Chapter 4: Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Jacob's Thoughts (11/15/15)
I don't have nearly as much insight to provide into this chapter, in no small part because the chapter doesn't provide me much to reflect upon. It is primarily a table-setting chapter, one that sets us up the chess-board for the next round of chapters. We can sense that the tension is starting to brew warmer between Sam and Gollum, what with Sam's casual abuse of the poor creature he still doesn't trust, as well as Sam's blithe disregard for Gollum's warning that starting a cooking fire will draw unwanted attention--which of course is exactly what Sam does. Goodness, Sam, you don't have tolike Gollum, but could you at least listen to him once in awhile?! He hasn't made nearly as many unforced errors as you ridiculous Hobbits have.
Really, Sam is incredibly lucky that it was Men whom his cooking-fire attracted to their position--it could have easily been orcs, and then it's game-over for our heroes. So, Sam and Frodo are OK for now, but they have now been cut off from their guide Gollum, and though my memories of Book IV are hazy, I can already tell that this apparent abandonment and betrayal of the poor wretch, however unintentional, will have serious ramifications for their relationship, and sets up a fiercer showdown to come between Sam and Gollum.
But again, this is all in the future; for now, all that really happens of note is Frodo and Sam have been put in the path of Faramir, which also portends bigger things--as is shown (a little on the nose, if you ask me), by Sam's much-wished-for Oliphaunt rampaging through the forest right by them.
One final note on Frodo's sudden embrace of honesty-is-the-best-policy when he gives his full biographical data to Faramir: is this a sign of Frodo's growing maturity (the whole "Mr. Underhill" schtick went over so poorly at the Prancing Pony that he figured the truth would be less clumsy this time 'round), or a sign of his growing pessimism and resignation in this quest, such that he scarcely bothers to disguise himself anymore, for what does it matter?
Ben's Thoughts (1/21/16)
This certainly is a bridge chapter, linking the hobbit's desperation at the Morannon to their final journey to Kirith Ungol. It introduces Faramir, who will be an important figure in Book V -- until he is conveniently shoved under the table in the final book, but we'll leave that for another time -- and gives us more details on the Southrons, the Haradrim.
I mentioned my fond memories of this chapter at the end of my last post. Basically I remember that one of the first times, or possibly the first time that I read this chapter, it was lying on the couch in the front room of my childhood home, on a Sunday after (or possibly before?) church with the full summer sun streaming in through the window onto the couch and me lying there. It was beautifully warm, and I didn't have a care in the world, and I laughed at Sam's banter with Gollum. It's a fond memory, and one of the memories that adds up to my love of The Lord of the Rings; that feeling of peace and contentment and wonder at delving into an exciting and absorbing fantasy world.
But... today the chapter leaves something to be desired. I see less banter in Sam's little chat with Gollum and more, as Jacob put it, "casual abuse." Also, the off-handed racism of the various races and cultures at play here sticks in my craw. More on each of these topics below. Aside from that, this is a harmless chapter. We're reminded again of Frodo's otherworldly connections; his ordeal in bearing the Ring has, in a way, purified him. It's telling that the "inner light" that signifies his connection with the Valar is only switched on when he's sleeping. Most likely, his daytime battle with the opposing forces detailed in previous chapters blocks that connection too much at other times. Tolkien's descriptions of Ithilien are beautiful, as well, even though I prefer more grandiose landscapes (craggy mountains or rolling oceans), myself.
Now, on Gollum and Sam. Sam is just terribly cruel to the poor wretch here. He sends him off to find them some food, knowing full well that he will be preparing the food in a way that Gollum will be unable or at least unwilling to eat. He threatens him with physical harm when Gollum refuses to do as he asks, perhaps in a misguided dominance tactic. And finally, after his threats and verbal abuse ("you're hopeless", for example) he tries again to get Gollum to do as he asked. It's small wonder that Gollum slunk off into the brush after that exchange. Sam is just completely unwilling to see past his own cultural standards; so unable to visualize Gollum's point of view about anything. And here the hobbits are almost totally in Gollum's hands. Doesn't Sam realize that Gollum could try to kill or betray them at any opportunity? Or does he trust so implicitly the oath that Gollum made on the Ring, that he disregards all reason in belittling, disregarding, and abusing him? It baffles me. It is of course both realistic and necessary to the plot, but it's still frustrating.
Finally, the racism. It must be mentioned. The Haradrim are "dark," the Gondorians are "pale-skinned." The Haradrim are "ever ready" to serve the Enemy, the Gondorians are stalwart defenders against his evil. I suppose it could be argued that Sam's internal monologue about the dead Haradrim soldier redeems Tolkien somewhat, but unfortunately, Sam's questions about whether the man was coerced or tricked into fighting against the white good guys is not answered by the text. In the next book the racism will compound, as the Easterlings and other servants of Sauron are pervasively described as "swarthy" or otherwise dark-skinned (and let us never forget that orcs have black skins and other "good" people, like the Rohirrim, are fair-skinned Nordic knock-offs). I know, it was another time, but I just have to wonder what went through Tolkien's mind when he wrote that into the story. It jerks me out of my immersion in Middle-earth, when I read it this time around. Others have written about Tolkien's (probably unconscious) racism at length elsewhere; I don't have anything else to say about it. I just think it bears mentioning.
Looking forward to more Faramir in the next chapter. Right now all my mind summons about him is the Jackson films' true bastardization of his character in the second film.
Eric's Thoughts (2/2/16)
Like Ben, I have fond memories of this chapter. I found this chapter to be enjoyable now as I did then. After the heroes struggle for so many chapters, I found myself strangely satisfied by Gollum finding some conies for the hobbits, and then hissing about how cooking them ruins perfectly good raw meat. When Sam offers to cook fish and chips for Gollum, Gollum's response--telling Sam to keep his nasty chips and just give Gollum the fish--is a real winner in terms of characterizing Sam and Gollum--and simultaneously lightening the mood with some much needed comic relief.
Of course Sam wasn't supposed to light the fire. But that's why we read books, right? To watch characters we care about do stupid things -- and all the while we are saying in our heads . . . don't do that! They do it anyway, then have to fix the problem they created.
Well, the problem that presents itself from the fire is far more interesting than any chase scene with orcs. Instead, they have to convince a human--a smart human--that their cause is good. This particular man, Faramir, immediately comes across and shrewd and ambiguous. Is he a force of good? Is he someone that Frodo can reveal his quest to?
Right now, it is not clear. Of course, the answers to those questions come in later chapters, but this chapter sets up a confrontation that is more compelling than any scenes where Pippin and Merry would held captive by the Orcs. Although it seems Ben and Jacob disagree and find a few flaws with this chapter, this is still one of my favorite chapters (and sets up one of my favorite subplots) in the whole book.
I don't have nearly as much insight to provide into this chapter, in no small part because the chapter doesn't provide me much to reflect upon. It is primarily a table-setting chapter, one that sets us up the chess-board for the next round of chapters. We can sense that the tension is starting to brew warmer between Sam and Gollum, what with Sam's casual abuse of the poor creature he still doesn't trust, as well as Sam's blithe disregard for Gollum's warning that starting a cooking fire will draw unwanted attention--which of course is exactly what Sam does. Goodness, Sam, you don't have tolike Gollum, but could you at least listen to him once in awhile?! He hasn't made nearly as many unforced errors as you ridiculous Hobbits have.
Really, Sam is incredibly lucky that it was Men whom his cooking-fire attracted to their position--it could have easily been orcs, and then it's game-over for our heroes. So, Sam and Frodo are OK for now, but they have now been cut off from their guide Gollum, and though my memories of Book IV are hazy, I can already tell that this apparent abandonment and betrayal of the poor wretch, however unintentional, will have serious ramifications for their relationship, and sets up a fiercer showdown to come between Sam and Gollum.
But again, this is all in the future; for now, all that really happens of note is Frodo and Sam have been put in the path of Faramir, which also portends bigger things--as is shown (a little on the nose, if you ask me), by Sam's much-wished-for Oliphaunt rampaging through the forest right by them.
One final note on Frodo's sudden embrace of honesty-is-the-best-policy when he gives his full biographical data to Faramir: is this a sign of Frodo's growing maturity (the whole "Mr. Underhill" schtick went over so poorly at the Prancing Pony that he figured the truth would be less clumsy this time 'round), or a sign of his growing pessimism and resignation in this quest, such that he scarcely bothers to disguise himself anymore, for what does it matter?
Ben's Thoughts (1/21/16)
This certainly is a bridge chapter, linking the hobbit's desperation at the Morannon to their final journey to Kirith Ungol. It introduces Faramir, who will be an important figure in Book V -- until he is conveniently shoved under the table in the final book, but we'll leave that for another time -- and gives us more details on the Southrons, the Haradrim.
I mentioned my fond memories of this chapter at the end of my last post. Basically I remember that one of the first times, or possibly the first time that I read this chapter, it was lying on the couch in the front room of my childhood home, on a Sunday after (or possibly before?) church with the full summer sun streaming in through the window onto the couch and me lying there. It was beautifully warm, and I didn't have a care in the world, and I laughed at Sam's banter with Gollum. It's a fond memory, and one of the memories that adds up to my love of The Lord of the Rings; that feeling of peace and contentment and wonder at delving into an exciting and absorbing fantasy world.
But... today the chapter leaves something to be desired. I see less banter in Sam's little chat with Gollum and more, as Jacob put it, "casual abuse." Also, the off-handed racism of the various races and cultures at play here sticks in my craw. More on each of these topics below. Aside from that, this is a harmless chapter. We're reminded again of Frodo's otherworldly connections; his ordeal in bearing the Ring has, in a way, purified him. It's telling that the "inner light" that signifies his connection with the Valar is only switched on when he's sleeping. Most likely, his daytime battle with the opposing forces detailed in previous chapters blocks that connection too much at other times. Tolkien's descriptions of Ithilien are beautiful, as well, even though I prefer more grandiose landscapes (craggy mountains or rolling oceans), myself.
Now, on Gollum and Sam. Sam is just terribly cruel to the poor wretch here. He sends him off to find them some food, knowing full well that he will be preparing the food in a way that Gollum will be unable or at least unwilling to eat. He threatens him with physical harm when Gollum refuses to do as he asks, perhaps in a misguided dominance tactic. And finally, after his threats and verbal abuse ("you're hopeless", for example) he tries again to get Gollum to do as he asked. It's small wonder that Gollum slunk off into the brush after that exchange. Sam is just completely unwilling to see past his own cultural standards; so unable to visualize Gollum's point of view about anything. And here the hobbits are almost totally in Gollum's hands. Doesn't Sam realize that Gollum could try to kill or betray them at any opportunity? Or does he trust so implicitly the oath that Gollum made on the Ring, that he disregards all reason in belittling, disregarding, and abusing him? It baffles me. It is of course both realistic and necessary to the plot, but it's still frustrating.
Finally, the racism. It must be mentioned. The Haradrim are "dark," the Gondorians are "pale-skinned." The Haradrim are "ever ready" to serve the Enemy, the Gondorians are stalwart defenders against his evil. I suppose it could be argued that Sam's internal monologue about the dead Haradrim soldier redeems Tolkien somewhat, but unfortunately, Sam's questions about whether the man was coerced or tricked into fighting against the white good guys is not answered by the text. In the next book the racism will compound, as the Easterlings and other servants of Sauron are pervasively described as "swarthy" or otherwise dark-skinned (and let us never forget that orcs have black skins and other "good" people, like the Rohirrim, are fair-skinned Nordic knock-offs). I know, it was another time, but I just have to wonder what went through Tolkien's mind when he wrote that into the story. It jerks me out of my immersion in Middle-earth, when I read it this time around. Others have written about Tolkien's (probably unconscious) racism at length elsewhere; I don't have anything else to say about it. I just think it bears mentioning.
Looking forward to more Faramir in the next chapter. Right now all my mind summons about him is the Jackson films' true bastardization of his character in the second film.
Eric's Thoughts (2/2/16)
Like Ben, I have fond memories of this chapter. I found this chapter to be enjoyable now as I did then. After the heroes struggle for so many chapters, I found myself strangely satisfied by Gollum finding some conies for the hobbits, and then hissing about how cooking them ruins perfectly good raw meat. When Sam offers to cook fish and chips for Gollum, Gollum's response--telling Sam to keep his nasty chips and just give Gollum the fish--is a real winner in terms of characterizing Sam and Gollum--and simultaneously lightening the mood with some much needed comic relief.
Of course Sam wasn't supposed to light the fire. But that's why we read books, right? To watch characters we care about do stupid things -- and all the while we are saying in our heads . . . don't do that! They do it anyway, then have to fix the problem they created.
Well, the problem that presents itself from the fire is far more interesting than any chase scene with orcs. Instead, they have to convince a human--a smart human--that their cause is good. This particular man, Faramir, immediately comes across and shrewd and ambiguous. Is he a force of good? Is he someone that Frodo can reveal his quest to?
Right now, it is not clear. Of course, the answers to those questions come in later chapters, but this chapter sets up a confrontation that is more compelling than any scenes where Pippin and Merry would held captive by the Orcs. Although it seems Ben and Jacob disagree and find a few flaws with this chapter, this is still one of my favorite chapters (and sets up one of my favorite subplots) in the whole book.
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