Chapter 4: A Short Cut to Mushrooms
Jacob's Thoughts (2/21/14)
Back during our discussion of ch. 2, I posited that Tolkien "wants to make sure the point is not lost, that no act of decency is ever wasted," that no matter how enveloping the encroaching darkness, a light can still come through it, "as through a chink in the dark." My examples then were Bilbo's ultimate pity for Gollum, as well as Gollum's own latent, not-quite-forgotten humanity.
In this chapter, I see that same light shinning through in the basic decency revealed in that terror of Frodo's youth, the imposingly-named Farmer Maggot, who not only calls off the dogs on our intrepid short-cutters, but insists on feeding them dinner, giving them cover to the ferry, and in a touching gesture at the chapter's close, gifting Frodo a bag of the very mushrooms he whipped him for stealing in his youth. Even before that moment, Frodo expresses regret that he never befriended Farmer Maggot after all these years of needless fear, and it is reassuring to see this warmth and light shimmering through and dissipating his frightened memories. Frodo is learning even now that the darkness is never as complete as it first may seem (a lesson he'll need to remember in far more dire straits later). This theme of a light in the dark is something I'd like to start tracking through our readings.
But then, in order for these chinks of light to reassure, the darkness itself must be genuinely threatening; and we get that menace in the Dark Riders, of whom we get the sense in this chapter are slowly circling around, closing in, getting closer. They anticipated Frodo's shortcut through the mushrooms, getting there merely too early, not too late. They are actively tracking him and getting better at it. Their sinister hissing sounds almost like laughter, mocking Farmer Maggot's pitiful threats of releasing the dogs (who themselves cower in fear before them), which hints at the dark profundity of their power. The question is no longer whether Frodo can avoid them, but only for how long.
So I suppose here's a paradox presented in this chapter: the darkness is never as complete as Frodo fears, but the actual darkness is also far worst than he realizes; Frodo was afraid of the congenial Farmer Maggot, but unaware that the Dark Riders are what should be scaring the bejeezes out of him right now. How is our Frodo, scared of barking dogs, going to face the fires of Mordor? This chapter in a sense is a good mile-post for marking Frodo's slow growth as a character; he's not ready to face the worst yet (not even close), but we can see how one day he might--or, at least, how he'll have to.
This chapter is thus good for fleshing out Frodo's character, of whom I've lately realized that, besides a vague yearning for the "mountains" and general sentimental longing for Uncle Bilbo, really hasn't been given any distinguishing characteristics. He's still somewhat of a cipher, a stock-figure, a place-holder for the reader on this journey. Maybe it's his sufferings that will finally reveal Frodo to us; but then, come to think of it, it's our sufferings that reveals all of us, to each other and to ourselves, isn't it.
Ben's Thoughts (2/24/14)
All right, all right, this chapter wasn't that bad. The primary reason was that it was short, but it did feature an excellent character in Farmer Maggot and some extremely creepy scenes dealing with the Black Riders. The real dreck is still in the future, however.
The increasing threat from the Riders sets the tone of this chapter quite nicely. Frodo's concerns that the morning was almost too cheerful and bright bring home the difference between safety and the mere illusion of such. And then all of the hobbits' fear regarding the Riders is brought slamming back home when they see the dark figure a-horseback on the ridge where they breakfasted. The big question is how exactly the Rider tracked the hobbits to that ridge. Were they aware the whole time that the hobbits had been taken in by the Elves, but stayed away because the Elves could defeat them at that point in time?
The one thing that feels strange to me is how the Riders communicate with the hobbits. The idea of the Nazgul -- the storied Ringwraiths -- conversing with random hobbits in the Shire just feels odd. I did like how Tolkien makes the Rider's language ability a bit off: the Rider asks "Have you seen Baggins" without denoting whether that is a person's name or denoting an entire group of people. Very Gollum-like, which makes sense when that is where Mordor got its information. It was also interesting that the Rider offered Maggot gold in exchange for information. And that the Rider would have to "return" with gold -- where would he go in order to get it? Agents of Saruman to the south of the Shire? This mention of gold also makes me speculate about the Shire's economy. We haven't had much mention of currency to this point, just the hobbits' obsession with "things," particularly Bilbo's supposed hoard.
In any case, Tolkien sets the mood just right as far as the Riders are concerned. You can feel the web tightening around the party in a very visceral way. Unfortunately, all of this tension will be dispelled in the coming chapters, which makes very little sense to me in terms of forward progression of plot.
Farmer Maggot is the other high point of the chapter, in and of himself and also in the way he reveals aspects of the other hobbits' characters. He serves as a nice counterpoint to the gossipy, backbiting hobbits we encoutnered in earlier chapters. All in all, Tolkien seems to prefer the more provincial, "backwards" Eastfarthing hobbits to the pompous "gentrified" hobbits of Hobbiton. Once again, Maggot is very aware of the class difference between himself and Frodo and Pippin -- he is quick to address Pippin by the proper honorific, "Mr." (instead of the "Master" he would have received as an under-age but upper-class youngster). But he also does not hesitate to give sound advice and make shrewd deductions regarding Frodo's plans. Of course, he never really considers the fact that Frodo is in real trouble, or that he would actually want to leave the Shire at any point.
Some character notes: Frodo is not very good at duplicity and cannot even meet Maggot's eye when the farmer is speculating about the Riders. He also comes across as something of a worrier. Pippin is quite carefree but Tolkien manages to insert an edge of thoughtlessness into his dialogue that helps to set him apart from Frodo in characterization. Sam is stalwart and introspective. Nobody got any kind of physical description. This still irks me. We'll see if Merry gets any when he becomes a larger player in the next chapter.
All in all, not too much to write about. A decent chapter, with some well-crafted scenes and a likeable one-off character. I still think Tolkien is spinning his wheels with this whole "flight from the Shire" segment.
Eric's Thoughts (3/2/14)
This chapter made clear that when Tolkien does bother to describe, he is quite skillful at it. Take a look at some highlights I’ve notated below. Now, in regard to criticism of this chapter, I went into the chapter hearing complaints from Ben and Jacob about these middling chapters. I make a point not to read other’s blog posts until I’m done writing, and then I’ll review what they say and add a response in my blog post at the end. The point being, I try not to let their readings influence my own.
I thought Shortcut to Mushrooms was the best chapter in the book thus far.
It had the best characterizations of the book yet. Characters (though still not described) are becoming clear in their personalities. Frodo begins the chapter telling Pippin he needs to think, while Pippin comes across as a bull-hardy ditz. So Frodo is thoughtful and a natural leader, Pippin is airheaded, and Sam is loyal. Tolkien uses a classic author’s trick of archetypes to distinguish characters from one another. By using those archetypes, characters immediately begin to feel real, because are familiar with them.
The hobbits at this point are physically struggling through landmarks that have actual description (“. . . the bushes and brambles were reluctant to let them through . . .”) and meanwhile, they are being hunted by what is now made clear not to be one but at least two black riders (“. . . it was answered by another cry, fainter and further off, but no less chilling to the blood.”). Tolkien is just building the suspense and upping the ante after Gildor’s warning in the previous chapter. Even Farmer Maggot’s dogs are terrified of the black riders.
I particularly enjoyed the scene of Frodo coming to terms with his childhood fear of Farmer Maggot. While maybes not strictly necessary in terms of plot, the side plot serves a momentary break from wandering through fields together and being hunted. Generally, a chapter becomes boring when the same characters are interacting and a new character is not introduced (which generally leads to an event happening and change occurring, which propels the story forward). I believe the benefit to character outweighs any slowness in plot. Farmer Maggot deepened Frodo’s character by allowing him to feel a childhood fear, and resolution of that fear. Frodo realizes that things as a young hobbit are much different as an old, and he lost a good friend as a result of his childhood fear. Plus, the reader obviously loves to learn that Frodo was a little thief as a young hobbit who stole mushrooms. And the chapter ends the arc with Mrs. Maggot giving Frodo a basket from which “the scent of mushrooms was rising,” creating a perfect mini-character arc. No complaints here.
The chapter ends with a mysterious rider emerging from the fog, which obviously must be a black rider. Not so. Instead it turns out to be Merry. Again the new character raises new possibilities, and Tolkien was wise to delay the inevitable confrontation between the hobbits and black riders. The black riders are still an unknown evil, ominous, omnipresent. Wherever the hobbits go it seems the black riders have been there before, seeking Baggins. The character of Farmer Maggot helps develop this omnipresent mood. It also tells the reader that hobbits are braver than dogs, and are not afraid to tell black riders to “Get the !@## off my farm.”
As a final thought, still Gandalf is notably absent. Again, the lack of the old wizard raises the stakes. The reader knows, or can at least sense, that if the riders catch the hobbits they’re pretty much doomed. So this lets the hobbits really push and establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
I have to respectfully disagree with Ben, that Tolkien is spinning his wheels here. I think this chapter was really good, and the best one in the book as of yet.
Back during our discussion of ch. 2, I posited that Tolkien "wants to make sure the point is not lost, that no act of decency is ever wasted," that no matter how enveloping the encroaching darkness, a light can still come through it, "as through a chink in the dark." My examples then were Bilbo's ultimate pity for Gollum, as well as Gollum's own latent, not-quite-forgotten humanity.
In this chapter, I see that same light shinning through in the basic decency revealed in that terror of Frodo's youth, the imposingly-named Farmer Maggot, who not only calls off the dogs on our intrepid short-cutters, but insists on feeding them dinner, giving them cover to the ferry, and in a touching gesture at the chapter's close, gifting Frodo a bag of the very mushrooms he whipped him for stealing in his youth. Even before that moment, Frodo expresses regret that he never befriended Farmer Maggot after all these years of needless fear, and it is reassuring to see this warmth and light shimmering through and dissipating his frightened memories. Frodo is learning even now that the darkness is never as complete as it first may seem (a lesson he'll need to remember in far more dire straits later). This theme of a light in the dark is something I'd like to start tracking through our readings.
But then, in order for these chinks of light to reassure, the darkness itself must be genuinely threatening; and we get that menace in the Dark Riders, of whom we get the sense in this chapter are slowly circling around, closing in, getting closer. They anticipated Frodo's shortcut through the mushrooms, getting there merely too early, not too late. They are actively tracking him and getting better at it. Their sinister hissing sounds almost like laughter, mocking Farmer Maggot's pitiful threats of releasing the dogs (who themselves cower in fear before them), which hints at the dark profundity of their power. The question is no longer whether Frodo can avoid them, but only for how long.
So I suppose here's a paradox presented in this chapter: the darkness is never as complete as Frodo fears, but the actual darkness is also far worst than he realizes; Frodo was afraid of the congenial Farmer Maggot, but unaware that the Dark Riders are what should be scaring the bejeezes out of him right now. How is our Frodo, scared of barking dogs, going to face the fires of Mordor? This chapter in a sense is a good mile-post for marking Frodo's slow growth as a character; he's not ready to face the worst yet (not even close), but we can see how one day he might--or, at least, how he'll have to.
This chapter is thus good for fleshing out Frodo's character, of whom I've lately realized that, besides a vague yearning for the "mountains" and general sentimental longing for Uncle Bilbo, really hasn't been given any distinguishing characteristics. He's still somewhat of a cipher, a stock-figure, a place-holder for the reader on this journey. Maybe it's his sufferings that will finally reveal Frodo to us; but then, come to think of it, it's our sufferings that reveals all of us, to each other and to ourselves, isn't it.
Ben's Thoughts (2/24/14)
All right, all right, this chapter wasn't that bad. The primary reason was that it was short, but it did feature an excellent character in Farmer Maggot and some extremely creepy scenes dealing with the Black Riders. The real dreck is still in the future, however.
The increasing threat from the Riders sets the tone of this chapter quite nicely. Frodo's concerns that the morning was almost too cheerful and bright bring home the difference between safety and the mere illusion of such. And then all of the hobbits' fear regarding the Riders is brought slamming back home when they see the dark figure a-horseback on the ridge where they breakfasted. The big question is how exactly the Rider tracked the hobbits to that ridge. Were they aware the whole time that the hobbits had been taken in by the Elves, but stayed away because the Elves could defeat them at that point in time?
The one thing that feels strange to me is how the Riders communicate with the hobbits. The idea of the Nazgul -- the storied Ringwraiths -- conversing with random hobbits in the Shire just feels odd. I did like how Tolkien makes the Rider's language ability a bit off: the Rider asks "Have you seen Baggins" without denoting whether that is a person's name or denoting an entire group of people. Very Gollum-like, which makes sense when that is where Mordor got its information. It was also interesting that the Rider offered Maggot gold in exchange for information. And that the Rider would have to "return" with gold -- where would he go in order to get it? Agents of Saruman to the south of the Shire? This mention of gold also makes me speculate about the Shire's economy. We haven't had much mention of currency to this point, just the hobbits' obsession with "things," particularly Bilbo's supposed hoard.
In any case, Tolkien sets the mood just right as far as the Riders are concerned. You can feel the web tightening around the party in a very visceral way. Unfortunately, all of this tension will be dispelled in the coming chapters, which makes very little sense to me in terms of forward progression of plot.
Farmer Maggot is the other high point of the chapter, in and of himself and also in the way he reveals aspects of the other hobbits' characters. He serves as a nice counterpoint to the gossipy, backbiting hobbits we encoutnered in earlier chapters. All in all, Tolkien seems to prefer the more provincial, "backwards" Eastfarthing hobbits to the pompous "gentrified" hobbits of Hobbiton. Once again, Maggot is very aware of the class difference between himself and Frodo and Pippin -- he is quick to address Pippin by the proper honorific, "Mr." (instead of the "Master" he would have received as an under-age but upper-class youngster). But he also does not hesitate to give sound advice and make shrewd deductions regarding Frodo's plans. Of course, he never really considers the fact that Frodo is in real trouble, or that he would actually want to leave the Shire at any point.
Some character notes: Frodo is not very good at duplicity and cannot even meet Maggot's eye when the farmer is speculating about the Riders. He also comes across as something of a worrier. Pippin is quite carefree but Tolkien manages to insert an edge of thoughtlessness into his dialogue that helps to set him apart from Frodo in characterization. Sam is stalwart and introspective. Nobody got any kind of physical description. This still irks me. We'll see if Merry gets any when he becomes a larger player in the next chapter.
All in all, not too much to write about. A decent chapter, with some well-crafted scenes and a likeable one-off character. I still think Tolkien is spinning his wheels with this whole "flight from the Shire" segment.
Eric's Thoughts (3/2/14)
This chapter made clear that when Tolkien does bother to describe, he is quite skillful at it. Take a look at some highlights I’ve notated below. Now, in regard to criticism of this chapter, I went into the chapter hearing complaints from Ben and Jacob about these middling chapters. I make a point not to read other’s blog posts until I’m done writing, and then I’ll review what they say and add a response in my blog post at the end. The point being, I try not to let their readings influence my own.
I thought Shortcut to Mushrooms was the best chapter in the book thus far.
It had the best characterizations of the book yet. Characters (though still not described) are becoming clear in their personalities. Frodo begins the chapter telling Pippin he needs to think, while Pippin comes across as a bull-hardy ditz. So Frodo is thoughtful and a natural leader, Pippin is airheaded, and Sam is loyal. Tolkien uses a classic author’s trick of archetypes to distinguish characters from one another. By using those archetypes, characters immediately begin to feel real, because are familiar with them.
The hobbits at this point are physically struggling through landmarks that have actual description (“. . . the bushes and brambles were reluctant to let them through . . .”) and meanwhile, they are being hunted by what is now made clear not to be one but at least two black riders (“. . . it was answered by another cry, fainter and further off, but no less chilling to the blood.”). Tolkien is just building the suspense and upping the ante after Gildor’s warning in the previous chapter. Even Farmer Maggot’s dogs are terrified of the black riders.
I particularly enjoyed the scene of Frodo coming to terms with his childhood fear of Farmer Maggot. While maybes not strictly necessary in terms of plot, the side plot serves a momentary break from wandering through fields together and being hunted. Generally, a chapter becomes boring when the same characters are interacting and a new character is not introduced (which generally leads to an event happening and change occurring, which propels the story forward). I believe the benefit to character outweighs any slowness in plot. Farmer Maggot deepened Frodo’s character by allowing him to feel a childhood fear, and resolution of that fear. Frodo realizes that things as a young hobbit are much different as an old, and he lost a good friend as a result of his childhood fear. Plus, the reader obviously loves to learn that Frodo was a little thief as a young hobbit who stole mushrooms. And the chapter ends the arc with Mrs. Maggot giving Frodo a basket from which “the scent of mushrooms was rising,” creating a perfect mini-character arc. No complaints here.
The chapter ends with a mysterious rider emerging from the fog, which obviously must be a black rider. Not so. Instead it turns out to be Merry. Again the new character raises new possibilities, and Tolkien was wise to delay the inevitable confrontation between the hobbits and black riders. The black riders are still an unknown evil, ominous, omnipresent. Wherever the hobbits go it seems the black riders have been there before, seeking Baggins. The character of Farmer Maggot helps develop this omnipresent mood. It also tells the reader that hobbits are braver than dogs, and are not afraid to tell black riders to “Get the !@## off my farm.”
As a final thought, still Gandalf is notably absent. Again, the lack of the old wizard raises the stakes. The reader knows, or can at least sense, that if the riders catch the hobbits they’re pretty much doomed. So this lets the hobbits really push and establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
I have to respectfully disagree with Ben, that Tolkien is spinning his wheels here. I think this chapter was really good, and the best one in the book as of yet.
Good Use of Descriptive Voice:
- “Going on was not altogether easy. They had packs to carry, and the bushes and brambles were reluctant to let them through. They were cut off from the wind by the ridge behind, and the air was still and stuffy. When they forced their way at last into more open ground, they were hot and tired and very scratched, and they were also no longer certain of the direction in which they were going. The banks of the stream sank, as it reached the levels and became broader and shallower, wandering off towards the Marish and the River.”
- “In the morning Frodo woke refreshed. He was lying in a bower made by a living tree with branches laced and drooping to the ground; his bed was of fern and grass, deep and soft and strangely fragrant. The sun was shining through the fluttering leaves, which were still green upon the tree. He jumped up and went out.
- “They stopped short suddenly. Frodo sprang to his feet. A long-drawn wail came down the wind, like the cry of some evil and lonely creature. It rose and fell, and ended on a high piercing note. Even as they sat and stood, as if suddenly frozen, it was answered by another cry, fainter and further off, but no less chilling to the blood. There was then a silence, broken only by the sound of the wind in the leaves.”
- “Maggot jumped down and stood holding the ponies' heads, and peering forward into the gloom. Clip-clop, clip-clop came the approaching rider. The fall of hoofs sounded loud in the still, foggy air.”
- “They watched the pale rings of light round his lanterns as they dwindled into the foggy night. Suddenly Frodo laughed: from the covered basket he held, the scent of mushrooms was rising.”
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