Finished The Two Towers & Thoughts

[bunnyboo]

So.

So.

So…

 

The Two Towers has possibly the best cliffhanger ending I’ve read in a long time.

 

I’ll start by finishing up Book IV. I liked Faramir as a foil to his brother Boromir. He’s level-headed, kind, and perceptive. It was nice to see another side of humanity. What interests me about him is that he chooses not to see the Ring, in case of temptation. He’s wise enough to abstain from the power his brother sought, even if that power could possibly save his people. I’ll just quote this whole paragraph because I think it says a lot about his character and the themes of The Lord of the Rings as a whole.

“’For myself,’ said Faramir, ‘I would see the White Tree in flower again in the courts of the kings, and the Silver Crown return, and Minas Tirith in peace: Minas Anor again as of old, full of light, high and fair, beautiful as a queen among other queens: not a mistress of many slaves, nay, not even a kind mistress of willing slaves. War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend: the city of the Men of Númenor; and I would have her loved for her memory, her ancientry, her beauty, and her present wisdom. Not feared, save as men may fear the dignity of a man, old and wise.’”

It’s an interesting take on war and violence as a whole, I think. War isn’t the end goal but a means to an end—a peaceful end. It’s not glorified here, and I don’t think it’s glorified anywhere else in what I’ve read. This is at odds with the movies where they spend a lot of time on the fight scenes, the siege of Helm’s Deep, and the battle at the climax of Return of the King. Even when I hadn’t read the books, those were the least interesting parts. But anyways, I can tie this back to Frodo’s feelings towards the Shire. He wants to protect it and his way of life, even if he can never return or be the same. This desire to defend his home and people is what started this grand adventure in the first place, and I think that’s a key part of why he was able to resist the Ring for so long and why Faramir is able to do the same. They believe in something greater than themselves; they love something greater than themselves. It’s that love that drives them to good deeds and gives them strong hearts. Sméagol never had that kind of love, I think, even though he had a friend he called “my love.” (Speaking of which, Frodo uses similar language when talking to Sam in this book—“my dear hobbit”—and I just wanted to note that.)

But Boromir clearly loved Gondor as well. What caused him to be susceptible? I think it’s because he glorified war and thought of it as noble and just instead of a tragic but sometimes necessary tool for inevitable peace. He was also very focused on domination and control—“command” as Tolkien would put it. He thought the only way forward for Gondor was to control everything around it, subjugate the surrounding peoples, and rule all with a “benevolent” iron first. The Lord of the Rings contradicts that sentiment. It seems to me that any desire that stems from controlling others, no matter how noble or good intentioned, will never turn out the way you want it to. It will always be corrupted. Saruman started out—perhaps—legitimately wanting to protect knowledge and the people of Middle-Earth; Boromir wanted to protect his people against the armies of Sauron. Gandalf notes that even Sauron wasn’t born evil. But this desire to command others, this belief that you know better than everyone else, this acceptance of war and violence as an end in and of itself leads to these characters falling to the Ring’s power. I think this is what makes hobbits so special. They don’t aspire to be conquerors or war heroes. They don’t crave power or influence. They just want to be left alone by the “big people” and live simple, honest lives in their communities. Sure, they might be stuffy and concerned with silly, inconsequential things, but they have good hearts and good humor, and they can bounce back from tragedy because of it. You know, now that I think of it, I don’t think Ents would be susceptible to the Ring either. They share a lot of similarities with hobbits—insular culture, good-natured, connected to the land they inhabit. They’re slow to anger and slow to make decisions, something that I think lends itself quite nicely to resisting the Ring. They can be roused to action and violence but like Faramir and the hobbits, they only do so in defense. Plus, how would an Ent wear the Ring anyways? I’m imagining an Ent wearing it like a teeny tiny earring or a minuscule hair accessory.

As an aside, it’s interesting that the Ring seems to work its power through sight. Sméagol’s friend saw it glitter in the river, and Sméagol was under its sway after seeing it in his hand.  Gandalf doesn’t want to look at the Ring when Bilbo leaves and again when Frodo starts out on his journey. Boromir wants to see the Ring—though I can’t remember if he actually does or not—and he eventually succumbs. Bilbo seems to me to be the only outlier here. He didn’t actually see the Ring when he found it; he picked it up in the dark by “chance.” This also ties into another theme I wanted to talk about eventually—outer appearances reflecting an inner nature. I might save that one for the final series recap. There’s a lot of examples out there.

Continuing with Book IV, I like how Sam’s character develops here. He’s distrustful of Sméagol/Gollum from the get-go and not without cause. He’s privy to the two personalities’ conflict with each other so he knows that there’s a good side to him, brought out by Frodo’s kindness. Sam even shows some kindness of his own to him. Tying into the discussion of violence and war, Sam shows sympathy for a fallen enemy as well.

“It was Sam’s first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man’s name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace…”

I think this is significant because it shows that Sam has grown as a person. He’s less judgmental, less likely to jump to conclusions based off pre-existing notions, and has personal experience beyond what the Shire taught him. He’s always been perceptive and skeptical of others, but he’s using that perception to be reflective about others and their motivations. He’s giving this man the benefit of the doubt and giving him personhood. Much like the men of Gondor after the siege of Helm’s Deep, he’s extending some amount of sympathy to his enemies—considering the idea that they might not be inherently evil, just misled.

Jumping forward quite a bit and speaking in broader terms, I legitimately teared up—almost on the verge of crying—when Sam found Frodo in Shelob’s lair and contemplated leaving him. It was really beautiful and heartbreaking, even though I knew that Frodo would survive. The fact that Sam was willing to shoulder the burden of the Ring, to complete his master’s mission was really touching. He sticks by the people he loves, even to the point of death as he thinks about returning to Frodo’s side after he destroys the Ring and dying beside him. I’m tearing up now just thinking about it. It’s significant that Sam, like Frodo before him, is willing to take the Ring for a protective and selfless purpose. He has no desire to use it against others and only uses it once to evade the orcs who retrieve Frodo’s (living) body. I guess it’s just that hobbit-y nature at work again.

Overall, I like The Two Towers more than I thought I would. The beginning was super slow in my opinion, but there were some good bits here and there. Of course, you know I’m only in it for the hobbits, and there was a lot of good stuff here. I wasn’t expecting to focus on Merry and Pippin, but I really enjoyed that. I’ll be less dismissive of them in future. Sam is obviously still my MVP, and I will take no arguments on his awesomeness. I’m looking forward to finishing the trilogy. I might even bump The Return of the King up a few notches in my reading list. I also might just take a break from book posts and just read for pleasure. Who can say? Tune in soon for my thoughts on Buffy season four and some more work on the Sculpt Project.

Stay safe out there, friends.