SESSION 250
One wall and no roof:
- Sam is consistently given the last word in these scenes, expressing the thoughts of the hobbits.
- This is also consistent with Boromir’s role in interrupting with relevant questions and comments.
- It is likely that this are being inserted by Frodo as the narrator to have more of Sam’s talk.
- Note: It is therefore no surprise that Sam is given the final line in the book returning to Bag End.
- This contains the most members of the Company speaking at any time so far on the journey.
- Only Frodo, Merry, and Legolas don’t speak in this scene, though he is mentioned with Pippin.
Fell voices on the air:
- While Boromir has been diplomatic in all his comments until now, this time he is more candid.
- He is not claiming leadership or giving orders, but he is making a very direct statement of facts.
- Boromir is both making a determination of their abilities and heading off any contradictions.
- He is not stating this because of the weather, but because of his perception of the cause of the sounds and falling rocks, determining that this is a work of malice and not simple act of nature.
- While he may be simply acknowledging their doubts about the source of the attack, he is also attempting to disarm those objections in advance and may be directed at Aragorn or Gandalf.
- As the heir of the Steward of Gondor and its captain-general, Boromir is unused to following.
- This is the first time that Boromir has asserted himself in a way that hints at usurping leadership.
- The use of “voices” in the plural hints at Sauron’s many allies that Boromir mentioned earlier.
Call it the wind:
- Aragorn’s seeming defensiveness toward Boromir is his saying that rather than it being a choice between the wind and an attack, it is actually both at once, and continues to further explain it.
- He is saying that it doesn’t just look like the weather, but the storm is aware and attacking them.
- Aragorn is raising the possibility that this attack has nothing to with Sauron, yet is still an attack.
- Boromir’s insistence on the binary choice shows his provincialism and lack of world experience.
- For him, everything is related to the struggle against Sauron, as he has spent his life in that fight.
- Aragorn is asking Boromir to widen his view, in terms of both space and time, to all possibilities.
- There is a sense of Aragorn instructing Boromir in lore, and though he doesn’t seem to want to mention Caradhras directly, Gimli’s remembering the stories about the mountain confirm this.
- The legends of the mountain among the dwarves allow him to understand Aragorn’s undertone.
- Therefore, the voice they are hearing is that of Caradhras itself, and the storm-wind is his voice.
- Aragorn may be reluctant to mention Caradhras’ name so as not to invoke it or draw it to them.
It matters little who is the enemy:
- Gandalf is not being dismissive of the talk of Caradhras as much as drawing attention back their current predicament and attempting to discern the identity of the enemy doesn’t help them.
- He may also want to head off any talk of Caradhras for similar reasons as Aragorn’s silence.
- Pippin is the first one for whom his misery is visible, as he is shivering and leaning on Merry.
- It is important that the great and powerful in the Company are no more powerful than Pippin.
- While Gandalf was against going forward into the Pass from the beginning, his reasons for not going on now are more practical, due to the lack of shelter he knows lies just ahead of them.
- Gandalf may be hinting at other things beyond the snow, wind, and rocks threatening the party.
- While Aragorn’s pointed response to Boromir hints at a moment of tension, this seems to allow Aragorn to concede to Gandalf’s statement just as he agreed with Boromir’s original premise.
- Part of Aragorn’s tension is probably related to seeing his original plan going wrong so early.
- While not disagreeing with Boromir, Aragorn shows that he will not be intimidated by Boromir.
- Aragorn stands up to Boromir’s assertion but does so courteously and with circumspection.
- Eventually, Aragorn concedes about not going on and spins their situation as the best possible.
Sam’s mutterings:
- The effect of Sam’s speech provides comic relief to both Frodo as narrator and the readers.
- It’s important that only Frodo can hear him speak, and this is not for the whole Company.
- This is a reminder that not only are the hobbits cold and miserable, but he also provides a touchstone for home by reminding them of houses, which is what the shelter means to him.
- Once again, Sam is unwilling to go along with the prevarication and reframing of the leaders.
- Note: While Sam is certainly the hero of the kind of stories that he heard from Mr. Bilbo, he neither speaks nor thinks of himself in that way, and therefore provides the readers with the grounded first-person perspective of a common person caught up in the goings-on of the tale.
- While he makes a funny statement, since he is not making it for everyone else, he is not being a fool or clown, but instead providing a comfort to Frodo, which Frodo is careful to capture.
- Note: It is for this reason that Frodo states later how important Sam’s “talk” was to him all along. This kind of talk is similar to the kind of humorous grumbling among soldiers that provides them with relief and a sense of shared discomfort, making it easier for them to bear.
END OF SESSION |
