Book I - Chapter 2 - The Shadow of the Past

[alaklondewen]

I remember the that first time I read The Shadow of the Past it was almost too much information, too much too soak up. I had to read over it again and think about it. Now it is one of my favorite chapters.

I can feel the darkness Frodo must feel after sitting up all night hearing bits and pieces about matter that was "best left until daylight". Poor Frodo. His inheritance has become more than he bargained for.

JRRT personifies the ring by making it change size and shape by its own will. It is not a trinket that one can throw away or hide.

Though he had found out that the thing needed looking after;

I also look forward to reading Gollum's history. It fasinates me to think of him before the ring, living under his grandmother's roof, and to imagine him in a well-to-do family. One cannot help but feel pity for him after seeing what the ring did to him.

They kicked him, and he bit their feet.

That has always been a powerful image for me.

These are some of the favorite quotes from the chapter:

'Oh, they're both cracked,' said Ted. 'Leastawys old Bilbo was cracked, and Frodo's cracking. If that's where you get your news from, you'll never want for moonshine.'

Hobbit wit always makes me smile.

And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the dark power that rules the Rings.

If that is not motivation to not wear the ring, I don't know what is.

So he is seeking it, seeking it, and all his thought is bent on it.

Yes, Mister Underhill, he must have peed him pants.

I think this is a powerful chapter that sets the tone for the rest of the book. It shows a contrast between the reality of the danger of the Ring and the quiet, simple Shire life. I loved it.