Tungol
Member
I've been struck by all the instances of animal-like behavior of the riders, which Corey discussed in the last few sessions. The example, the sniffing and crawling.
One other behavior I find notable is the hissing.
Gaffer Gamgee says: "He seemed mightily put out, when I told him Mr. Baggins had left his old home for good. Hissed at me, he did. It gave me quite a shudder."
Farmer Maggot also relates that after he told rider to go back to where he belongs: "He gave a sort of hiss. It might have been laughing, it might not. Then he spurred his horse right at me, and I jumped out of the way only just in time."
Another character that seems notable for his hissing is Gollum. I take it from this that the "wraithification" process causes the human/hobbit to revert to their animal nature in some ways. They seem to lose their civilization and return to being base predators. They're almost like the beasts as described in the Silmarillion, corrupted by Melkor.
On a side note, in this light it's more understandable/forgivable that Jackson decided to make the speech of the riders very hissing-like in films: "Shire.... Baggins...."
What I don't like so much is that he also gave them an animal shriek, which doesn't have much textual support. As Corey described, their call is described as a wail and not a high-pitched shriek. Even there though there is some ambiguity, because the line reads:
"A long-drawn wail came down the wind, like the cry of some evil and lonely creature. It rose and fell, and ended in a high piercing note. "
Overall, I find that Jackson and Co. very often take a kernel of truth from the books, and then expand it beyond normal proportions. The book says that the riders hiss when they are angry, so now all their speech consists of hissing. The book says they have a high piercing wail when calling to each other one time, and now they have a high-pitched shriek all the time.
One other behavior I find notable is the hissing.
Gaffer Gamgee says: "He seemed mightily put out, when I told him Mr. Baggins had left his old home for good. Hissed at me, he did. It gave me quite a shudder."
Farmer Maggot also relates that after he told rider to go back to where he belongs: "He gave a sort of hiss. It might have been laughing, it might not. Then he spurred his horse right at me, and I jumped out of the way only just in time."
Another character that seems notable for his hissing is Gollum. I take it from this that the "wraithification" process causes the human/hobbit to revert to their animal nature in some ways. They seem to lose their civilization and return to being base predators. They're almost like the beasts as described in the Silmarillion, corrupted by Melkor.
On a side note, in this light it's more understandable/forgivable that Jackson decided to make the speech of the riders very hissing-like in films: "Shire.... Baggins...."
What I don't like so much is that he also gave them an animal shriek, which doesn't have much textual support. As Corey described, their call is described as a wail and not a high-pitched shriek. Even there though there is some ambiguity, because the line reads:
"A long-drawn wail came down the wind, like the cry of some evil and lonely creature. It rose and fell, and ended in a high piercing note. "
Overall, I find that Jackson and Co. very often take a kernel of truth from the books, and then expand it beyond normal proportions. The book says that the riders hiss when they are angry, so now all their speech consists of hissing. The book says they have a high piercing wail when calling to each other one time, and now they have a high-pitched shriek all the time.
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