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  1. R

    Sam as Greek Chorus?

    I realized in one of our recent discussions of Sam's commentary - his talk to Bill the pony - something I've thought before when one of Sam's grumbling comments seems to speak to us, especially at the end of a scene - that Sam serves some of the functions of a Greek chorus. The site Master...
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    Not on YouTube?

    Is this no longer on YouTube live? Did I miss an announcement? This is the second week I can't find it.
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    Is Aragorn going forth to die in battle?

    In the last class, Corey says that Aragorn is not setting out to claim his kingship, but self-sacrificially to die as Elendil died in defeating Sauron. This bothered me. Aragorn is setting out, putting everything including his life on the line to defeat Sauron in order to have the right to the...
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    Farewell to Rivendell?

    We entered Rivendell in March 2019, so it's been almost three years - it will be three years if it takes us a few weeks to actually start moving. I just thought I'd mention it - in case anyone is wondering or feeling anxious. :)
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    Destiny?

    If Thorin and Gandalf were fated to meet so Bilbo would find the Ring, then, if they had made different choices that day and hadn't met in the inn at Bree, would the other choices they made have led to the same result? In other words, was the fated event their meeting, or was it the finding of...
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    Early Elf Generations

    I found all the schemes for population growth in the earliest elf generations a bit disconcerting. It felt rather mechanical, as if for years the elves were reproducing in sync - I kept thinking of the scene in A Wrinkle In Time when the children in all the front yards are bouncing balls...
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    Totally off topic

    How did I never notice that Halbarad is among the dead named in the song of the dead of the battle of the Pelennor fields?
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    What Bilbo and Frodo Didn't Say - And Neither Did We

    We talked a lot in class about the emotions Bilbo and Frodo were showing and avoiding in their farewell scene. It hit me, though, that we missed the major emotion in the room with them, and that every speech and action had to be interpreted in light of that - namely, that these two who love each...
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    How To Pack A Mithril Coat

    At the end of class I was imagining how a person would pack something made of fine chain mail, and I remembered an evening bag I once had that was made of silver chain mail. I used to be able to put my hand underneath and just let it sort of puddle into my hand. So I think that Bilbo must have...
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    The Two Swords

    In class we discussed possible parallels between the reforging and renaming of Anduril and Bilbo giving Sting to Frodo. We talked a lot about the significance of each sword, but left out the way in which they are most similar, namely, that they are both heirlooms with significant histories to...
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    Two Months in Rivendell

    Most of the time, we seem to ignore what was going on in Rivendell during the two months the scouts were out, except that in this episode there was some talk of Boromir hanging out rather than going back to Minas Tirith right away. But Corey also said that Legolas and Gimli were strangers to...
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    If Bilbo had killed Gollum

    In class it was mentioned that if Bilbo had killed Gollum, Gollum wouldn't have told Sauron about Baggins and the Shire. If Bilbo hadn't spared Gollum, what would have happened? 1. The story of Bilbo giving up the Ring, and Gandalf's fear and subsequent research, would be the same, except that...
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    Elven Time

    Legolas stirred in his boat. 'Nay, time does not tarry ever,' he said; 'but change and growth is not in all things and places alike. For the Elves the world moves, and it moves both very swift and very slow. Swift, because they themselves change little, and all else fleets by: it is a grief to...
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    Why Do We Think the One Ring Will Act Like the Nine?

    In another thread, this question occurred to me: why do we assume that the One Ring will turn a mortal bearer into a wraith? Gandalf says it in The Shadow of the Past, but how does he know it? Do all the Rings of Power do the same things? The subservient rings were made for the people they were...
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    On The Other Side?

    Could the Ringwraiths travel back to Mordor skipping the physical world altogether? If they no longer can function in this world, aren't they still functional in the spirit world? So can they travel back on the other side?
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    Speaking of scouts...

    All this talk about scouts, and our own journey back to Weathertop, led my mind back further to Merry's adventure in Bree. We never accounted for the Nazgul's presence across from the Prancing Pony, and as I remember it, we assumed that Bill Ferny and the Southerner were telling him about...
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    What is essential is invisible to the eye

    There was discussion in episode 169 (the first that was live on YouTube) about Gandalf saying he tamed Shadowfax. That reminded me at the taming in The Little Prince. It seemed to be the kind of taming that made sense between Gandalf and Shadowfax. So I looked tonight and found several quotes...
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    Throwback - Identifying the Ring During the Council

    Why wasn't Bilbo allowed to tell the story of his giving up the Ring during the Council? I have generally thought that Elrond stopped Bilbo from telling the story of his farewell party was to spare Bilbo, especially since there were other proofs. But recently I began to have another thought...
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    The Strider

    I would put Gandalf's "your friend the Strider" alongside "the Lord Denethor," "the Prince Imrahil," "the lady Eowyn," and later "the Lord Aragorn" as a proper naming for people of a certain rank. At this point after the Council, Aragorn's rank has been revealed openly. We have talked about the...
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    Black and White

    I think the reason race is brought up in relation to The Lord of the Rings is not because the bad guys have black skin, but is more structural. The point is that black is almost always used to describe something evil (the only exception I can think of is the black and silver livery of Minas...
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