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Old 10-15-2002, 09:14 AM   #2
Telchar
Stonehearted Dwarf Smith
 
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Sting

Good post Rimbaud - but I think you're speculating, which of course is not a bad thing.

Until the captivity of Merry and Pippin they are shown as young, gay, at times foolish, hobbits. They evolve very much in the chapters directly after the breaking of the Fellowship - yes. Why? Because of the Orc-draught? Not likely to me - at least I would say that it doesnt seem likely to me that this was JRRTs intent. Much rather to his likening would be the explaination that Merry and Pippin for the first time is on their own! They have no guardians - not even their elder cousin Frodo (idol). So they have to take things into their own hands. The firts time they are really alone (just after Boromirs death) we hear Merry taking a new role - 'the fighter' - he chops of hands and even kills orcs for the first time. They grow the moment they are alone. (mind you this is of course before they get orc-draught)

OK so why the groth in stature/mind/cunning? I see two possibilities: 1: Its the authers intent that figures left en charge of their own fate/situation should grow - that caracter 'grow with the assignment' ... or 2: The fact that LOTR is Frodos memoires partly told to Bilbo, partly written on his own - where do we have the information about Merry and Pippins Deeds in these chapters? From themselves! So maybe the part where there are no witnesses to Merry and Pippins deeds beside themselves can be directly related to the fact that they were glorifying their own doings - specially so when you take into consideration that they were telling their favorite and older cousin (idol) and wanted to impress him???

just my thoughts on the topic - Cheers T
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