LotR -- Book 5 - Chapter 01 - Minas Tirith
With this chapter we begin discussing the final book, The Return of the King. Before starting it, I read the synopsis at the beginning of the book - certainly not because I need to be reminded of what happened, but I was curious to see what would be mentioned - or not. I found it interesting to note that Lórien was mentioned only in passing and Galadriel not at all. That makes me wonder who wrote the synopsis - I can't imagine that Tolkien himself would have left her out of any summary of the plot. Has the authorship of the synopsis been mentioned anywhere in HoME? If you've reread the synopsis, what did you notice?
The first chapter begins with the words "Pippin looked..." - a very programmatic start, since it shows us the events through his eyes. The story remains hobbitcentric. It is a long chapter and chockfull of so many things that I find it difficult to choose or condense them into a few paragraphs.
Through Pippin's eyes, we get a deeper look at Gandalf, as well as by the reaction of the Gondorians to his coming. For the first time, he wonders about his true nature and age. What information do we find about the wizard?
We are introduced to Denethor - what impresses you about him? The description of his ability to see events and read minds sounds like Osanwë - does he have innate abilities there, or do you think it's all the palantír?
The city of Minas Tirith is described quite clearly, though I must admit that I didn't take in those details when first reading the book, since I hurried to find out what happened next.
We are also introduced to Beregond and his son Bergil - a nice touch, to get to know some of the "normal" people of the city, not just nobility. These are among the very popular "minor" characters - what do you like about them? Additional names are mentioned as the leaders and their troops come to Minas Tirith.
Most of all, this chapter shows Pippin's growth and development - a coming of age tale, though he still has four years to go by Hobbit standards.
The chapter ends with darkness - the Darkness that begins, forebodingly announced by Gandalf.
(Take your time in reading this long chapter if you wish - we have at least two weeks to discuss it... )
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth.. .'
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