The Lord of the Rings Discussion : Chpts 7 and 8

[Rían]

Ring a dong dillo, it's TOM BOMBADIL!

When I saw we were going to do this discussion project, I decided to take these two chapters, because I've never been that wild about Tom, and I thought it would "stretch" me a bit. I know there are Mooters out there that like Tom, so let me hear from you guys!


Chapter 7 : In the House of Tom Bombadil

Things have changed drastically in the last 24 hours for our hobbits. Fatty Bolger saw them off into the Old Forest with a prophetic : "I only hope you will not need rescuing before the day is out" - and of course, they DID need rescuing, and Tom's the one that rescued them.

This chapter starts with : "The four hobbits stepped over the wide stone threshold, and stood still, blinking." The last chapter started with hints of other things outside of the Shire; here they have definitely stepped over the "threshold" into things outside of the Shire!

New characters : Goldberry, "daughter of the River". Also we first hear, via Tom, of the kingdoms and people that were in that area. I love how Tolkien throws in glimpses of the past, and you wish he wrote volumes on those other areas, too! It really lends an air of authenticity to his world. Also a tree is definitely introduced as a character - Old Man Willow (rather an undesireable character ... )

So basically this chapter is a brief stopping at the passage between worlds, where they are refreshed and strengthened after having been saved from Old Man Willow, and where they learn more about the world outside of the Shire.

Question 1 : The most interesting thing in this chapter, to me, was how the Ring had no power over Tom. What are people's thoughts on this?

Question 2 : So why the singing and rhyming? When my husband graciously agreed to read thru LOTR with me, I really started to lose him in these 2 chapters, and actually had to skip over them to keep his interest! *dodges rotton tomatoes thrown by Tolkien purists * (hey, at least he got thru the book - and loved it!) There's apparently just something special about music and chanting - you see it in several other areas, too - Gandalf, for example.

Question 3 : And why does Tom appear so ... well, silly? There's actually a brief tie-in with Gandalf (as far as laughing) in the last book that I just thought of ... anyone know what I mean?

Question 4 : Who do people think that Tom is? What does it mean when Goldberry answers this question with a "He is"? How does Tom answer this question when it's put to him?

Question 5 : An important hobbit subject - FOOD! Are Tom and Goldberry vegetarians? Who else in Middle Earth have we seen as vegetarians?

Question 6 : Night and Day - why, as Tom said, are some things "ill to hear when the world's in shadow"? Who else said something like this, and when?

Question 7 : Dreams - here are several dreams listed - thoughts, anyone? And what about Frodo's dream, which Gandalf said was actually BEFORE that situation happened? What does that mean? EDIT - nevermind, I was wrong - it was AFTER! But it's still interesting that Frodo saw him so accurately!

and Question 8 : Chance - here we see "chance" mentioned again - a theme throughout Tolkien. What are people's thoughts on this?