The Style of Book VI - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Turambar · 02-28-2003, 10:17 AM

The other thread in the Books about deus ex machina started me thinking again about something . . .

The first part of Book VI tells of Frodo and Sam’s journey through Mordor toward Mount Doom. As they travel, they are of course increasingly exhausted, dehydrated (side note: they apparently left their wits in Ithilien; if you’re going on a 10 day hike in the desert, you CANNOT carry enough water), and hungry, and their despair (especially Frodo’s) grows with each step.

I’ve often found these 3 chapters (especially after they escape from the tower) hard to read. The prose seems to lack something that is found in all of the other parts of the book. But the deus ex machina description of the eagles made me think of something else. Their appearance at Mount Doom is the eagles second appearance in LotR and their fourth in the Hobbit-LotR story. This device always stuck me as being a bit tired at this point in the story. But it’s not the only repeated device in these 3 chapters of Book VI.

Sam asks Frodo if he (Sam) can carry the ring in the Tower, and Frodo predictably goes nuts. Samwise the samwise asks again later, during the march to Mount Doom, and this time Frodo goes REALLY nuts.

Frodo is saved in the Tower because the orcs fight among themselves (and a similar thing happened earlier to Pippin and Merry); this plot device is repeated when Frodo and Sam are captured by orc soldiers in Mordor.

Gollum surprise-attacks Frodo and Sam (as he had earlier, in Shelob’s lair), Frodo considers slaying him but doesn’t, then Sam does the same thing, and again spares him. 10 minutes later, Gollum surprise attacks Sam again.

And of course, much of Frodo’s dialogue is repeated – he mentions his lack of hope several times, he repeats what had said earlier, in the Emyn Muil, that once the ring went into the fire they had no reason to need food or water, etc. etc.

I wonder if Tolkien didn’t do this deliberately. As the travelers reach the end of their journey, and the end of their hope, the prose seems to wind down too, and simply repeats plot devices and dialogue that have appeared earlier. I remember reading a criticism of Ulysses that made the same point about the Eumaeus episode (which occurs at about the same point in that novel): that Joyce made the prose deliberately "tired" to match the exhaustion of the two travelers (Bloom and Stephen).

Note that once Frodo and Sam are rescued, the prose springs back to life. In the Cormallen Field episode, all sorts of previously unheard of things occur – Aragorn kneels before Frodo and Sam, Gandalf laughs like a schoolgirl, Legolas talks of the sea, etc.

Just a thought.

[ February 28, 2003: Message edited by: Turambar ]

02-28-2003, 10:17 AM	#1
Turambar Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Non-Stop Home Posts: 859	The Style of Book VI The other thread in the Books about deus ex machina started me thinking again about something . . . The first part of Book VI tells of Frodo and Sam’s journey through Mordor toward Mount Doom. As they travel, they are of course increasingly exhausted, dehydrated (side note: they apparently left their wits in Ithilien; if you’re going on a 10 day hike in the desert, you CANNOT carry enough water), and hungry, and their despair (especially Frodo’s) grows with each step. I’ve often found these 3 chapters (especially after they escape from the tower) hard to read. The prose seems to lack something that is found in all of the other parts of the book. But the deus ex machina description of the eagles made me think of something else. Their appearance at Mount Doom is the eagles second appearance in LotR and their fourth in the Hobbit-LotR story. This device always stuck me as being a bit tired at this point in the story. But it’s not the only repeated device in these 3 chapters of Book VI. Sam asks Frodo if he (Sam) can carry the ring in the Tower, and Frodo predictably goes nuts. Samwise the samwise asks again later, during the march to Mount Doom, and this time Frodo goes REALLY nuts. Frodo is saved in the Tower because the orcs fight among themselves (and a similar thing happened earlier to Pippin and Merry); this plot device is repeated when Frodo and Sam are captured by orc soldiers in Mordor. Gollum surprise-attacks Frodo and Sam (as he had earlier, in Shelob’s lair), Frodo considers slaying him but doesn’t, then Sam does the same thing, and again spares him. 10 minutes later, Gollum surprise attacks Sam again. And of course, much of Frodo’s dialogue is repeated – he mentions his lack of hope several times, he repeats what had said earlier, in the Emyn Muil, that once the ring went into the fire they had no reason to need food or water, etc. etc. I wonder if Tolkien didn’t do this deliberately. As the travelers reach the end of their journey, and the end of their hope, the prose seems to wind down too, and simply repeats plot devices and dialogue that have appeared earlier. I remember reading a criticism of Ulysses that made the same point about the Eumaeus episode (which occurs at about the same point in that novel): that Joyce made the prose deliberately "tired" to match the exhaustion of the two travelers (Bloom and Stephen). Note that once Frodo and Sam are rescued, the prose springs back to life. In the Cormallen Field episode, all sorts of previously unheard of things occur – Aragorn kneels before Frodo and Sam, Gandalf laughs like a schoolgirl, Legolas talks of the sea, etc. Just a thought. [ February 28, 2003: Message edited by: Turambar ] __________________ In the upper air the fireflies move more slowly.