Brandon Lovesee
New Member
One of the common themes in The Hobbit is the role luck plays in the quest's success. It is repeatedly pointed out that, had things happened any other way, the quest would have failed. For example, had the dwarves not been captured by the elves and then escaped via the barrels, they would have found the old forest road impassable. This theme appears repeatedly, and attention is often drawn to it (one of Bilbo's titles he gives to Smaug is "Luckwearer.")
Though it is not called out, I believe we can see this theme in the Lord of the Rings as well. What comes to mind is the absence of Gandalf here in this part of the story (though we have to look ahead to see the effects.) Had Frodo received Gandalf's letter, or if Gandalf was there at Crickhollow, the hobbits would likely have not gone through the Old Forest, met Bombadil, received their swords (which Merry would use later to defeat the Witch-king), or drawn the attention of Strider. Perhaps Merry and Pippen wouldn't have even come on the journey and then not joined the Fellowship.
I think this is something we should be keeping an eye on as we go through the story (though it will be 2030 before we actually see the effects of certain events.)
Though it is not called out, I believe we can see this theme in the Lord of the Rings as well. What comes to mind is the absence of Gandalf here in this part of the story (though we have to look ahead to see the effects.) Had Frodo received Gandalf's letter, or if Gandalf was there at Crickhollow, the hobbits would likely have not gone through the Old Forest, met Bombadil, received their swords (which Merry would use later to defeat the Witch-king), or drawn the attention of Strider. Perhaps Merry and Pippen wouldn't have even come on the journey and then not joined the Fellowship.
I think this is something we should be keeping an eye on as we go through the story (though it will be 2030 before we actually see the effects of certain events.)