eponymous "land of shadow." How are they to get across that plain, filled with armies and vigilant orcs? Especially, as we discover towards the end of the chapter, the agents of Sauron are actively looking for spies that have snuck through the outer defenses?
I feel like all of us have had dreams, nightmares even, where we've been chased by forces seen or unseen. Tolkien brings that emotion home to me in this chapter. Frodo and Sam are constantly on the run, constantly having to skulk deep in the thorny bushes (of course they're thorny), constantly having to hope beyond hope that their enemies don't simply turn around or look over the edge of the roadside curb or peer behind one more bush. There's such a fine line between lying unseen in the shadows and actually being noticed and caught.
I can further imagine Sam's mixed emotion of dread and hope as the orc-troop marches past at the end of the chapter. With each passing line that goes by, his elation had to grow; only for it all to come crashing down as the overseer with the whip noticed the pair of hobbits and forced them onto their feet. As we learn in the next chapter, that forced march is actually a blessing in disguise; it was really the only way for the two to pass across the plain, seen yet unseen as a part of the hosts of Mordor. But again, the desperation and fear that the passages convey makes the journey that much more terrifying than Pippin and Merry's in "Two Towers." The stakes are a lot higher, and our characters are a lot closer to the tipping point. How rousing is it, as well, that Sam considers going out with a bang, by killing the overseer, as he sees his master begin to flag: "At any moment now he knew that the end would come: his master would faint or fall, and all would be discovered, and their bitter efforts be in vain." Neither Merry nor Pippin considered such a course of action during their captivity. Despite their adventures, Sam is now made of sterner stuff than either of them.
The slight glimpse of worldbuilding interjected into the tale is also welcome. Jacob points out that Sam foregrounds the issue of how Sauron keeps his evil empire running properly, and while the main answer is "it's the magic," Tolkien at least makes a sally at an explanation: "Neither he nor Frodo knew anything of the great slave-worked fields away south in this wide realm, beyond the fumes of the Mountain by the dark sad waters of Lake Núrnen; nor of the great roads that ran away east and south to tributary lands, from which the soldiers of the Tower brought long waggon-trains of goods and booty and fresh slaves."
The chapter, what with its quick glimpses into the lives of the slaves of Sauron, the lethal bureaucracy of his troops, and their rumbling misgivings against their leaders, paints an effective picture of the terror and power of Mordor. It additionally highlights the growing desperation of the hobbits, as well as reminding the reader that Gollum is still a real and present threat. Somehow, the quick glimpse of our favorite "gobbler with the flapping hands" is more terrifying than all the orcs Sauron can muster.
Eric's Thoughts (7/14/17)
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.
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