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Old 07-08-2004, 07:40 PM   #44
The Saucepan Man
Corpus Cacophonous
 
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: A green and pleasant land
Posts: 8,468
The Saucepan Man has been trapped in the Barrow!
The Eye

Quote:
Seen from this perspective, I think it is quite right that we are made uneasy (or at least I am) by all this 'sirring'. It 'sirs' the pot for later...
Well that just goes to show that you literary types have too much knowledge for your own good. I always though that it was simply credible characterisation.


Quote:
Closer to the end of the chapter though, we learn who the voice belonged to, so in that sense, there has been tremendous 'growth' in the evil and the terror, from the actual, banal experience to the chilling thrill of recognition of how close Frodo came to failing in his quest right outside his front door!
Indeed. This ties in with the way that Tolkien develops our understanding of the Black Riders by adding additional details and signs of unease with each successive encounter: from mysterious (possibly Hobbit) visitor asking after Mr Baggins to large man in a black cloak sniffing out travellers on the road to shadowy figure crawling through the trees towards Frodo. Even when Sam makes the link between the Gaffer's visitor and the cloaked rider, we do not fully appreciate the danger that they are in. It is only in the closing passages, when the rider becomes the threatening shadow and Gildor then confirms that they are Servants of the Enemy that we can finally appreciate just how portentious the Gaffer's "misunderstanding" concerning the time of Frodo's departure was.
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