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#1 |
Princess of Skwerlz
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
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Isn't it interesting that even the title of this chapter, which concerns the Rohirrim, with their alliterative poetry, is alliterative?! We readers are taken back to Merry's point of view again, which is quite hopeless for much of the account. His feeling of smallness and uselessness is clearly shown to us, and we can identify with that sense of being a very small frog in a gigantic pond. He does not yet realize that he will be making waves that will have a decisive part in the outcome of the battle!
The separation of Merry and Pippin shows us how important communication is to Hobbits - Merry wishes to be able to talk to Pippin and has no one who will speak or listen to him. We are introduced to the Woses - and by name to their leader, Ghân-buri-Ghân. They are another example of how Tolkien did not always make the good characters good-looking - like Strider, they look foul and feel fair. At first, Merry was apprehensive, especially of their drums. However, aside from minor misunderstandings at the beginning of their speech with the Rohirrim, they are soon trusted and play an important role in getting the horsemen to Gondor quickly and secretly. Did you share Merry's apprehension when you first read this chapter? How do you feel about the Woses now? Wídfara is one of those very minor characters who is probably forgotten by all but ardent fan readers - why do you think he is introduced by name and with dialogue? (In a movie, that would have cost extra!) The change of wind in this chapter seems to parallel the change in the tides of battle - there is more hope in the final few paragraphs than there has been in most previous chapters. Théoden shows his bravery, not only with stirring lines that must touch the readers' hearts, but also by his actions. What kind of strength must it take to blow a horn so that it breaks?! He leads at the head of his troops, and is compared to one of the gods, Oromë. His bravery inspires his troops and puts fear into the hearts of their enemies. Now we remember the last sentence of the previous chapter - the horns of Rohan that stopped the advance of the Witch King into the city of Minas Tirith. Is this a eucatastrophe? Do the descriptions of "joy of battle" and singing that was "fair and terrible" strike you as paradox? Can you feel a connection between battling and singing, or does that seem irreconcilable to you?
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...' |
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Mischievous Candle
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Some thoughts of one of my favourite chapters
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I guess that Ghân-Buri-Ghân and Rohan's army were so close to the sea and Anduin that they could feel the wind turn from land breeze to sea breeze which is a sign of a day. For those who don't share the same enthusiasm for geography; land breeze is a local wind blowing at nights to the sea. Sea breeze blows at days from the sea's high pressure to land's low pressure area. The wind changes because sea warms up and gets cold slower than land areas and that makes low and high pressures switch places daily. If that's the case, it probably was reassuring to know that it wasn't an eternal night but it was actually dawning. I've read this following passage six times or something... Quote:
I remember when I was at the charming are-we-there-yet-age and we were driving home from our summer cottage. When driving in dark, a red glimmer behind forests meant that we were approaching a city and it was a nice feeling to know that we'd be home soon. But in the light of my new observation ( ![]() This chapter flows beautifully. In the beginning the mood is very bleak. But the aid of the Woses kindle a hope in the Rohirrim (and in the reader, too). I found the Wild Men trustworthy from the beginning but I think that's because I had never heard of them before. There must have been quite colourful rumours and tales floating around of the mysterious people who live in the forests, so it's no wonder that the Rohirrim might have felt uneasy about them. The atmosphere grows towards an emotional climax. I think it's very moving to hear Theoden calling Eomer his son and if Tolkien compared Theoden to a vala, his ride must really have been something magnificent. This chapter's last line is a real gem, I think. Quote:
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Fenris Wolf
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#3 | ||
Bittersweet Symphony
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: On the jolly starship Enterprise
Posts: 1,814
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Musings...
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Ghan-buri-Ghan is interesting. He's described as pretty much everything that our hero men such as Aragorn and Faramir are not: short, squat, "thick and stumpy," hardly regal or lordly. His speech is harsh. And ten bucks says he hasn't got those noble grey eyes. But even so, he's clearly intelligent and a good and honest man, especially as we see when he says that if he leads the Rohirrim astray, they may kill him. Theoden's speeches to his men are truly stirring. Here I can maybe see why some would say that it's a glorification of war, but it's really not. It's a depiction of men (and a lady ![]() Last edited by Encaitare; 07-31-2005 at 10:14 PM. |
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Illusionary Holbytla
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 7,547
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Old Ghân is currently one of my favorite minor characters. More than once during this reading, I laughed at some of his comments, notably: Quote:
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![]() But then, he also shows a great deal of sense, and somehow manages to make all the words and promises of the Rohirrim to sound, hm, superfluous. Ghan's got his priorities straight, no doubt about that. Once the orcs are killed, he does not want thanks, but to be left alone. Aditionally, it struck me as interesting that Tolkien chose to use the word "uncouth" to describe the Wild Men's language. This is a word more commonly used to describe Orcs and their languages. Perhaps this is another instance of "look foul, feel fair"? |
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Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
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So we come to Ghan-buri-ghan: Quote:
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The final scene, of Theoden leading the charge, is pure ‘poetry’. Quote:
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#6 | |
Regal Dwarven Shade
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: A Remote Dwarven Hold
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...finding a path that cannot be found, walking a road that cannot be seen, climbing a ladder that was never placed, or reading a paragraph that has no... |
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A Mere Boggart
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: under the bed
Posts: 4,737
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In the passage where Ghan-buri-Ghan is described, he somehow reminds me of a Hobbit - "short-legged and fat-armed, thick and stumpy" - and if having a beard is quite rare amongst their people, as Firefoot says, then this is another similarity. I wonder if they were also related to the 'river-folk' who numbered Gollum amongst their kin? Maybe Merry was seeing himself reflected in the older, wilder face of Ghan-buri-Ghan? In any case, they are certainly enigmatic. ![]() Quote:
The effect is clear though, as a change in the wind would blow away that mirk, and part of the purpose of it is to protect/support the Mordor Orcs. Without the gloom the Orcs may be less effective, and therefore it would be an excellent sign for it to disperse. Quote:
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Gordon's alive!
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#8 | |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
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The description of the attack of the Rohirrim and of their "fair and terrible " singing is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful images from LOTR. I doubt that there has been any reader that has not been moved by that scene. And it seems to fit very well with the way the Rohirrims are described by Aragorn, in "The Two Towers" , chapter two, "The Riders of Rohan":
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Is this the end? No more the hunt, the journey and the goal? That terrifies me most: no more the goal! -Ray Bradbury, Leviathan '99 |
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#9 | |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Playing in Peoria
Posts: 35
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What think ye?
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Bado go Eru, Aldarion |
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#10 | |
Illusionary Holbytla
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 7,547
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I'm really surprised that this chapter is getting so few responses, after how many people said they were looking forward to it.
![]() Maybe it's because this chapter is so amazing by itself that people don't want to break the enchantment by over-analyzing? ![]() Well, a final comment from me, since I didn't have time last time when I posted: Quote:
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#11 | |
Brightness of a Blade
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As I sadly don't have the book with me at this point, I will only speak about the scene that is most vivid in my mind, that is of course, the final one of the chapter.
The mood that grips the Rohirrim at this stage is similar to the so called 'beserk' mood that the Viking warriors used to indulge in at times, although Tolkien thankfully lacks in gruesome detail in favour of an epic big picture. The so called 'beserker warriors' dressed in animal skins and caught in the battle frenzy commited various acts of cruelty like ripping limbs off with bare hands. They became legendary and their behaviour made them very frightening to their enemies. I think this is also what Aldarion was referring to as 'blood lust' (correct me if you has something else in mind). Quote:
This battle scene, does seem to be as Estelyn put it quite the paradox. I'd even be so bold to say it's a paradox when it comes to the feelings it awakens in the reader. We are moved, in spite of ourselves, in spite of us thinking of ourselves as civilised people not delighting in battle and slaughter :P. But in the end, what moves us are words, polished words, poetry, as Davem brilliantly points out. I doubt many of us would be moved by it were we to be there at the centre of blood and gore. But I think a storyteller's aim is not to make us feel what we would if we were there ourselves, but to make us feel like the central characters of the story, like Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn, and the other Rohirrim that stood on that hill and watched Minas Tirith overcome with enemies. And if we, while reading it, feel a bit of their cold fury and grim pleasure in the destruction of evil, then Tolkien has proven his genius once more. And we have once more proven to ourselves our ability to immerse completely into a well written book and come out a little richer in feelings. I think it would be dumb to generalize from here and say that battles are glorified, or even worse, to use such scenes as an attempt to justify modern day wars, which habit frankly disgusts me. Sorry for the brief slip into subjective mode. As for the singing....I think I have a pretty good idea what Theoden and his men were singing as they rode into Gondor. ![]() 'In this blood red dawn / I will wash my soul to call the spirit of vengeance / To deny my wisdom for anger/ To break the scream of the silent foe and be a Knightrider of Doom." Give this song a listen if you're open to new experiences ![]()
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And no one was ill, and everyone was pleased, except those who had to mow the grass. Last edited by Evisse the Blue; 08-10-2005 at 03:19 AM. |
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#12 |
Scion of The Faithful
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: The brink, where hope and despair are akin. [The Philippines]
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I've been reading and rereading the chapter for quite some time now, and I have been unable to get anything from it (
![]() Just yesterday, I decided to drop the book (and the analysis of the actual text), and decided to look into me: What does it move? Where does it touch me? I came up with this. If The Two Towers is a book about overcoming mistrust, then The Return of the King is about friendship--in its truest form, the "lay down his life for his friends" type. The Rohirrim and Sam knows this type of love, and it moves them: [Sam: ]I'll get [to Mt. Doom], if I leave everything but my bones behind. And I'll carry Mr. Frodo up myself, if it breaks my back and heart. So stop arguing! "Alas!" said Théoden. "Then Denethor has heard no news of our riding and will despair of our coming."I have also been reading UT III 2: The Chronicles and Cirion and Eorl (as support material for my aborted analysis), and I came across this: . . . Cirion and Eorl were moved . . . by the great friendship that bound their people together, and by the love that was between them as true men.So, these two (the Dúnedain and the Rohirrim) have been bound by friendship ever since way back! Now I wonder, what happened to the Gondorians? Why did they despair? Did they really think that the Rohirrim would forsake them? Of course, for a while, that thought entered Théoden: A smell of burning was in the air and a very shadow of death. The horses were uneasy. But the king sat upon Snowmane, motionless, gazing upon the agony of Minas Tirith, as if stricken suddenly by anguish, or by dread. He seemed to shrink down, cowed by age. Merry himself felt as if a great weight of horror and doubt had settled on him. His heart beat slowly. Time seemed poised in uncertainty. They were too late! Too late was worse than never! Perhaps Théoden would quail, bow his old head, turn, slink away to hide in the hills.Why did he not turn back? Hope? Then suddenly Merry felt it at last, beyond doubt: a change. Wind was in his face! Light was glimmering. Far, far away, in the South the clouds could be dimly seen as remote grey shapes, rolling up, drifting: morning lay beyond them.Or was it because his friend was in danger? But at that same moment there was a flash, as if lightning had sprung from the earth beneath the City. For a searing second it stood dazzling far off in black and white, its topmost tower like a glittering needle: and then as the darkness closed again there came rolling over the fields a great boom.So I guess that was what moves me: A friendship, tested by trials, is proven true.
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フェンリス鴨 (Fenrisu Kamo) The plot, cut, defeated. I intend to copy this sig forever - so far so good...
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Hauntress of the Havens
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Firefoot: You're most probably right. This chapter is just so beautifully poignant that over-analysis can ruin its magic.
And you've just done an over-analysis of the text, kiddo. ![]() The first thing that struck me here is Merry's selflessness. Quote:
I have to admit I have never exactly been a fan of the Wild Men. Sure, I appreciated all their help, but I did not find them very much worthy of attention. After reading the chapter again, I finally found why you people hold them in such high esteem. But I noted a difference between them ('fauna') and the Ents ('flora'). The Ents had a direct participation in the War by attacking Isengard, while the Wild Men refused to do any such thing. Is this due to a certain degree of bitterness they felt towards the Men? (I would say that this same feeling of bitterness had a part in driving the Ents to fight Saruman.) Or does it have something to do with the nature of their people? Again, the Wild Men are also a bit reminiscent of the Dead. It was Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, who summoned the Dead - who themselves were once Men, but now bereft of restful peace and dignity. They were recalled on oath, and unless they fulfill it the peace they desire would continually elude them, which is possibly why they finally came when Aragorn summoned them. The Wild Men, on the other hand, were under no oath; in a sense, they are a free people, having no imposed ties with anyone else. How they came to meet with Theoden and the Rohirrim I haven't found in the book, but they seem to be creatures feared yet hunted. The Rohirrim asked for their help, which they have freely given (though not in the way the Horsemen requested), and were willing to be killed if they failed. (Does this constitute an oath?) They expressed intense hatred towards Orcs, a reason for them to agree to help. But in one sense they also have this similarity with the Dead: Quote:
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#14 | ||
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
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Basically, he's smart enough to know that there's no hope of survival if the orcs win, & little more if the Rohirrim win, but he's doing what he can for his people. |
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#15 |
Hauntress of the Havens
Join Date: Mar 2003
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But what of Théoden's response, "So be it!"?
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#16 | |
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
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This is a subject that I haven't seen discussed much. The tendency is to see the Rohirrim in a heroic light, but Tolkien clearly states that they had hunted the Wild Men - he didn't have to put that in. Taking into account the Rohirrim's approach to the Dunlendings what we see is perhaps something 'darker' in their attitude to the native inhabitants of their land - maybe 'ethnic cleansing' wouldn't be too extreme a label to put on it. I've certainly seen that accusation levelled at the incoming Anglo-Saxons regarding their behaviour to the native Britons they encountered when they came to Britain - notably in Peter Beresford-Ellis's book 'Celt & Saxon'. In their own way they are as insular & contemptuous of other peoples as the Gondorians. Tolkien doesn't hide this fact, or try & pretend that all the enemies of Sauron are a bunch of goody-goodies. Peoples & races live insular lives in closed off communities & this manifests in at best suspicion, through contempt & hatred to, at worst, ethnic cleansing & genocide. True friendship between members of different races is rare. The Gimli-Legolas friendship is unique & every alliance between different races is held up by Tolkien as unusual & worthy of special comment. Read in the light of the Silmarillion the 'Fellowship of the Ring' is truly an amazing thing - its far from the norm in Middle-earth to see members of diverse races coming together in that way - & that's only because of the extremity the West finds itself in..... |
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#17 |
Cryptic Aura
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 5,990
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I've been thinking of a point for some time and it appears that this is the right place to offer it for discussion. It really concerns these two chapters, five and six, of Book III, as well as the early sections on The Shire.
I would agree with davem [! ![]() Given the association (application?) between the Rohirrim and the ancient Anglo-Saxons, it appears that Tolkien 'split up' his depictions of the English nation into two groups of peoples in Middle-earth: the industrious, largely-peaceful, somewhat sweet and very endearing Hobbits, and the stern, fierce tribe of the warrior code, the Rohirrim. To the Rohirrim, as to the other groups of the race of "Men" Tolkien gives the terrible battle frenzies, the glorification and justification of war, the militaristic and authoritarian social organisations, the insularity which can lead to genocide. We are told through suggestions and matter of fact statements that the hobbits have had troubled times in the past (the Bonfire Glade, the Hedge between Bucklebury and the Old Forest, some distrust amongst the Stoors, Fallohides, and Harfoots), but the eloquence of words, the sweet sweeping along of the reader in the enchantment of the description and narrative is not given to this aspect of hobbit history. Why not? It is almost as if Tolkien provided an 'idealised' version of the English nation but to do so he had to acknowledge the very much more terrible aspects of it in another form. To the race of men who are outside The Shire, those 'continental' tribes who foment so much of the violence in Middle earth, he gives the terrible destructive aspects of European history, invasion, conquest, genocide. (He omits slavery, I think, for the good side and assigns that to Mordor and Sauron.) It is true that Tolkien uses hobbits to develope the trope of the Ring (Bilbo, Gollem/Smeagol, Frodo) but perhaps he can do that mainly because he creates hobbits in the first place as so innocent? (Another way of viewing this is to see the heroic ideal of the English nation coming to the salvation of all men, but this is a different discussion.) Anyhow, I find it interesting that Tolkien splits up his depiction of the English into essentially two different peoples, a shadow and an idealised version. Any thoughts?
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I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. Last edited by Bęthberry; 08-17-2005 at 08:58 AM. |
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#18 | |||
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
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The Rohirrim are his 'fantasy' Anglo-Saxons, 'idealised' in one sense into a warrior elite, but certainly not 'idealised' in the moral sense. So, as Bb says, it seems that Tolkien has 'split' the 'English' into two, the peaceful, bucolic world of the Shire is one, the illiterate warrior culture of Rohan is the other. What both groups share, however, is mistrust of the 'outsider' - even, in the case of the Hobbits, of some of their fellow 'insiders' ('They're queer folk in Buckland.') |
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#19 | ||
Cryptic Aura
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 5,990
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Nor would Tolkien have been limited merely to the battle poems, as the OE corpus includes a fair number of religious poems, poems of exile and longing, riddles, legal papers, to say nothing of Alfred's Doomsday entries. I think the warrior aspect of the Rohirrim owes as much to other warrior epics as to the Old English poems alone. And I wouldn't want to ignore the influence of WWI, as you so ably argued in your thread about that recent bio on Tolkien. But I think your earlier post hit something important. There are aspects to the Rohirrim which don't derive from the Anglo Saxon period per se or the warrior epics of other nations, however much the militarism of the period shows in LotR. And that is the Woses and Ghân-buri-Ghân. I cannot recall anything like it in the OE literature I have read, although there is much about foreigners, foes, enemies and fearful monsters. It is a remarkably complex depiction. It seemingly begins with the derisive attitude towards those who don't speak well a foreign language--the 'uncouth' remark--and extensive descriptions of the ugliness of the man--ugliness meaning largely 'not like the tall, fair-haired Rohirrim and Gondorians'. But Ghân-buri-Ghân shows himself a very apt diplomat, very astute at handling this kind of conversation. The reference to hunting his people is particularly telling I think in terms of Tolkien's inclusion not of an Anglo-Saxon feeling towards others but a modern interpretation. I guess what I am trying to say is that, at the beginning of the interview I think the narrator's voice implies a Rohirrim attitude towards the Wild People, one of thinly veiled disgust or dislike, as if they aren't truly 'people'. But by the end of the passage I think the perspective has shifted to create a more sympathetic attitude towards Ghân. Of course, I could be all wet and wrong, but I sense that Tolkien was including here his thoughts about European attitudes towards 'the dark continent'. Or the Australian attitude towards the Aboriginal tribes there. Or the Native peoples--First Nations--in North America. So, I wouldn't say the depiction of the Rohirrim is 'idealised' even by epic proportions. I think it represents in part a logical extension of some of the qualities in the earlier heroic literatures. It is a heavily nuanced depiction.
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I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. |
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#20 | ||||
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
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Tolkien felt that the Nazis had corrupted the 'noble Northern spirit' by their race doctrine & the attitudes & behaviour that resulted. I don't know if any of this feeling was in his mind as he wrote this chapter - a 'parable' for the Germans? Of course, I'm pushing this too far - because its not how I usually approach the text now. What was in Tolkien's head, or may have been, is beyond me. Certainly, though, a reader may find a certain applicability to the situation at the time of writing. The episode is convincing within the context of the story, & doesn't require any 'outside' knowledge to make sense. |
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#21 |
A Mere Boggart
Join Date: Mar 2004
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Another take on this fascinating line of discussion...
I think it is all too easy to simply equate Rohirrim with Anglo-Saxons but what we have to remember is that the reality of Saxon England was both different and more complex. In practical terms there are major differences such as the Anglo-Saxons did not ride horses into battle. This was also the period when the Vikings were both invading and settling in the British Isles and the two cultures co-existed, and the older Romano-British people had not all been pushed to the fringes of the island as some were assimilated. In addition, the Scots and Welsh had their own cultures. I think the Rohirrim display more than just Anglo-Saxon traits, and we could say that all the cultures of Middle-earth to some extent represent aspects of the British people. The Anglo-Saxons were certainly aggressive in conquering England to begin with, and though they did settle down very quickly, they still exploited those British people who were not on their side. One of the old words for Welshman also meant 'slave', and slavery was a major trade for these people. Perhaps the hunting of the Woses might echo this dark past of the English, hunting and trading their own neighbours. Within the context of Middle-earth the idea that the Rohirrim were less than perfect does 'fit'. The Numenoreans themselves were less than perfect, landing on the coasts of Middle-earth and exploiting their fellow Men (which makes me wonder if millenia of resntment had built up in such peoples as the Corsairs and Haradrim against 'oppressive Numenoreans'). If there is a lesson in this, then perhaps Tolkien is showing how the Woses are dignified, and though they have been oppressed by the Rohirrim in the past, they are willing to help their distant kin. Whether this is the 'noble savage' concept I don't know, and likewise, I'm not certain if that concept is 'correct' in itself, but in any case, the Woses do teach the Rohirrim a valuable lesson.
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Gordon's alive!
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#22 | |
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Co-incidentally, I just came across a piece in the latest Tolkien Studies. In the 1920's Tolkien translated a section of Gerald of Wales 'Description of Wales' (circa 1191) into Anglo-Saxon for a colleague at Leeds University. Just prior to that section are these words of Gerald's:
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#23 | |
Cryptic Aura
Join Date: May 2002
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The documentary concerned the story of what I suppose can be called the original suicide bombers--at least of the twentieth century--the Japanese kamikaze pilots of WWII. I won't go into the very fascinating story of how the Japanese military developed the concept of the kamikaze missions, but will restrain myself only to the relevant point. Apparently, the pilots for each mission were named and then sent to climb a steep hill covered in bamboo. At the top of the hill was the air strip where their planes were waiting for takeoff. I saw the man who made the decisions of which pilot to send describe the occasion. (Well, he was speaking in Japanese and I read the subtitled translations.) He said the pilots would sing songs as they trod up the bamboo hill. He even sang one of them for the interviewer. Very clearly he was suggesting that the songs helped prepare the pilots for their mission. There is a museum dedicated to the stories of the kamikaze pilots. The last story in the museum is about a man who was refused, over and over again, every time he volunteered for a kamikaze mission. He was refused because he was married with three young daughters. Finally, his wife drowned the daughters and then killed herself. He was then accepted for a kamikaze mission. War does very horrible things to people and art--song--can help that happen.
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I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. |
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#24 | |||||
Hauntress of the Havens
Join Date: Mar 2003
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davem, I see that what we have here is yet another problem with the 'meaning' of the books. Frankly, I never thought there would be another way of reading Ghân's and Théoden's conversation; it only occured to me when I read your post, and then I was surprised that there is actually a different point of view to the whole thing. Maybe part of the reason I was locked into my interpretation of the text is that I never really considered that Wild-Men-hunter nature of the Rohirrim that Ghân hinted at. Please accept my gratitude for giving me a new perspective.
![]() But if I could defend myself, my understanding came from the context of the course of their conversation. The first thing we have heard from Ghân (through Merry) implies that the Rohirrim requested the Wild Men to fight with them. Quote:
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So Théoden 'receives their offer,' then comes the discussion of the terms of their agreement. Rohan offers a rich reward and its friendship if the Wild Men are faithful. Ghân refuses this and gives his terms: If Rohan survives the war, they are to 'leave Wild Men alone in the woods and not hunt them like beasts anymore.' And as if to somehow guarantee his faithfulness despite the absence of a reward, Ghân says that he himself will go with the king, and gives them the right to kill him if he proves unfaithful. Rohan accepts this. The idea I get from this whole conversation is that Ghân still bears the pain of his people being hunted down like beasts, yet he is willing to forget the offense for the sake of Middle Earth. It seems to me, then, that the Wild Men are more civilized than I would care to think. |
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#25 |
Dead Serious
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"The Ride of the Rohirrim" builds slowly--we get a glimpse of their arrival in the eucatastrophe of the last chapter, but now we have to rewind to see how it comes about, the tension rising again until its release in the rush across the Pelennor at the end of the chapter--and when it did come, I'm swept up in it. If this were a first time read, there's almost no chance I'd have stopped between chapters; even rereading, the momentum nearly swept me right into "The Battle of the Pelennor."
It's impressive how, though we know they charge from the end of the last chapter, that there's still doubt about what Theoden will do. The meeting of Ghan-buri-ghan is a unique episode in the books, and it contrasts in interesting ways with Aragorn's adventures with the Dead Men of Dunharrow: the Druedain must have been there before the Dead Men (kin of the Dunlendings, we're told in UT) and probably were first displaced by them. But where the Dead Men are more politically displaced by the Numenoreans (and the later Rohirrim), the Druedain are almost more of a mythological displacement. The Dead Men are displaced like the Celts being driven west by the Anglo-Saxons, but the Druedain are like the builders of Stonehenge: unfathomably older and unknown. EDIT: I meant to say something, and then forgot, about the role of weather in this chapter: the turning of the wind is much highlighted and it's almost as important to the victory of the West as the arrival of the Rohirrim or Aragorn's fleet. Manwe's timing is subtle in the narrative but perfect.
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I prefer history, true or feigned.
Last edited by Formendacil; 03-09-2019 at 02:06 PM. |
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