Before we irrevocably move outside The Shire, I want to point out my first Great Writer point, which has been very subtle before now, but will become much more obvious as we go along: how Tolkien ends his chapters. The constant you will find is that usually, no matter whether he is covering several days, one day but not its night, or just one day, the final day is covered pretty much in its full arc, and it ends, not necessarily with a cliffhanger, but with: OK, that completes the day, what comes next? They reach Tom Bombadil’s house, the day is over, and there’s a light coming from the door: What’s inside, tomorrow?
Why is that great writing? Because that is what we unconsciously do ourselves: we write our day as a little, coherent, separate story, and it’s important. When an author disconnects from time, by passing over something in the middle of the day, by putting in several cliffhangers with many hours to go in the day, or by not bothering to say when in the day something is happening, we distance ourselves from the scene, and from the people in it. Remember what Peter Beagle wrote in his foreword? “Go there? I would, like a shot.” That is because Peter can really imagine what it would be like to walk through the Old Forest, in a day spent hiking, in a life just like his own. It’s not just the description; it’s the time frame. And I may be reading too much into their works, but I think I see superb writers like Ursula LeGuin in the Earthsea books unconsciously adopting this technique a bit.
OK, on to the Old Forest.
There are two unusual things to pause and note as you get your first glimpse of a world in which trees are alive (I am saving Tom Bombadil and Goldberry for the next Chapter). The first is the moment when the hobbits reach Old Man Willow and they are seized by sleepiness.
It’s certainly true that this represents “magic”, as Old Man Willow uses not only trees but the air itself to put one’s mind to sleep and thus control one. And yet, there’s another aspect to it. For the first time, the weather is not only an independent element of a scene, or a reflection of one’s mood, or just an orchestral sound effect, but also a character in its own right, an actor that produces mood, an integral part of one’s psychology, while at the same time being utterly realistic – remember, I said Tolkien had copied actual weather? Of all writers who have succeeded Tolkien, Stephen Donaldson captured this best, when he said that we call our weather and the related fauna “scenery”. Tolkien is making us see the weather, and the world, as feelings to be appreciated, as part of ourselves just as much as our inner thoughts are. And he does this, as he does again and again later, by making us feel as if an alien power bent on control is manipulating our feelings by manipulating the weather. And guess where that ends, those who have read ahead?
It really amazes me, the number of readers who do not sense this. For example, in commentaries from scholars about Tolkien aired before the LOTR movie, only one woman scholar appeared to get the way in which Tolkien attempts to get us to see nature and weather the way he sees it, as an integral part of the feelings and ability to be “in the moment” of the whole soul. And, of course, Mr. Beagle and, to some extent, Mr. Donaldson. Many writers have adopted Tolkien’s quest plot, and imho it has always improved their writing. Few have really attempted– much less succeeded – in incorporating this feeling of nature and weather being alive and integral with oneself in their works. Maybe LeGuin, sometimes …
But that’s not to say this successful attempt makes Tolkien a Great Writer. Rather, it is his gift to his readers, of profound value to us should we choose to use it. And still, note that that is why Old Man Willow’s attempt at control goes beyond a horror story. The attempt is scary; but also beautiful. We want the hobbits to escape; we’d still like to experience that wonderful peace under the willow-trees ourselves. Oh, brave new world, that hath such beautiful terror in it!
The second odd thing is that of all the hobbits, ultimately, it is Sam who stays awake. Why wasn’t it Frodo? Or Merry, or Pippin?
Before we go on, let’s stop a minute and really think about Sam. Who is he really like? And the answer comes back, if I understand the book, never having read it, that Sam is a bit like Hardy’s Jude the Obscure.
Remember, Sam is like the local plumber’s son, who is being taught his trade by his Dad, who happens to work for an eccentric local squire, and that squire sees he’s interested in books and teaches him to read. And now, Sam is trying to live in two worlds at once, and he is beginning to be torn apart by it. He’s trying to fulfil his Dad’s expectations by keeping the gardening going at Bag End, or whatever else the squire needs. He’s trying to fit in with the local folk down at the pub, when he knows more than they do about what’s going on. He’s trying to avoid butting heads with the son of the local mill owner, who’s his superior in the social hierarchy. And – a peek ahead – he has naturally been pairing up with Rosie, who is expecting him to propose soon so they can raise a family at the same social level and with the same society around him. And meanwhile he is within Mr. Frodo’s world, which is utterly divorced from that world, and he loves what he is learning and who he is meeting in that world, and he is trying to satisfy everybody and still be happy in both worlds. And he is beginning to be torn apart.
We will see, at the very end, how Tolkien resolves that one. For now, you should understand that going with Frodo is not an attempt to run away from his responsibilities. Rather, it is a combination of a seizing of an opportunity to do what he has always wanted to do and a half-conscious decision that Frodo is important and worth dying for, and that if he helps Frodo he will be doing the best possible thing – and maybe the rest will work out somehow. Later, he will be stripped of his other hopes, one by one – but he will still keep making the same decision, to the bitter end. Come on. You guessed that already.
And so, Sam stays awake where the others fall asleep because, unlike the others, he is not focused on himself. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s bad. However, Tolkien is saying, watch Sam, and watch his focus on someone other than him. There are important things to appreciate about Sam.
And now we come to Tom Bombadil, and Goldberry – but that is best left to the next Chapter. Tonight, let us stumble wearily after Tom, as the night grows darker behind him, in trust and fear, until suddenly a golden door opens before us, and a beautiful voice sings to us from inside … And Tolkien’s words suddenly lift from the ground like a silver bird, and take flight.
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