Wow, major plot development (and cliffhanger ending!).
So Boromir succumbed to the lure of the Ring after all. A pity it had to be the representative of Men who turned out to be the one to betray Frodo, but somehow appropriate. At least he seemed repentant after Frodo slipped away, invisible:
However, I suspect the repentance would quickly disappear once he got back into the vicinity of the Ring.
The searching Eye scene was -really- creepy. It will be interesting to see how they portray this in the movies.
Liked Frodo more in this chapter, particularly for his reasons for going on alone.
I adore dear Sam for flinging himself at Frodo's boat ("Coming, Mr. Frodo! Coming!") even though he can't swim. I still don't completely understand what Frodo did to instill this fierce loyalty, but it does make me think that there must be more to Frodo than is apparent.
I'm also finding that posting chapter reports provides extra incentive for me to keep going when things get slow. And the extra comments being posted in response fascinating reading (thanks so much to everyone who has offered input so far). I've received private e-mails from readers who have said they've had as much fun perusing the comment sections as they have my reports. :-)
Scariest creature: the Balrog (I can't -wait- to see what this thing looks like in the movie)
Favourite LOTR food: the Elven lembas (cream-coloured cake thingies that Gimli hoovered down)
My favourite quote: When Galadriel turns down Frodo's innocent offer of the Ring...
I really, really hope that Galadriel appears again in LOTR.
Replies: 23 comments
Won't give you too many spoilers, but will say this - Boromir's repentance was genuine and he is about to prove it! And remember he is not the only representative of men in the (now broken) Fellowship!
FWIW, you are about to read my personal favorite of the six "books" that make up the LOTR - lots of stuff about to happen, with some neat surprises! Enjoy!
Posted by Charly @ 2001 May 17 12:31 PM EST
Do not skip the song in the next chapter. In fact, don't skip any of the songs and poems. Try to enjoy them.
Posted by Ufthak @ 2001 May 17 12:35 PM EST
...or skip them. I know I did on my first reading and it was only on sucsessive readings that I took an interest.
Posted by Steve @ 2001 May 17 02:04 PM EST
I love Sam in this chapter, too, how he is the only one who can read Frodo's mind, how he threatens to punch holes in all the boats unless Frodo agrees to take him along. It just would have been impossibly sad to have seen Frodo driven off to complete his quest alone. Sam rocks.
And what a great ending to "Fellowship", eh? I find myself laughing at those folks who say they plan to see the movie rather than read LOTR. When the movie flashes up "The End" right at this point, those people not in the know are going to have fits. And sales of LOTR books are going to soar next December :).
Posted by Allison @ 2001 May 17 02:06 PM EST
Congratulations! You're better than a third of the way through with the story, and i must say, kudos on theonering.net for pointing me towards this site. It's been fun seeing the book through fresh eyes, especially with the films coming out soon (not too soon!). As far as those nasty comments you got go, ignore them. this is your backyard, you just let people hang out in it. They get rowdy, boot 'em.
Finally, keep your eye on Gollum. He turns out to be the simplest, yet the most surprising, character in the story. Onward to the Two Towers!!!
Posted by Chris H. @ 2001 May 17 02:25 PM EST
This also seems a good place to say I am just so thrilled to see all the people who have joined Debbie's quest in the last few days! I still remember sitting in a restaurant with Deb just a month or so back when she determined that it was finally time to tackle LOTR again before the movies. I was delighted- I was among those folks in her life who was horrified to hear she never finished the saga last time around :).
Then she set up this website, mainly to keep herself on track with her reading, and I was right into it from Day 1. But at the beginning there seemed to be more posters who didn't like Tolkien or had no intention of ever reading Tolkien, so it was kind of lonely at first for a Tolkien lover in the comment sections...
Then a handful of Deb's friends joined in and then the deluge from theonering.net! Reading this website has become a wonderful experience, because I love Deb's fresh perspective on LOTR just like so many others and just as much I'm enjoying the sheer love of Tolkien's writing that's coming through in so many of the comments from other posters. It can be quite moving to read, heh, now I feel at home :).
The road goes ever on... I'm looking forward to the rest of the journey.
Posted by Allison @ 2001 May 17 03:28 PM EST
I was one of those who followed the link from theonering.net here. And I have enjoyed every minute I have spent reading your commentary, Debbie, as well as the remarks posted by others.
This has been SO neat so far. I've got this page bookmarked now, so I can check it regularly to watch how you enjoy it from here on.
There are occasionally times that I regret reading the books for the first time at eight years old. I wish I could read them for the first time now, but this is the next best thing, and I thank you. Sadly, the only close friend I have who HASN'T read the books won't read any book unless it has a major action scene (preferably involving someone's death) on the first page or two. Idiot. :)
Thanks again, and keep it up.
Posted by Tim @ 2001 May 17 04:35 PM EST
I know it has been said here by others but this site has become a "must check" for me every day. I get chills hearing about the emotions you have reading these books. It brings back, with perfect clarity, how I feel whenever I read them.
Thanks, I am having so much fun reading vicariously through you! :-)
Posted by Cameron @ 2001 May 17 04:51 PM EST
Ditto for me, this site is a "must check" site every day.
Posted by Ufthak @ 2001 May 17 05:39 PM EST
...and you know what the best feeling is? [of course i agree with all of the above] the best feeling i get out of this -which i found from theonering.net yes- is that of having to retain myself from spilling out some amazing suprises up ahead... i won't of course because this is exactly the point, it's as if i am re-reading the books myself back when i was fifteen and romantically dreamy about the whole thing... *sigh*. thank you for this debbie- heh.
Posted by yiorgos @ 2001 May 17 06:45 PM EST
I certainly hope that your ISP has a bit of available bandwidth...things could get quite busy in here over the next 5-8 chapters!
TTFN
Posted by Rallas @ 2001 May 17 07:29 PM EST
It is so wonderful to read your comments. As others have said, it is like reading the books again for the first time. I am one of those theonering.net fans, and I am so glad they pointed us to this site. I also recently re-read the series for the first time in many years, and I can't wait for the films. Thanks for some great reading.
Posted by Andy @ 2001 May 17 10:43 PM EST
I too am loving this so much! Tolkien was a formative influence on me from the age of eight, and so I have long since lost the ability to be "objective" about his writing. To see it through your eyes is therefore a great gift.
Some of your reactions are understandable, even if I don't agree with them: the impatience with the prologue and huge amount of backstory and detail; the many songs. Others are very surprising to me: the perception of Gandalf as an old sober-sides, for example. I have always found him very witty! Or your delight in the romantic chemistry between Aragorn and Arwen, which I have always considered under-developed to the point of insignificance.
Your cool reaction to Frodo is interesting to me, because upon re-reading LOTR recently, I found him surprisingly unsympathetic myself. And yet...it was very brave of Tolkien to make him such a shallow, callow young hobbit in the beginning, because this makes his growth all the more fascinating. I also think it underlines one of his main points: heroism isn't about character; it is about making courageous decisions and acting on them, step by step. It is often hard to understand what the characters see in Frodo that is so unique. There is a moment in the next book when Sam has a few words on this subject that will help.
Thanks so much for doing this!
Posted by Paul Mendenhall @ 2001 May 17 11:44 PM EST
I am glad someone pointed this out to me, I have very much enjoyed reading your thoughts as you have journeyed through LoTR so far.
If you have made it this far, I have no doubts that you will finish. From here on out things seem to just pick up speed ;)
Posted by Corvar @ 2001 May 17 11:55 PM EST
I am sitting here two hours after discovering this site. It's late,I need to go to bed, but I had to comment.
I always thought Frodo was absolutely the main character. If he is flawed it is because of the ring. It is exactly because of his baseness, and perhaps less obvious attributes (as opposed to Sam, who's a loveable dimwit, and Gandalf, who's an all powerful wizard) that he is the one who is the "ring bearer". He is much like Aragorn in his "can't judge a book by its cover" appearance. Anyway, LOTR is a great book and a learning experience for anyone reading it for the 1st or 30th time. Enjoy! By the way,I'll try to stick to responding to the chapter comments next time.
Posted by Roland @ 2001 May 18 02:48 AM EST
I can't wait till you get to the bit where imperial star destroyers bomb middle earth from space. But seriously, keep up the good work or i'll get very bored here chained to my desk at work.
Posted by Dom @ 2001 May 18 05:53 AM EST
Wow Debbie! You successfully grabbed the attention of one of the "Powers That Be" over at theonering.net ! I saw his post in here...be prepared to spend 2 hours a day reading Tolkien and 2 hours a day reading the 100+ posts to your chapter. Seriously! Look out!
Posted by Tinuviel @ 2001 May 18 12:00 PM EST
Congratulations on finishing the first third!
I've been quite excited to see you change from "well, I said I was going to do this, so I guess I have to do it" to a position of clearly devouring each chapter.
One final reminder - remember that the Ring is the most powerful evil artifact ever created. Don't blame anyone who is affected by the Ring - it is truly the definition of tragedy as the Ring magnifies what might, if left alone, be a minor character flaw. This fact alone makes Galadriel and Gandalf's refusals to wield the ring even more impressive.
Posted by Bill @ 2001 May 18 10:21 PM EST
If you really want to have an idea of what the Balrog will look like in the movies, it will allmost like this (just about 10 times bigger, according to some people who saw footage of the movies):
http://www3.tolkienonline.com/gallery/gallery_item.cfm?ID=294
Posted by Martijn @ 2001 Jun 01 03:09 AM EST
My advice while reading this: Forget about the Movie.
I don't know whether or not I'll watch it, but as the book continue, you'll see so many amazing things in your mind that nobody could recreate on a screen, and you shouldn't ruin the images by worrying about how they are going to portray it.
Posted by Glen @ 2001 Jun 01 02:18 PM EST
The first movie, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" will end with the first chapter from "The Two Towers".
Posted by Don @ 2001 Jun 01 02:59 PM EST
Thanks, Debbie, this is so much fun. After reading LOTR 20 times, between 1970 and 1990, I had to give it a rest, because it was so familiar that I knew what was coming in every paragraph. I did read the drafts that Christopher Tolkien published: The Return of the Shadow, Treason at Isengard, The War of the Rings, and Sauron Defeated, and enjoyed them very much. But this site has inspired me to go back to LOTR once again. I'm only up to Woody End, walking by starlight at the very beginning, and remembering how much I love that "up hill and down dale" stuff that makes Middle Earth so very real.
Posted by Karen @ 2001 Jun 02 12:44 PM EST
its kind of interesting that in most novels of this kind, the antagonist is a person, who might act alone or lead a group of people. but in LOTR, Sauron isnt really a character, he has no dialog and isnt present at all in the books. i find Sauron fascinating because he is always referred to when he is thinking, like in the movie trailer when Gandalf says "his mind is bent on it" (meaning the Ring). i always pictured Sauron himself as having no form, but just being like a power, an energy. the same way that the ringwaiths had no forn underneath, Sauron was merely, to put it bluntly "an extremely powerful, floating mind" i think the ring was a way to give Sauron form, to harnass his energy-ness (i know thats not a word) and focus it and stuff. i hope thats not too much of a stretch
Posted by aurora @ 2001 Jun 18 06:58 PM EST
