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The odd thing is that Tolkien himself was someone who hardly travelled at all - well hardly at all physically.
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Pointing this out really makes me think about the focus of wandering not be the physical, but to be more of the idea of a journey, and learning from that. There are those who physically wander, but not all those learn from what happens. There are also those though like Tom Bombadil who don't physically wander but don't show the same set in his ways and unapprocable in relation to change that others do. For me I feel characters such as him are more of mental wanderers, those who explore only one area, but are open to that area, and learn from that one. The idea of learning and growing itself through "wandering" either by letting your mind get away from you or going off not knowing what will happen, is stronger to me.
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I notice how Tolkien takes care that each character who takes a literal journey also takes an internal journey of discovery, and those who do not take a journey do not change in this way. This would include even good characters, such as Galadriel or Elrond - but then they do take a journey at the end of the book. This perhaps means that they have only one more thing to learn, to relinquish power in Middle-earth and the trip to the Grey Havens teaches them to do this.
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I agree with this statement in general but I would like to point out that those who took the literal journey didn't necessarily need to take it to take an internal journey.
For example Bilbo, in the beginning of
The Hobbit even would say
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Sorry! But I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not today
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yet was still strange for a hobbit. He might have been more normal in that he liked the security but was a wander even before he set off. His ability to even think about the idea of going even though he would say to himself
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Bilbo, you were a fool; you walked right in and put your foot in it.
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really showed this.
I think the journeys and wandering was as much as it was focusing on the physical a metaphor, and looking at their ability to have gone through the internal journey even if they hadn't gone on the physical one is important. However, the physical journey acted as a catalyst. Those who accepted change and abnormality were more often those who would help in the battle against the evil, but they were not the only ones, because even before they traveled they were wandering in themselves.
And I appologise for the poor wording of this post. I was more getting thoughts out than writing it well.