I also adore the straight road.
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Originally Posted by Lal
So, would a ship set sail and then suddenly hit a secret point known only to Elves/Ainur at which point it departs normal existence and enters another dimension/plane? Or is it that the ship would hit a point where it enters a kid of static world which is unchanging, almost like going through a wormhole? And does being able to find the Road depend upon knowing where it is? Upon being able to see it? Or upon having permission?
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You could picture the Straight Road like a bridge of water I guess, leaving the curvature of the earth and heading straight towards "heaven". But being rational-minded I see many problems with this analogy from a scientific viewpoint. In the letter
Ibrin quoted, Tolkien wrote that a keen-eyed observer from shore would have noticed that a vessel heading towards the West never became hull-down, indicating that it was indeed on the Straight Road, and not following the curvature of the earth. But what if that keen-eyed observer were on look-out from a ship on a parallel course with the hallowed ship, far off but just within sight of it? Would he then observe the Elven ship slowly taking off and eventually heading off towards the firmament like Eärendil? What if they sailed towards it then? And what if a shrewd man unnoticed managed to tie a very long rope to the fin keel of a ship heading for Aman, and attach his small boat to it, thus being towed on to the Straight Road. Would this free passenger make it to the utmost West? But now I'm being silly. I suppose you can't see rationally upon something which essentially is miraculous.
I suppose the Straight road could be seen as a true road into a world unspoilt, the world as it was originally meant to be. And as the road is straight the old world must also be flat of course. That's funny, isn't it? Our round earth revolving around the sun is really a second best in Tolkien's mythology. In the good old days the world was flat as a pancake. Reading HoME X however, it seems Tolkien (for a while at least) wanted to represent this belief as a mannish misreading of the original Elvish sources and not a true account of history. It's a good thing nothing of this made it into the published Silmarillion though.
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Originally Posted by Ibrin
One does wonder how the passengers perceive that part of the transit where they leave the waters and continue straight on rather than following the curvature of the earth. It's interesting, I think, that the legends about it are written by people who never made the trip.
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I imagine that Frodo would would not have witnessed the ship leaving the water or a passage through a portal or anything of the kind. I just imagine it to have been a long sea journey without any direct point of transition, although I certainly imagine a gradual transition into a more fairie-like world, you know, with a Lórien-like shimmer to it. Eventually they would come within sight of the Tower of Avallone and know they were on the right course.
(must stop although I don't feel quite finished)