Both Good and Perilous

"Though in all lands love is now mingled with grief,
it grows perhaps the greater" (339).
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 2, chps. 5-10

1. Can you identify any ideas or motifs in this early fantasy novel that has found their way into later fantasy series by other authors?
2. Why does Frodo, who generally refrains from creating his own rhymes, create one in Lórien?
3. Is the One Ring evil in and of itself, or does it represent pure power only adulterated by use?
4. How much does Aragorn depend on the leadership of Gandalf?
5. Do Boromir’s words signal his thoughts?
6. Does Boromir correctly characterize his own private conversation with Frodo, after the fact?
7. Do either the Lady Galadriel or Lord Celeborn seem more fearful than the other?
8. Does Frodo see more clearly than his companions?
9. Is what Frodo sees on the summit of Amon Hen a picture of past, present, or future?
10. Why does the tomb found in Moria move Frodo so deeply?
11. It may be, as Bilbo avers, that “all that glitters is not gold” (241), yet the Mithril corslet he gives Frodo “glittered like stars” (327).  What other virtues does it hold besides beauty?
12. Do Galadriel and Celeborn balance one another well, or does one lead more than the other? [Ali Gregorio]
13. How do each of the companions respond to Galadriel’s gaze, and what does their reaction reveal about them in turn?
14. Do Galadriel’s gifts constitute practical necessities or decorative keepsakes?
15. Galadriel describes three different conditions under which others approach her mirror.  Which characterizes Sam’s experience?  Frodo’s?
16. Does what Frodo see in Galadriel’s mirror seem filled with premonitions, glimpses of the past, or an alternative reality?
17. Whose previous response to the Ring’s presence does Galadriel’s own reaction resemble?
18. What principles undergird Gandalf’s particular brand of leadership?
19. What about Galadriel does Gimli find so compelling?
20. Does the Lady Galadriel intend her last words to Gimli to be prophetic?
21. Does the absent-present Gollum help or hinder the traveling company?
22. Why is the new friendship formed by Legolas in Lothlórien so surprising?
23. Why does Merry not share experiences of the sea with Haldir?
24. What advantage does Pippin have over the other hobbits?
25. Is Samwise Gamgee less fearful than his fellow hobbits?
26. Does Sam have more reason to wish a return to the Shire than the other hobbits?
27. Is Gandalf’s magic on a par with that of Durin’s Bane?
28. In observing that some of the orcs are “large and evil,” is Gandalf making a moral distinction between different types of orcs?
29. What has kept evil away from Lothlórien (Lórien) thus far?
30. What differences can you identify between the elves of Lothlórien and those of Rivendell and Mirkwood?
31. Is Sam correct to conclude that the magic in Lothlórien is “right down deep, where I can’t lay my hands on it” (359), or do its mechanisms and actions seem obvious and on the surface?
32. What is unique about the everyday items gifted to the company by the elves of Lothlórien? [Adam M]
33. Around what have the elves constructed Caras Galadhon, the city of the Galadhrim where Galadria and Celeborn dwell?
34. Why does Gimli wish to peer into Mirromere Lake?
35. What surprising architectural features characterize Moria, that dwarven complex deep within the Misty Mountains?
36. How effective a deterrent are rivers when it comes to standing against the forces of Sauron?

original illustration
J. R. R. Tolkien

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu