While listening to each group describe what their assigned quote contributed to the chapter and to the story as a whole, I kept being reminded about how some features in these earlier chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring foreshadowed events to come. While this, of course, is a standard tool authors use to make a well-designed story, I am surprised at how Tolkien incorporated foreshadowing in the most subtle, obscure places of his book.
One such example concerned Chapter 6, "The Old Forest." I feel like Merry's speech concerning the history of the forest really foreshadowed events to come in both The Two Towers and The Return of the King. First, it was interesting to see how trees could display animosity and was perhaps the first instance in The Lord of the Rings in which the reader heard of how anthropomorphic the trees in Middle-Earth could be. After all, much of The Two Towers revolves around moving trees angry with Isengard for its treachery and destruction. Likewise, this history of the Old Forest foreshadows the Scouring of the Shire, as was mentioned in class. The beautiful, pastoral home of the hobbits was burned, and its trees were cut down by Saruman and his thugs. Seeing how some of the Old Forest, being so close to the Shire, was burnt and destroyed by the hobbits could serve as a reminder of what is to come for the hobbit's own land in the future.
Finally, I also thought of how the swords the hobbits acquired on the Barrow-Downs in Chapter 8 provide some foreshadowing. These swords, Tom Bombadil explained to them, came from the Men of Westernesse who were enemies of Angmar. Merry received one of these swords and used it against the Witch-king of Angmar during the Battle of Pelennor Fields. "No other blade...would have dealt that foe a wound so bitter." Even when the hobbits were far away on the borders of the Shire, Tolkien had already foreshadowed a great event to come. Nevertheless, he made all these foreshadowings unobvious. Not until the story played out could they really be seen for what they might have alluded to in the first place.
Just like Dr. Donovan said today, every time I read these books I notice more and more that I didn't the first time through. I notice foreshadowing, callbacks, and more. Bilbo and Frodo both journey through a dangerous forest - Mirkwood at first seems much more unnatural because of what lives within it (the eyes Bilbo notices, the squirrel that tastes horrible, the giant spiders, even the Elves and their feasts), whereas the Old Forest that Frodo/Merry/Pippin/Sam travel through seems much more ominous for the trees themselves being the unnatural creatures. I agree wholeheartedly that Merry's speech foreshadows the actions upon/by the forests later (Saruman's actions against the trees, and the Ents moving against Isengard) - but I definitely did not notice that the first time through!
ReplyDeleteI think that the aspect of prophecy in Tolkien's work is really interesting. I remember when I read Macbeth is high school and I read the part that "no man born of woman shall harm Macbeth" and I got excited because it reminded me of the scene where Merry and Eowyn kill the witch king. However back then I didn't have the knowledge of Tolkien to realize that he probably was making an allusion to Shakespeare work when he wrote that. It also goes to show how relevant Shakespeare is in the modern day. I remember thinking that I liked Tolkien's resolution to this prophecy much more than Shakespeare's. Even though in some ways its obvious that subversion of gender roles couples with a moment of empowerment for a character who has been greatly in need of one is very satisfying to me. I thought at the time how much better it would have been if the twist at the end of Macbeth was that he was killed by Lady Macbeth. I also think these little details of foreshadowing are very important to Tolkien's world building. Merry receiving a sword from an enemy of Angmar reminds the reader that this is a rich world and the witch king has been a terror for hundreds of years which makes his defeat even more satisfying.
ReplyDeleteI think Tolkien's use of the sentience of trees and other plants sends a profound message to modern day society. If nature could directly fight back to the harm that is being done to it, maybe man would be more hesitant to destroy it. Tolkien also brings a sense of optimism about man vs. nature, particularly with the Ent raid on Isengard. He shows that man is not the predestined victor in this battle, but that the resilience of nature can actually overcome the anthropogenic damage which has been done.
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