Treebeard

I -love- Treebeard...what a wonderful character with his Hrums and Hooms and fondness of his two new hobbit friends. This chapter is also a great lesson on perspective. What's "hasty" to Ents is interminably slow for the hobbits; the hobbits were warned by Celeborn to keep froom being entangled in Mirkwood while Treebeard would have said the same thing about Lothlorien. Sort of makes me wonder what the LOTR story would have been like, told from an Ent's point of view. :-)

Really enjoyed the details about Treebeard and his life: the fact that Ent-houses don't need chairs, their food is all liquid, "we are not a hasty folk", how they move, their love of standing in the rain, the Entwives. Especially the Entwives...Treebeard's tale of the Entwives is funny and sad and mysterious all at the same time. I hope the Ents end up finding the Entwives.

I quite like Bregalad, the "hasty" Ent, even though we only get a short glimpse of him. I like the fact that so many things make him laugh.

Can't wait to see what the army of marching Ents will look like in the LOTR movie (though since this is in the second book of the trilogy, I'll have to wait until 2002 :-( )

I'm worried for the Ents, though. They are going to be so vulnerable to fire...what if Saruman takes advantage of that? All he would need is a match (or the wizardly equivalent). I hope nothing bad happens to Treebeard. I think he and Tom Bombadil would get along very well, don't you?

[Previous entry: "Two Towers: BOOK III - Chapter 3"] [Next entry: "Two Towers: BOOK III - Chapter 5"]

Posted by Fatwilbur @ 2001 May 20 08:54 AM EST

Hurm Hoom! I especially love the Ent language, which is transcribed as Elvish but with compound words twenty-seven components long! I actually feel like an arse, since this last time I read the trilogy, I skipped this chapter, and didn't realize it until four chapters up! Of course, I went back, and my hair is curlier for it! Onward...

Posted by Chris H. @ 2001 May 20 09:11 AM EST

This was one of my favorite chapters too! And Treebeard is one of my favorite characters. But don't stop now!!! The next few chapters are really exciting!!

Fatwilbur -- I've often wondered the same thing, but I'm in the same boat. Soo... does anyone know anything??

Posted by Phil @ 2001 May 20 10:28 AM EST

Hi Debbie

I really looked forward to your comments on this chapter. I just knew you would love Treebeard and the ents! I always felt that they are kind of related to the hobbits, psychologically. Down to earth and humorous, enjoy their drink and rest, but tougher than most when it really matters. No wonder Treebeard, Merry and Pippin get along so well.

And isnīt it amazing the way Tolkien has provided every kind of people in his world with its own history, culture and above all, language? And with every new character he introduces, the web of old history is more tightly woven, and the connections between now and then a little clearer. That narrative technique creates a kind of deep realism that makes the reading process so unique.

Also, it always makes me feel that I really only get to hear a fraction of the story when I read The Lord of The Rings. I think thatīs one of the things that make these books so spellbinding. No matter how many times you read them, and how many other books you read about Middle Earth history and so on, you still have a feeling that thereīs much more, somewhere.

Kepp at it Debbie! But I guess you donīt need encouragement any longer...

Posted by Katarina @ 2001 May 20 11:08 AM EST

Treebeard is, perhaps, the most original creation in LOTR. I love the description of his eyes, like wells into the past that can suddenly become very "present."

Ents are a depiction of what trees would be like if they could evolve into sentient, moving, speaking creatures. Be an old "tree-hugger" myself, I find this profoundly moving.
Treebeard's song is one of my favorites in LOTR too. And there is a lovely encounter between Treebeard and...oops, about to say too much! Suffice to say, you in particular will like it, Debbie!

Posted by Paul Mendenhall @ 2001 May 20 12:32 PM EST

This is a favorite chapter of mine, too, I really, really like the Ents. I remember clearly that when I first read this part of LOTR it changed my perpective forever on trees and forests- I had a much more meaningful relationship with the large maple tree that grew right outside my dorm window throughout university as a result of reading LOTR just the year before :).

Posted by Allison @ 2001 May 20 04:11 PM EST

Very happy that you like the ents! I was pretty distressed when my roommate, who I conned into reading the books, said that they didn't seem like anything special (then again, considering her taste in books...)

I was personally hoping that they'd get Tom Baker (from Dr Who, if that means anything) to do Treebeard's voice - can't have everything I suppose. You've gotta love the images that Tolkien manages to evoke of the distant and much beloved past. And the differences in the ways that Bombadil, the ents, and the elves think about such things is a real wonder.

Posted by Nathan @ 2001 May 20 04:26 PM EST

Tolkien never explicitly says the tree-man seen in the shire had anything to do with Ents, but he doesn't deny it either.

As for the ultimate fate of Ents and Entwives that is implicit in the prologue. The LoTR is meant to place in Europe's distant past (Tolkien later estimated circa 6000 BC). Our modern world is thus the fruit of the heroism of the fellowship of the ring, and there don't seem to be many Ents around today.

The war of the Ring, as described in LotR is the final flourish of magic before the coming of the dominion of man, but now all its wonders (the ents, the elves and the rest) have long since died or departed. Read in this light the LotR acquires a touch of elegy.

Of course, the Ents may still have enjoyed a last spring with their Entwives before men came to cut down all the old forests.

Posted by Robert @ 2001 May 20 05:19 PM EST

I noticed a few people with "deeper" trivia questions on here. For those of you who have already read the books and aren't afraid of spoilers, there is a wonderful site out there where the staff dedicates themselves to the books of Tolkien more so than the movies. They have a question and answer page where you can try to stump them with questions, and they always have great answers. It's at http://greenbooks.theonering.net/questions/index.html
You should really give it a look if you need a break from the movie hype and want to get back down to the nitty gritty of Tolkien :)

Posted by Tinuviel @ 2001 May 20 10:49 PM EST

P.S. I wasn't meaning for that to be an advertisement, so sorry if it offended anyone! I just saw a lot of hard questions coming up and I thought I'd steer you towards the experts who can answer you the best :). Sorry again!

Posted by Tinuviel @ 2001 May 20 10:51 PM EST

Fascinating page, Tinuviel! Thanks for pointing it out. I browsed it a bit tonight and will be sure to go back again.

Posted by Allison @ 2001 May 20 11:20 PM EST

I few chapters back someone commented on the way Tolkien wove together so many threads of plot that might seem unimportant at the time but later show up as essential parts of the story, and you're seeing it again in this chapter. It's derived from a medieval narrative style called intrelace, and Tom Shippey's written about it in his latest book of criticism. Just one more thing that adds to the medieval feel and complexity of LOTR!

Posted by Janet Croft @ 2001 May 21 09:21 AM EST

This is off-topic for LOTR -- but people who enjoy Tolkien's deeply-interlaced writing style may also like the works of C.S. Friedman. She also has the knack of running a dozen different, seemingly-unrelated subplots that all turn out to be vitally important at the end; I've described her books to people as "having the texture of a tapestry." I particularly recommend her hard-SF books: _In Conquest Born_, _The Madness Season_, and _This Alien Shore_.

Posted by Celine @ 2001 Aug 07 01:24 AM EST