The Lord of the Rings Discussion Ch 11 and 12

[Linaewen]

A Knife in the Dark and Flight to the Ford

These chapters have nearly everything, from Rangers to Trolls, Elves to Black Riders. While much of it is so suspenseful it puts you on the edge, there are also lighter moments with laughter amidst the peril. The only thing it may not have is romance, though we do get a hint of this with Strider’s ‘There [in Rivendell] my heart is’.

The scene is set with a vivid account of the terror generated by the Black Riders’ attack at Crickhollow. We begin to understand the true might of these Dark servants of Mordor, and the danger they pose to the hobbits, especially Frodo.

We also see how the search for the Ring begins to impact on life in the Shire. For the first time in a century, the Horn-call of Buckland is sounded. This reminds me of the earlier Hobbit history, with the battles between the Hobbits and Orcs and wolves. There is a hint of how else the daily lives of Hobbits will be changed by the power of Mordor. ‘Sauron would deal with them later’ the Black Riders think as they flee.

The Hobbits are not entirely safe at Bree either, though. Their bedrooms, although not slept in, are ravaged and the stabled horses are gone. If I remember correctly, wasn’t there some discussion about who actually attacked, since Tolkien doesn’t explicitly state that it was Black Riders?

The troupe has a new and invaluable addition, Bill the Pony. It makes me proud when Sam bids Bill Ferny to ‘put your ugly face out of sight, or it will get hurt’ and throws the apple at him.

On they go, through the Midgewater Marshes and so forth, to Weathertop. We still fear for the hobbits, and Strider warns them of the many spies of Mordor. He mentions “other spies more evil than they [the birds] are”. Is he referring to other animals here, maybe wolves or other Dark creatures? Or something else?

We also get a glimpse of the former might of the Men of the West, with their once magnificent structures now in ruins. Strider tells us some First Age history with the story of Lúthien and Beren.

The power of the Ring is made evident by Frodo’s inability to resist putting it on. When he strikes at the Rider’s foot, he cries ‘O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!’. What makes him say those certain words?

Though we can clearly see how detrimental the evil wound Frodo sustains is on him, we can also see how reluctant he is to let it show and how truly strong he is, especially as a Hobbit. Strider does his best to help alleviate Frodo’s pain and we see what kind of skills and talents he possesses for travelling in the wild, as a Ranger.

Then another lightening moment comes when the hobbits stumble across some trolls. The image of Strider poking a troll (a stone one or not) is hilarious. The atmosphere of tension and fear is lessened with the reminder of Bilbo’s own adventure.

And then we meet a beloved character of many a Mooter, Glorfindel. Through him we observe the healing powers and keen senses of the Elven race. I would have liked to seen more from him in the book.

The chapters end with one of the best scenes, IMO, in LotR. “ By Elbereth and Lúthien the Fair…you shall have neither the Ring nor me!’” Is that not one of the best quotes? We feel a sense of awe for Frodo’s strength and his concern for his friends, when he is unwilling to mount Glorfindel’s horse, fearing that it would put his friends in danger.

I have to quickly refer to the film here, because I know how angry many of us are at how PJ killed this scene in the movies, with his addition of that awful quote by Arwen, and his deletion of the display of strength of Frodo and Glorfindel. The imagery and suspense in this part is incredible, and we feel terrified for Frodo, especially since there’s no wonderful Arwen to protect him.

Finally, we see that there are ‘good’ powers that may be stronger than that of the Dark Riders, with the flood’s onset. For the time being, we wonder who caused such a spectacular event. (Though, admittedly, we find out the answer very soon in the next chapter ). Before you read on, who do you think does it?