Tiny Scenes

Throughout the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien inserts small moments in scenes that seem inconsequential and never lead to much of anything important in his narrative.

For example, when the Fellowship is leaving Bree, Sam tosses an apple he was chewing at Bill Ferny.  Look at this passage and try to figure out why Tolkien bothered to insert this tiny scene. What is its purpose in the overall story? What does Tolkien gain from adding it to the tale? What does it say about Sam? Why is it an apple and not a biscuit or a potato?

Can you think of any other tiny scenes that seem unnecessary to the plot, but which you could argue are important to Tolkien's work for other reasons?

Who Are You?

All members of my Tolkien's Art, Myths, and Sources course this semester have been given pseudonyms of characters from Tolkien's works. Look up your pseudonym and write a brief description of who that character is and perhaps how he/she relates to other familiar characters. If you are familiar with your character, write a bit about what you think of your namesake.