My resounding memory of this chapter is racing out of the theatre to read it after seeing Fellowship for the first time! I'd not finished reading Fellowship yet, and was very distressed at seeing my favourite characters being carted off by a pack of Uruk-hai. Since then, this chapter has been a favourite of mine.
I whole-heartedly agree with
Lalwendė on all counts. This chapter certainly shows the inate strength and tenacity possessed by all hobbits. (And proof to all the fangirls who don't appreciate Merry and Pippin!
)
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Originally Posted by Lalwendė
I think such passages are important to underline just how brave Hobbits are, despite being very small people amongst strong Orcs, tall Men and cunning Elves and wizards.
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Brings to mind a favourite quote of mine about the courage of hobbits:
Quote:
There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow.
Fog on the Barrow-Downs, Book 1, Fellowship of the Ring
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The situation with the Uruk-hai may not have qualified as a "final and desperate danger", but it certainly was a difficult challenge to overcome. And Merry and Pippin overcame it admirably. It was, really, their first big challenge when they didn't have someone to come rescue them; at the Barrow-Downs, it was Frodo and Bombadil; Weathertop was Strider; and then the entire Fellowship had been with them. They really did "prove their quality", so to speak.
Abedithon le,
~ Saphy ~