LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 04 – A Short Cut to Mushrooms

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I was cruising through the Downs when I ran across this post by Mirkgirl from a couple of years ago. It's a long (and wonderful) post but I would like to quote a bit of it here:

Merry and the Nazgul are deeply bounded throughout the book - first he is mistaken for one, which represents them as poles. Then he has a close encounter with a Nazgul in Bree. Also he's the first one to notice the Nazgul from Weathertop, but that's not so important.

Now this quote covers parts of the book other than this chapter so I don't want to go far with this point -- what is more, I don't need to as Mirkgirl has already done such a tremendous job in her original post. But I did want to address a point that's had me thinking for a long time -- it always seemed a bit odd to me that Merry was not present for the first stage of the journey; this seemed to reduce his importance to it somehow, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I've had it all wrong. We've been talking so far about how the journey in these early chapters is a process of growth (or maturation, as in the case of Pippin) for the hobbits (and let me applaud davem for his brilliant post about waking up) -- is it not possible that Merry's absence from this stage of the journey is an indication that he is already as 'grown up' as he will become? That he is already mature in ways that the other hobbits aren't? It seems that given his association with the Nazgul make here so early, that he is already in some way ready for the task he will undertake in the death of the Witch-King.

All of which leads me to this thought: Pippin is to Sam as Merry is to Frodo. The first pair are relatively naive and innocent and will come to have their horizons broadened and their understanding expanded, but they will remain the essentially simple folk they were at the beginning (Pippin intellectually, Sam morally). The second pair are already what they need to be to accomplish their quests (that is, they are already fully associated with the darkness they must overcome - Frodo the Ring, and Merry the Nazgul).

This is a fresh new thought so I'm not really sure where I might be headed with it. Which is why I float it. . .

One More Thing: Merry's late-coming to the quest is also, I suspect, a forerunner to how things will work at the end of the book as the Fellowship slowly dissolves. In the beginning, they come together not all at once, but bit by bit; the mirror image of how it ends.

[Boromir88]

Fordhim,

Possibly, I'm sure there are many hobbits, if we had the chance to know better, I would like better. From what I do know is Hobbits from Hobbiton don't like Hobbits from Buckland and vice versa. Hobbits do seem to be a relatively peaceful, simple people, but anyone they don't understand or doesn't do anything "normal" to hobbits is thought of as unhobbit-like and queer.

[Gorwingel]

Well I know that I haven't been completely into these discussions, but I will offer my input on this chapter

One thing I noticed while reading it last night is there is a lot of mentions of food and drink. And it's not just the normal food and drink, but it is food and drink that stands out apart from other mentions of food in the book (quite like Lembas). Like for example there is most notably the elven bread (which in the beginning Frodo has to devote his complete attention to it to enjoy), the Golden Perch brew ("Short cuts make delays, but inns make longer ones", very good quote), The elven drink ("...pale golden in colour: it had the scent of a honey made of many flowers..."), and of course the Mushrooms in the basket at the end from Farmer Maggot, which end the problems Frodo had with Maggot once and for all.

And then another part that stood out to me is the entire part (which is also mentioned above), where Maggot tells Frodo that he should have never associated himself with the "Hobbiton folk". Basically telling him that him moving there is the source of all of his problems. And even though he is partly right, this stood out because to me it's a very hobbitish response. He is not looking that his problems could have came from the world around them, he is saying that the problems came from the hobbits that he didn't know very much, again reinforcing the fact that the hobbits tend to mistrust strangers.

And this question may seem competely random, but why does Tolkien use the word "waggon" instead of "wagon"? I just kind of find it interesting, because this is the first and only place I have ever seen the word "waggon".

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

According to my second favourite book (The Oxford English Dictionary) "waggon" is simply a variant spelling of "wagon." It is a bit more archaic, but there were plenty of cited uses of the form from the 1800s and even one from 1939.

I rather suspect that Tolkien spelled it that way not because it was old and archaic the way that "thees" and "thous" are (that is, nobody uses them anymore), but because it was how the word was spelled in his own childhood in the part of the world he grew up in.

I've got nothing to back this up other than my conviction that the Shire is Sarehole.

[Guinevere]

I think that this is an interesting insight into Sam's true character - the whole conversation is, really. Like Frodo, this is a side of Sam's personality that we have not really seen. He shows great perception of the Elves, and we see that he is a 'deeper' character than we had been led to believe.

I agree very much with Firefoot. For me this part about Sam was what impressed me most in this chapter! It was never my impression that he was just a simpleton - he is just not used to put into words what's going on in his mind. And also Frodo understands now that there is more to Sam than he had thought.
Sam's encounter and conversation with the Elves was a revelation for him. He feels different and even has a kind of foreboding. He knows that they are going a long road into darkness and when Frodo warns him that they might not come back from it, this doesn't deter him - quite the contrary, he is set on never leaving his beloved master.

I don't rightly know what I want; but I have something to do before the end, and it lies ahead, not in the Shire. I must see it through, sir, if you understand me.

Very much later, on the pass of Cirith Ungol, when he believes Frodo is dead,and trying to make up his mind, he will remember these very words .

[Bêthberry]

About Gorwingel's question of "waggon":

I rather suspect that Tolkien spelled it that way not because it was old and archaic the way that "thees" and "thous" are (that is, nobody uses them anymore), but because it was how the word was spelled in his own childhood in the part of the world he grew up in.

I think you could well be right about that Fordim. Particularly since the various county dialects of England have maintained their own unique spellings and pronunciations which have not made it into the canonical OED, which we all know is famous for its omissions of non-canonical works and writers.

For intance, 'kine' as the plural of cow, from Old English no less, was still widely used in Yorkshire at least up until the 1850's. (I can name an 1848 novel it was used in.)

I think Eric Partridge has a dictionary of dialect words, doesn't he? Or is it just Shakespeare's Bawdy and Slang and Unconventional English? I'm sure there must be sources for dialects from Birmingham and the Welsh borders.

[Kuruharan]

I think that Gorwingel and HerenIstarion have mentioned (or linked to) something that is worthy of further discussion.

And then another part that stood out to me is the entire part (which is also mentioned above), where Maggot tells Frodo that he should have never associated himself with the "Hobbiton folk". Basically telling him that him moving there is the source of all of his problems. And even though he is partly right, this stood out because to me it's a very hobbitish response. He is not looking that his problems could have came from the world around them, he is saying that the problems came from the hobbits that he didn't know very much, again reinforcing the fact that the hobbits tend to mistrust strangers.

Farmer Maggot is not the hobbit from whom we would expect such insular thinking. Of all the hobbits in the Shire he is probably one who has some of the broadest experience. He’s even friends with Tom Bombadil for goodness sake, and how many people can claim that!? As we will see, Tom had highly complementary things to say about Maggot, aside from Tolkien developing their friendship elsewhere.

Why would Tolkien have Maggot say the things that he said? Was Tolkien trying to reinforce the typical hobbit way of thinking through this atypical hobbit or was there something else going on there?

[Bombadil]

Very ironic indeed. Up to the line Maggot uses,

'You should never have gone mixing yourself up with Hobbiton folk, Mr. Frodo. Folk are queer up there.'

I don't believe he proved himself as of yet. In that I mean as an extraordinary hobbit. He was very generous, but he also knew Merry and Pippin. Bilbo (although extraordinary) took 13 dwarves into his home without question-well not explicitly at least. Therefore I would think re-readers of the book would question such a thing, knowing at that point his personality. But was it meant to be pondered when his extraordinary character and deeds came after this talk?

One more thing I'd like to point out is Maggot's description of the black rider:

'But this fellow was the most outlandish I have ever set eyes on.'

Perhaps i'm over-analyzing, but that is a very hobbit-like characteristic. Of associating those past their borders as queer. I'm guessing the black rider was the most extreme thing he had ever seen, and to describe that he called it 'the most outlandish.'

Before his friendship with Bombadil is known, and his deed of carting the hobbits to the ferry, is he really any different than a normal hobbit?

[Legolas]

Bilbo (although extraordinary) took 13 dwarves into his home without question-well not explicitly at least.

Maybe he hasn't proved himself entirely yet, but his deed measures up and exceeds Bilbo's of bringing in the dwarves. The circumstances were very different - in Bilbo's time, there was no talk of dangerous Black Riders about. Further, Maggot actually spoke with the Rider. The Rider asked “Have you seen Baggins?”; Maggot still accepts Frodo into his home knowing that he is putting himself in the potential line of danger.