01-21-2009, 08:48 PM | #81 | |
Entmoot Minister of Foreign Affairs
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11-13-2009, 10:12 PM | #82 |
Elven Warrior
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Whould would DARE to ask such a question?
Who would every ask such a question? Think about it: Merry and Pippin are the people who add something besides drama to the story! Whenever you're reading and you just have this inner craving for a little simple-minded stupidity, Merry and Pippin are there to help!
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Elleth Valatari "We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil." — J.R.R. Tolkien |
11-14-2009, 07:59 PM | #83 |
The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator
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Simple-minded stupidity? Is that all you see when reading about Merry's and Pippin's presence in the Fellowship? I hope not. The film, maybe, but certainly not the book.
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11-23-2009, 11:54 PM | #84 |
"The Bomb"
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They're there to show that every person, no matter how small or insignificant, still has it in him to foster lots of growth and self-betterment.
Character development is rampant in LotR. In the beginning sure they're bumbling idiots, but they're soldiers by the end aren't they? More mature, independent, wise, headstrong, quick on their feet, hearty, literally taller... Pippin's not the type to go accidentally knocking stones into old wells anymore to make a long story short. Tolkien knew what's up. Their growth was more subtle than say, Frodo's or Theoden's, but they're not to be overlooked. I mean, that's aside from the 9 vs 9 theory, which is okay too, if you really think Elrond and company expected a hobbit to go toe to toe with a witch-king and win. They are so dearly simple, aren't they? Kids love' em! |
12-05-2009, 07:48 PM | #85 |
Swan-Knight of Dol Amroth
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Not to speak of Merry's setting the Witch-King up for Eowyn to spit. "No other blade, though it be weilded by mightier hands..." and all that. And Pippin saved the Palantir, and Faramir, too. We do not know whether the Plantir's fall was marked by anyone else. Gandalf hints that he did, but it is not stated so.
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"What song the Sirens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, though puzzling questions are not beyond conjecture." - Sir Thomas Browne, Urn Burial. |
12-10-2009, 02:39 PM | #86 | |
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12-10-2009, 03:14 PM | #87 | |
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“"I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider," Fear Complacency! ___________________ Something under the bed is drooling |
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04-07-2010, 12:26 AM | #88 |
Sapling
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I don't have the text in front of me but when I think of hobbits the first thing I remember is Gandalf saying "There is more about them than it would appear" (or something like that). Bilbo was able to actually give the ring away -- a thing no creature of any kind had ever been able to do -- and let us not forget that, ultimately, Frodo failed at the crucial moment. I like what a previous poster said about having spare hobbits along "just in case." It sounds a little Machiavellian, but it's worth noting that the council was well aware that the fellowship wasn't going storm the the Mountain of Fire with raised swords and a war cry.
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10-03-2010, 12:48 AM | #89 | |||
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I’ve been re-reading parts of Lord of the Rings, not in any particular order. There are several points at which Merry and Pippin make a tremendous difference in the storyline.
Not a bad set of accomplishments for two fellows whom Elrond feared “do not understand and cannot imagine what lies ahead,” but demanded to go along or be sent “home tied in a sack.” (FotR, “The Ring Goes South”) As barrelrider110 states, Merry and Pippin “were shrewd, loyal and brave.” Were they foolish? No doubt: but as Beruthiel's cat observes, we see nearly everything through the eyes of the hobbits, and so they serve as proxies for us, as Everyman in the narrative. -|- There is a great deal of discussion in this thread about planning and scheming and dark hints that Gandalf and the Eldar were involved in some nefarious plot to use Hobbits to overthrow Sauron. Piffle! say I; however, what guided Gandalf in particular, and to lesser extents the Eldar, Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam is not so easily dismissed. There is not a conspiracy, but Tolkien makes clear at many junctures that there is another Will, a guiding force that seeks for Good in Middle-earth. Gordis has already pointed this out. But for clarity, in the Appendix of “The Hunt for the Ring” in Unfinished Tales, we find this dialogue: Quote:
A final thought concerning Arwen and Frodo and his passage into the West. In a footnote to Letter 246, Tolkien writes, Quote:
No doubt these last two points – whether a “conspiracy” existed to overthrow Sauron (the Mouth of Sauron declared there was!), and the nature of Frodo’s journey into the West – both deserve threads of their own. I added them to tie up what I saw as loose ends. (And yes, I did read the whole thread.) Last edited by Alcuin : 10-03-2010 at 12:52 AM. |
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10-03-2010, 02:12 AM | #90 | |
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