Revision as of 01:20, 6 May 2020

Summary

Short chapter
ARagorn on his own, caught between Amon Hen or back
Depiction of what Aragorn sees from the summit (nothing), contrasts with what Frodo saw
Aragorn hears fighting
Boromir's fight offscene
Brought low by Orcs but also by behavior toward Frodo
Aragorn traces Orcs to Saruman, emergence of conflict with Saruman
He keeps Boromir's final confession to himself
Makes the decision to follow Merry and Pippin rather than abandon them to help Frodo and Sam
Funeral songs for Boromir (Legolas and Gimli)

Three heroes run and run and run
Picture of a desolate landscape
Flashback narrative, squabbling Orcs
Further into Rohan, get glimpse of Gondor
Foreshadowing of storyline: need to deal with Sauron, but deal with Saruman first
Far off Eagle spotted
Finding of Lorien brooch
Stop for the night
Losing hope
36 hours behind Orcs (thanks Boromir)
Background on Rohirrim
Trio surprises Rohirrim horsemen, pissing contest
Aragorn reveals himself as the Heir of Elendil
Eomer trusts Aragorn b/c of Boromir
Eomer informs the party that they attacked/burned the Orc party
Gives background on Rohan, setting up rest of Book 3 - Rohan weak, Saruman on the prowl
Picture of Saruman's war stretegy
Why Saruman is dangerous
Gandalf unpopular in Rohan - doomsayer (foreshadowing Wormtongue)
Edge of Fangorn Forest - remains of Orcs
Strange figure (old man) appears, then disappears, does not return for several chapters
Chapter begins fresh narrative, creates interesting branch of narrative, stalls Frodo and Sam developments

Steps narrative up a notch
Cuts to Pippin and Merry
Merry fight/capture scene
Pippin doubts his presence on the quest
Addresses black sheep of why they were included
Chapter begins to weave the sub-plot of Ugluk and Grishnakh (Mordor and Isengard)
Ugluk (Isengard) - show-off, junior in first command, kbarks, stupid speeches, puffs chest
Grishnahk (Mordor) - grizzled old vet, seen and done it all, dismissive of Ugluk
Hobbits exploit situation (need to keep prisoners alive, fights breaking out)
Orc medicine - fast and rough
Internal power struggle between Orcs, precipitated by principle of "least intelligence"
Running running running
Question mark over fate of two hobbits
Grishnakh tries to run off with the hobbits (knows about ring, etc)
Merry and Pippin watch the battle while snacking on lembas bread
Escape into the forest, miss Eomer's last battle with Ugluk
Final words of chapter, "The smoke rose high and was seen by many eyes", is ominous foreshadowing

Fangorn Forest
Antique forest
Pippin - Took leadership bloodline, important in the Shire
Treebeard makes his appearance
Callback to "The Shadow of the Past", possible sighting of Entwives
Treebeard shows sarcasm, name-drops Gandalf
Callbacks/comparisons to Tom Bombadil
Treebeard cares for the Hobbits
Ents depicted as independent
Saruman's look: "his face... became like windows in a stone wall; windows with shutters inside"
Characterization of Saruman
* Treebeard suddenly decides now is time to make a stand (may have been planning this for a while)
Original depiction of Treebeard (Fangorn) was a servant of Saruman, traps Gandalf and keeps him prisoner
Still a bit dark
Story of the Entwives
Entmoot scene, trees decide to go to war
Anti-climatctic
Chapter brings in the fantasy aspects of Middle Earth

Deus ex machina
Takes us back to Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn
Aragorn follows trail of Merry and Pippin, recalls scene, they continue into the forest
Aragorn searching for redemption
Gandalf's return (the strange old man)
Deus ex machina - reveals the lack of a plan for LotR
Somewhat ham-fisted
Emotional weight of his fall trashed (hero syndrome)
Gandalf initially acts stoned - is confused about who he is
Only asks for news
Gandalf seems surprised by obvious things (Sam joined Frodo), Gandalf continues to not explain how he got there
Gandalf mentions Galadriel's concern about Boromir (raises questions: why would they let him continue in the party without saying anything?)
Gandalf lays out bad guys strategy (Mordor and Isengard), Sauron able to overpower Saruman, Saruman doesn't have chance at getting the ring
Info about Nazgul, Ents
Legendary nature of Ents reinforced
New trio for the quest - off to war in Rohan
Edoras and house of Theoden
Finally get Gandalf's story
Confusing/badly explained, but not referenced much after
Shadowfax
Chapter represents break in narrative of Book 3

@@ Line 105: / Line 105: @@
 * Shadowfax
 * Chapter represents break in narrative of Book 3
+===Chapter 6: The King of the Golden Hall===
+*
 =Flags=