Filled with Wonder

"Already half their weariness and all their
fears had fallen from them" (119).
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)

Points for Reflection

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, Bk 1 chps. 6-12

1. Does this novel implicitly encourage trusting in the outwards appearance of things?
2. The narrator of The Hobbit speaks often of “luck.” Does Tom Bombadil concretize the concept of chance, or question it?
3. As Frodo’s dreams continue do they lessen or grow in significance?
4. Is each hobbit’s dream, while sleeping at Tom Bombadil’s, a product more of their individual temperaments or of their unique situation?
5. What drink does Tom Bombadil serve the hobbits, and how does it impact their bodies and minds?
6. What causes Frodo’s diminishing size?
7. With what metaphor does Tolkien describe the relationship of Tom & Goldberry?
8. Does Frodo’s attempt at extemporaneous verse extolling Goldberry’s beauty match Tom’s?
9. To what end do Tom and Goldberry sing about Nature?
10. In George MacDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin (1872), the young Curdie’s nonsensical singing is his surest weapon when fighting goblins: it drives them mad, literally.  What role do nonsensical songs play in Tolkien’s legendarium?
11. In what situations does singing either invite or ward off danger?
12. Do the songs of Barrow Wights mirror those heard by others in either content or tone?
13. What myriad meanings does Gandalf layer into the poem contained in his letter to Frodo?
14. Does elvish verse (in translation) share similar syntax, diction, and meter with verse by either Tom Bombadil or the hobbits?
15. Before chanting a narrative poem about the elf Lúthien Tinúviel and the mortal man Beren son of Barahir, Aragorn notes that “all tales of Middle-Earth” are both fair and sad. Does Tolkien, here and elsewhere, appear to find the greatest beauty in sadness?  Can you find counter-examples?
16. Does storytelling—within this story--always serve a beneficial purpose?
17. How do the hobbits react to being handed daggers?
18. Does slipping on the Ring have a reliable effect on Frodo?
19. Does Aragorn resemble a heroic prince out of legend?
20. At what points do Strider’s limitations overwhelm his abilities?
21. What skillsets does Strider demonstrate in the hobbits’ presence?
22. What more do we learn of the absent-present Bilbo as the hobbits travel eastwards?
23. What power is there in saying aloud the names of female figures like Elbereth and Luthien?
24. Under what desperate circumstances do courage and resolve grow in Frodo?
25. Which of the many negative emotions felt by Frodo in his journey catalyze right action, and which slow and threaten to immobilize him?
26. Is Frodo intelligent?  Wise?
27. Does Frodo yield quickly when uncomfortable physically or psychologically?
28. Does the Ring spur Frodo to be brave?
29. Can Frodo resist the ring’s power?
30. Is Gandalf’s general modus operandi subtle or overt?
31. Is Glorfindel similar in appearance to other elves we’ve met?
32. Does Goldberry seem more grounded and familiar than Tom Bombadil, or otherworldly?
33. To what extra-human things does Tolkien connect Goldberry to express her character, motions, and voice?
34. What strengths does Merry bring to this group?
35. Does Pippin have any notable virtues?
36. Is Sam’s general wariness akin to paranoia, or does it serve the group well?
37. How has Sam, who lacks Frodo’s education, become so conversant in poetry?
38. Does the Wights’ singing indicate their allegiance?
39. Tom Bombadil is “too large” for a hobbit, yet “not quite tall enough” for a human.  Can he be easily classed in any other way?
40. Is the threat posed by Barrow Wights akin to the associated with Dark Riders?
41. Do the Black Riders strike a foreboding posture?  Are they scary-looking?
42. Is Strider himself relatively immune to the terror Black Riders wield as their primary weapon?
43. Do the Black Riders move like normal humanoids?'
44. What supernatural powers do the Black Riders appear to wield?
45. Do the Dark Riders speak Westron, the “Common Speech” that others employ for interspecies communications?
46. Do the Black Riders behave erratically?
47. Are the Dark Riders invulnerable?
48. Does our small band of hobbits dream of and actively seek adventure?
49. What active role have Rangers played in Middle Earth’s recent goings-on?
50. Does the Barrow telegraph its ominous nature in any obvious way?
51. What is so unusual about the population of Bree?
52. What blood do the men of Westerness, or Númenor, have flowing in their veins--beside human blood?
53. Do we learn enough about the Old Forest to explain its hostility towards hobbits?
54. Whose songs prove more effective when battling hostile trees, Frodo’s or Tom’s?
55. Does Goldberry’s and Tom Bombadil’s home share any features with that of Elves in Rivendell?
56. Why is Weathertop unpopulated?
57. What type of animal does Strider trust least?
58. In what ways do ponies in this novel surprise those who consider them dumb animals?
59. How does Bill the pony alter during his travels away from Bree?
60. Who finds a plant useful in countering poison?
61. Which trees in Middle Earth appear the most fully self-aware?  Are any of them evil?
62. Do weather patterns affect our heroes’ emotions in reliable fashion?
63. Why might both Tom Bombadil and Strider refer to themselves, aloud, in the third person?

original illustration
J. R. R. Tolkien

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu