Old man willow... - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Alfirin · 07-25-2012, 03:44 PM

Also, given how little we know of Ents, Old Man Willows behavior may in fact be not outside what they are capable of. Since a Huor is a tree that has grown to be somewhat entish there is presumably some sort of way in which ents can influence trees and "wake" them over time (unless the idea is that EVERY tree (and if one factors in the things the Enwives took in thier care, possibly every plant) has the ability to "wake" given enough time.) We know that as ents grow older they can become "treeish" and ultimately sedentary.
As for Old Man Willows "evil" I don't think you need to assume Morgoth would need to be involved. Ents and Huorns can think andcan choose thier actions, and like all other thinking things, that means that some of them can choose evil. We know Ents can feel fear (the one who was wounded by the orcs and went off and hid on one of the mountains, refusing to even come down for the moot) and rage (the whole march against Isengard. Presumably they can feel hate as well. If an ent can think it also presumably go mad. Maybe that is what we have in Old man willow, an Ent/Huorn whose grief and hate at his losses (an Entwife he was particualry fond of? Fellow trees who were cut down by people?) that his hatred now infused the world around him, allowing him to go on a one tree vendetta agaist any interloper into the Old Forest. Tom did say Old Man willows heart was rotten but his streght was green. That sound like a pretty good image of a being out on a revenge kick to me.

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07-25-2012, 03:44 PM	#3
Alfirin Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 435	Also, given how little we know of Ents, Old Man Willows behavior may in fact be not outside what they are capable of. Since a Huor is a tree that has grown to be somewhat entish there is presumably some sort of way in which ents can influence trees and "wake" them over time (unless the idea is that EVERY tree (and if one factors in the things the Enwives took in thier care, possibly every plant) has the ability to "wake" given enough time.) We know that as ents grow older they can become "treeish" and ultimately sedentary. As for Old Man Willows "evil" I don't think you need to assume Morgoth would need to be involved. Ents and Huorns can think andcan choose thier actions, and like all other thinking things, that means that some of them can choose evil. We know Ents can feel fear (the one who was wounded by the orcs and went off and hid on one of the mountains, refusing to even come down for the moot) and rage (the whole march against Isengard. Presumably they can feel hate as well. If an ent can think it also presumably go mad. Maybe that is what we have in Old man willow, an Ent/Huorn whose grief and hate at his losses (an Entwife he was particualry fond of? Fellow trees who were cut down by people?) that his hatred now infused the world around him, allowing him to go on a one tree vendetta agaist any interloper into the Old Forest. Tom did say Old Man willows heart was rotten but his streght was green. That sound like a pretty good image of a being out on a revenge kick to me.