Giants.... - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Legate of Amon Lanc · 03-17-2007, 09:14 AM

Well, Gothmog the Lieutenant of Morgul is mentioned only once but so far I haven't seen anyone speculating that he doesn't exist

Lalwendë · 03-17-2007, 05:00 PM

Why should there not be giants in Middle-earth? They only add to the sense of mystery after all.

Mattius · 03-29-2007, 05:59 AM

Hopefully the new 'adult version' of The Hobbit will include more specific references to Giants (and also Beron

)

Sir Kohran · 04-01-2007, 04:00 AM

The reference to giants goes like this:

When he peeped out in the lightning-flashes, he saw that across the valley the stone-giants were out, and were hurling rocks at one another for a game, and catching then, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang. Then came a wind and a rain, and the wind whipped the rain and the hail about in every direction, so that an overhanging rock was no protection at all. Soon they were getting drenched and their ponies were standing with their heads down and their tails between their legs, and some of them were whinnying with fright. They could hear the giants guffawing and shouting all over the mountainsides.
"This won't do at all!" said Thorin. "If we don't get blown off, or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football."
"Well, if you know of anywhere better, take us there!" said Gandalf, who was feeling very grumpy, and was far from happy about the giants himself.

This all just sounds too real to be a 'metaphor'. We hear about them shouting and even playing a game, and Thorin and Gandalf also talk about them. I think they're another 'oddity' from TH that, like the 'wild Were-worms', didn't quite fit in with the Legendarium.

The Might · 04-01-2007, 09:36 AM

I disagree.
While the giants are actually there, and their existence is proven, for me these were-worms are only a hobbit myth, and you probably know how good they are at making up stories.
However, behind the story of the were-worms there might be some truth after all. We are told that cold drakes still survived in the northern wastelands, so it could be that Hobbits knew of their existence under then name of were-worms.

Lord Halsar · 04-01-2007, 10:43 AM

i too see giants as real creatures. and i always thought that they may have been called "stone giants" because they liked to throw stones. after all, in the one place we see them, they are throwing large boulders and stones.

03-17-2007, 09:14 AM	#1
Legate of Amon Lanc A Voice That Gainsayeth Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In that far land beyond the Sea Posts: 7,431	Well, Gothmog the Lieutenant of Morgul is mentioned only once but so far I haven't seen anyone speculating that he doesn't exist __________________ "Should the story say 'he ate bread,' the dramatic producer can only show 'a piece of bread' according to his taste or fancy, but the hearer of the story will think of bread in general and picture it in some form of his own." -On Fairy-Stories

03-17-2007, 05:00 PM	#2
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	Why should there not be giants in Middle-earth? They only add to the sense of mystery after all. __________________ Gordon's alive!

03-29-2007, 05:59 AM	#3
Mattius Soul of Fire Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: City of Steel Posts: 666	Hopefully the new 'adult version' of The Hobbit will include more specific references to Giants (and also Beron) __________________ A problem shared is a problem halved, so is your problem really yours or just half of someone else's?

04-01-2007, 04:00 AM	#4
Sir Kohran Wight Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: England, UK Posts: 178	The reference to giants goes like this: When he peeped out in the lightning-flashes, he saw that across the valley the stone-giants were out, and were hurling rocks at one another for a game, and catching then, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang. Then came a wind and a rain, and the wind whipped the rain and the hail about in every direction, so that an overhanging rock was no protection at all. Soon they were getting drenched and their ponies were standing with their heads down and their tails between their legs, and some of them were whinnying with fright. They could hear the giants guffawing and shouting all over the mountainsides. "This won't do at all!" said Thorin. "If we don't get blown off, or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football." "Well, if you know of anywhere better, take us there!" said Gandalf, who was feeling very grumpy, and was far from happy about the giants himself. This all just sounds too real to be a 'metaphor'. We hear about them shouting and even playing a game, and Thorin and Gandalf also talk about them. I think they're another 'oddity' from TH that, like the 'wild Were-worms', didn't quite fit in with the Legendarium. __________________ 'Dangerous!' cried Gandalf. 'And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord.'

04-01-2007, 09:36 AM	#5
The Might Guard of the Citadel Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Oxon Posts: 2,205	I disagree. While the giants are actually there, and their existence is proven, for me these were-worms are only a hobbit myth, and you probably know how good they are at making up stories. However, behind the story of the were-worms there might be some truth after all. We are told that cold drakes still survived in the northern wastelands, so it could be that Hobbits knew of their existence under then name of were-worms. __________________ “The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.” Delos B. McKown

04-01-2007, 10:43 AM	#6
Lord Halsar Haunting Spirit Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: 'Round the corner, down the well, passed the Balrog, straight to HELL! Posts: 77	i too see giants as real creatures. and i always thought that they may have been called "stone giants" because they liked to throw stones. after all, in the one place we see them, they are throwing large boulders and stones. __________________ My time is at an end, for I have walked from Valinor to the Far-east where men have not gone for millennia. Demons have fallen before me. And now... I must rest...