Belba Grubb from Stock
2004-07-28 09:37:10 UTC
Chapter of the Week: The Lord of the Rings, Book 2
Chapter 4 - Treebeard
To check out the other Chapters of the Week or to sign up to do a
chapter of your own, go to http://parasha.maoltuile.org.
_____________________________________________________
"The wind's changing," said Merry.
And so is the story, deepening and taking us into unexpected and
delightful new areas. Here we have hobbits on the loose for the first
time since they entered Bree, and what a treasure they discover:
Treebeard and the forest of Fangorn. What an effect they have there,
too, starting a cascade of events that will eventually have a strong
effect on the direction and outcome of the War of the Ring.
______________________________________________________
SUMMARY:
Merry and Pippin follow the Entwash west, deeper into Fangorn.
Feeling stifled by the close forest, they pause for a drink at the
river and then climb up a nearby hill to look around, not noticing how
quickly their injuries have healed and their vigor has returned. On
the hill they meet Treebeard, the Ent, for whom the forest is named.
Treebeard takes the hobbits to Wellinghall, one of his Ent-houses, for
the night, and the hobbits not only learn much about Ents, they also
tell Treebeard what little they know about events in the greater
world. Hearing this, Treebeard is able to "connect the dots" and
recognizes that his neighbor, Saruman in nearby Isengard, against whom
the Ents already have a strong grievance, "is plotting to become a
Power And now it is clear that he is a black traitor." The old Ent's
anger rises, but so does his wisdom, and he calls an Entmoot for the
next day. Merry and Pippin, of course, are unable to take part in
that and so they are entrusted to the care of Quickbeam, who has
already made up his mind on the matter, having seen so many of his
people, "the people of the Rose" or rowan trees, suffer at the hands
of Saruman's Orcs. For two days the hobbits have some R&R with
Quickbeam, but on the third day, in the late afternoon, Entmoot is
adjourned with a great "RA-HOOM-RAH!" and the Ents begin to march to
Isengard. Merry and Pippin rejoin Treebeard, perched on his shoulders
at the head of the great marching column. They march all day, and at
dusk cross some bare slopes as they approach Isengard. Pippin looks
back and is astonished to see the empty slopes they had just crossed
are now covered with trees, all moving forward.
"At last they stood upon the summit, and looked down into a dark pit:
the great cleft at the end of the mountains: Nan Curunir, the Valley
of Saruman.
"'Night lies over Isengard,' said Treebeard."
______________________________________________________
DISCUSSION:
In "On Fairy-stories," JRRT described "one of the primal 'desires'
that lie near the heart of Faerie: the desire of men to hold communion
with other living things." In this chapter, then, we are quite as
close to the "heart of Faerie" as we ever will be. I've always loved
it, and now I understand a little better why that is so.
1. Ents, ents, ents! Just a few of the possible discussion topics
found here:
-- Ent houses: Why do Ents live in houses? It's important,
apparently; when they are going treeish they begin to just stand
anywhere.
-- Ent draughts: what are they and has Treebeard turned the Entwash
into one big Ent draught, at least within the borders of Fangorn
(judging by its healing effect on Merry and Pippin after their
ordeal).
-- Ent-wives. That poem of the dialogue between the two seems close
to the actual likes and differences of men and women in a marriage.
In contact, lo! the flint and steel,
By spark and flame, the thought reveal
That he the metal, she the stone,
Had cherished secretly alone.
-- Ambrose Bierce
How sad that it turned out the way it did for the Ents. No more
Entings. Will they ever get together again?
-- How does Treebeard cause the light on the trees and in his
"lamps"? It brings to mind
-- The Ent language.
-- Treebeard compares Ents to Men and also to Elves. How are they
similar and different, from our POV?
-- The wood moves in "Macbeth," though it's been a long time since I
read that play. What other literary sources might have inspired JRRT
here (Stephen Crane, perhaps). Compare/contrast?
-- The oldest living thing: how old is Treebeard? And here we learn
that there are beings in Fangorn older than him! Are they, then, the
oldest living things in Middle-earth? But what about Bombadil?
2. Men are apparently familiar with parts of Fangorn - they have given
the name of Derndingle to the site of the Entmoot, for instance. How
is it men would have come so far into the forest?
3. History of Middle-earth. For all his staying in one place,
Treebeard is remarkably versed in events outside. He knows that the
wizards came at around the time of the arrival of Elendil; he speaks a
few times of the Great Darkness (Morgoth's time, or that of Sauron,
before the Numenoreans "captured" him?); how Lorien has changed. We
learn quite a bit about that in this chapter.
4. Saruman. What do we learn about this wizard here, as seen from the
l-o-o-o-n-g perspective of his closest neighbors?
5. We learn something about the Tooks, too, and the strong presence of
the Old Took (Gerontius - what a perfect name: was he ever young, I
wonder). Imagine them just leaving everything in that room at
Tuckborough the way it was when the Old Took was alive. And yet we do
the same sorts of things - near Saratoga, New York, is the house where
U.S. Grant last stayed and wrote his memoirs before he died. It's
open to the public now, and when you go in there, it's still exactly
as it was, right down to the floral arrangements people sent at
Grant's death (which are rather depressing to look at now, of course).
In a way, this not letting go is very similar to the Ents, although
with them, it's part of an ongoing living process.
6. Trees, trees, trees! For the dendrologists out there -- I studied
a little forestry and recognize the accuracy of Merry and Pippin's
first impression of the forest; indeed, the foresters call an old
forest "a biological desert," because few other living things can
exist there. In other respects, here as well as throughout the tale,
JRRT closely follows the actual characteristics and growing patterns
of trees. Whether you're a dendrologist or don't even care to know
what the word means, have you a favorite tree? If it's not among
those described by Tolkien already, what sort of an Ent would it make?
(Oaks are my favorite trees, and we have Treebeard already, though I'm
still looking, here in the South, for his beard: that long, trailing
lichen that grows in oak trees here.)
And your comments and thoughts and additions .?
Chapter 4 - Treebeard
To check out the other Chapters of the Week or to sign up to do a
chapter of your own, go to http://parasha.maoltuile.org.
_____________________________________________________
"The wind's changing," said Merry.
And so is the story, deepening and taking us into unexpected and
delightful new areas. Here we have hobbits on the loose for the first
time since they entered Bree, and what a treasure they discover:
Treebeard and the forest of Fangorn. What an effect they have there,
too, starting a cascade of events that will eventually have a strong
effect on the direction and outcome of the War of the Ring.
______________________________________________________
SUMMARY:
Merry and Pippin follow the Entwash west, deeper into Fangorn.
Feeling stifled by the close forest, they pause for a drink at the
river and then climb up a nearby hill to look around, not noticing how
quickly their injuries have healed and their vigor has returned. On
the hill they meet Treebeard, the Ent, for whom the forest is named.
Treebeard takes the hobbits to Wellinghall, one of his Ent-houses, for
the night, and the hobbits not only learn much about Ents, they also
tell Treebeard what little they know about events in the greater
world. Hearing this, Treebeard is able to "connect the dots" and
recognizes that his neighbor, Saruman in nearby Isengard, against whom
the Ents already have a strong grievance, "is plotting to become a
Power And now it is clear that he is a black traitor." The old Ent's
anger rises, but so does his wisdom, and he calls an Entmoot for the
next day. Merry and Pippin, of course, are unable to take part in
that and so they are entrusted to the care of Quickbeam, who has
already made up his mind on the matter, having seen so many of his
people, "the people of the Rose" or rowan trees, suffer at the hands
of Saruman's Orcs. For two days the hobbits have some R&R with
Quickbeam, but on the third day, in the late afternoon, Entmoot is
adjourned with a great "RA-HOOM-RAH!" and the Ents begin to march to
Isengard. Merry and Pippin rejoin Treebeard, perched on his shoulders
at the head of the great marching column. They march all day, and at
dusk cross some bare slopes as they approach Isengard. Pippin looks
back and is astonished to see the empty slopes they had just crossed
are now covered with trees, all moving forward.
"At last they stood upon the summit, and looked down into a dark pit:
the great cleft at the end of the mountains: Nan Curunir, the Valley
of Saruman.
"'Night lies over Isengard,' said Treebeard."
______________________________________________________
DISCUSSION:
In "On Fairy-stories," JRRT described "one of the primal 'desires'
that lie near the heart of Faerie: the desire of men to hold communion
with other living things." In this chapter, then, we are quite as
close to the "heart of Faerie" as we ever will be. I've always loved
it, and now I understand a little better why that is so.
1. Ents, ents, ents! Just a few of the possible discussion topics
found here:
-- Ent houses: Why do Ents live in houses? It's important,
apparently; when they are going treeish they begin to just stand
anywhere.
-- Ent draughts: what are they and has Treebeard turned the Entwash
into one big Ent draught, at least within the borders of Fangorn
(judging by its healing effect on Merry and Pippin after their
ordeal).
-- Ent-wives. That poem of the dialogue between the two seems close
to the actual likes and differences of men and women in a marriage.
In contact, lo! the flint and steel,
By spark and flame, the thought reveal
That he the metal, she the stone,
Had cherished secretly alone.
-- Ambrose Bierce
How sad that it turned out the way it did for the Ents. No more
Entings. Will they ever get together again?
-- How does Treebeard cause the light on the trees and in his
"lamps"? It brings to mind
-- The Ent language.
-- Treebeard compares Ents to Men and also to Elves. How are they
similar and different, from our POV?
-- The wood moves in "Macbeth," though it's been a long time since I
read that play. What other literary sources might have inspired JRRT
here (Stephen Crane, perhaps). Compare/contrast?
-- The oldest living thing: how old is Treebeard? And here we learn
that there are beings in Fangorn older than him! Are they, then, the
oldest living things in Middle-earth? But what about Bombadil?
2. Men are apparently familiar with parts of Fangorn - they have given
the name of Derndingle to the site of the Entmoot, for instance. How
is it men would have come so far into the forest?
3. History of Middle-earth. For all his staying in one place,
Treebeard is remarkably versed in events outside. He knows that the
wizards came at around the time of the arrival of Elendil; he speaks a
few times of the Great Darkness (Morgoth's time, or that of Sauron,
before the Numenoreans "captured" him?); how Lorien has changed. We
learn quite a bit about that in this chapter.
4. Saruman. What do we learn about this wizard here, as seen from the
l-o-o-o-n-g perspective of his closest neighbors?
5. We learn something about the Tooks, too, and the strong presence of
the Old Took (Gerontius - what a perfect name: was he ever young, I
wonder). Imagine them just leaving everything in that room at
Tuckborough the way it was when the Old Took was alive. And yet we do
the same sorts of things - near Saratoga, New York, is the house where
U.S. Grant last stayed and wrote his memoirs before he died. It's
open to the public now, and when you go in there, it's still exactly
as it was, right down to the floral arrangements people sent at
Grant's death (which are rather depressing to look at now, of course).
In a way, this not letting go is very similar to the Ents, although
with them, it's part of an ongoing living process.
6. Trees, trees, trees! For the dendrologists out there -- I studied
a little forestry and recognize the accuracy of Merry and Pippin's
first impression of the forest; indeed, the foresters call an old
forest "a biological desert," because few other living things can
exist there. In other respects, here as well as throughout the tale,
JRRT closely follows the actual characteristics and growing patterns
of trees. Whether you're a dendrologist or don't even care to know
what the word means, have you a favorite tree? If it's not among
those described by Tolkien already, what sort of an Ent would it make?
(Oaks are my favorite trees, and we have Treebeard already, though I'm
still looking, here in the South, for his beard: that long, trailing
lichen that grows in oak trees here.)
And your comments and thoughts and additions .?
