The Lord of the Rings discussion: Chapter 2, The Shadow of the Past

[jerseydevil]

Here is the long expected and anticipated chapter summary for "The Shadow of the Past". Sorry it took so long, but I got tied up with various things, although I continued to work on it. I hope it's enjoyable for everyone and that it has enough discussion points. So without further ado, let me present to you all -

"The Shadow of the Past"
This, along with “The Council of Elrond”, is the most important chapter in Lord of the Rings in my opinion. Both of these chapters layout the story and explain the dangers of the Ring. “Shadow of the Past” in particular gives a preview to the backstory, history of the Ring and the relationship of Sam and Frodo, not to mention Sam’s love of Elves.

I’ve decided to do this chapter slightly different. I thought it would be best to talk about each of the main characters individually, what we learn about them, what role they play and then have a summary to tie things together.

Sam
We first meet Samwise Gamgee in The Green Dragon at Bywater, discussing happenings in the outside world. This is our first real introduction to Sam, prior to this he was only mentioned by the Gaffer. Sam, unlike most hobbits, is interested in more than just the Shire. During the conversation between him and Sandyman we get our first small look at Ents, or as Sam refers to them here - “tree-men”. These very well may be the Ent-Wives that Merry and Pippin tell Treebeard about hearing of and the ones he is longing to find again.

After being ridiculed and made fun of for his beliefs and ideas – he then switches to the subject of elves. He “chants” how they are leaving Middle Earth – going to the Grey Havens, indicating his sadness that they are leaving. In this exchange with Sandyman we get an indication of how much Sam loves elves and his desire to see them – a desire that isn’t quenched until he arrives at Rivendell. None of the other hobbits in the conversation really cares about the elves, or the outside world for that matter. They are perfectly happy dealing with their own lives and ignoring everything outside the Shire. In Hobbiton, everyone is in perfect ignorant bliss.

After Sam mentions Bilbo during the conversation, we get a look at his respect for Bilbo and Frodo. We discover that he worked for them and still works for Frodo as his gardener. In the past, Sam enjoyed all the stories that Bilbo had to tell of the outside world and now any news he can gain from Frodo. Sandyman retorts that “they’re both cracked. Leastways Bilbo was cracked and Frodo’s cracking.” This seems to be the general feeling around the Shire and in particular in Hobbiton. Neither Bilbo nor Frodo seem to be well respected. Sam isn’t respected because he looks up to both Frodo and Bilbo.

In someways Sam comes off as simple-minded and like a child almost. He’s very innocent and when Gandalf announces he will be going off with Frodo he is excited to be seeing elves. He stammers and lies terribly when he is caught eavesdropping on the conversation – almost like a child. We also see that he does think of himself beneath Frodo, by calling him “sir”, “Mr Frodo” and begging for his forgiveness for listening. This changes through the story, but Sam always has a deep respect for Frodo that runs deeper than just friendship.

Frodo
The chapter opens up with Frodo and the general opinion of Hobbiton toward him and Bilbo. As I stated above, neither of them were well respected. The general feeling was that Bilbo was crazy and Frodo was on his way to becoming crazy. It was with great relief among the inhabitants of the Shire that Frodo was left on his own, without the interference of Bilbo or Gandalf., so he could grow some “hobbit-sense”.

While most hobbits felt that Bilbo was dead, Frodo continued to celebrate Bilbo’s birthday, along with his own. This, many hobbits felt was very odd. Through the hobbits reaction to Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Gandalf and other outsiders – we see how hobbits are actually very judgemental of others and don’t like or trust people who are different or think differently. Their motto seems to be “ignorance is bliss” more than it is a prejudice though.

I’d hate to bring up the movies, but this next part has been discussed repeatedly in the movie forum and I think this is an important point to understand. Did Elijah Wood properly portray Frodo’s age in the movie? I have always maintained that he did and here we learn why. We learn that Frodo, like Bilbo, is “well preserved” and is not aging. Frodo is like a “robust and energetic hobbit just out of his tweens”. Things seem not to have changed even as he approached 50. Other hobbits at this time then begin to think it is unnatural and queer. I feel that this is the reason why Elijah Wood made the perfect Frodo (minus some gripes I have with his constant eye rolling, but that’s another subject and another forum ).

We learn about some of Frodo’s relationships, such as Meriadoc and Peregrin as his best friends, and his love for Bilbo. As for his relationship with Sam, no matter what people may think about later chapters and the relationship between Frodo and Sam – they were not initially friends. They were merely in my mind employer and employee, although close. Sam respected Frodo, but they weren’t necessarily friends.

As time wore on – a desire to travel and see the outside world began to grow on Frodo. He started to look at maps and talk to strangers traveling through, such as the elves going to the Grey Havens. This desire grew stronger each autumn at around Bilbo and his birthday at the time when Bilbo had left Hobbiton. This desire only increased as Frodo’s 50th birthday approached, around the same age Bilbo left for the Loney Mountain as described in “There and Back Again”. This all demonstrates a very strong connection and love between Frodo and Bilbo, which is later used to show the power of the Ring when Frodo is at Rivendell and he almost strikes Bilbo.

continued...