Page numbers given below refer to this edition of the text:
Tolkien, J. R. R.  The Fellowship of the Ring, being the first part of The Lord of the Rings. 
[Rev.] 2nd ed. [Originally published 1965/1966.]  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1994.

Seminar #1 Topics discussed (Week #2, 10/2/02)
On Fellowship Book One

Book vs. Movie

• Arwen and Aragorn [Strider]

• Scenes left out of the movie - why?
  We enjoyed the scenes [in the novel?] with Tom B. & Farmer Maggot

• Time  - not relevant

Epigraph:

• 3 rings for kings - intention to control (Elves above ground)

• 7 dwarf lords (below ground in hall of stone)

• 9 mortal men doomed to die (end up turning into Black Riders, essentially dead but still on Middle-earth).  Die for what you believe in.

• Dark Lord on his dark throne (became Mordor).  One Ring to find them all - the red eye.

• 3 rings for elves, 7 for dwarves, 9 for men, 1 for Sauron to rule them all

The Ring:

• The power of the ring - dominates its possessor.

• Men don't like to share power - that is why they had nine rings.

• The Ring is evil.  No matter who has it, it will turn them evil to get back to its owner.

• Ring as a character - destroys the bearer, will of its own - effects on the person that has it

• Black Riders as characters - the ring's powers, the Black Riders' mortality

• Ring seems to be attracted to Hobbits: Gollum, Bilbo, Frodo - they [?] resist the Ring.

• It is a character, has its own will.

• The lesser the being, the lesser the desire and ability to use the ring;

• Humans were easier to corrupt with the Ring - desire for power

• The Ring affects appearance: Bilbo looked young & refreshed

• Gollum, descendent of Hobbits - old, moral decay

• When Bilbo gave up the ring - how hard it was for him to do so - the power of the Ring & its hold

• Hypothesis:  If the Ring was dormant for 2000+ years and it was underwater during that time,
  
  then therefore water must be able to negate the power of the Ring.  Either that, or the Ring needs to be worn and possessed by someone in order to be "sensed" by the Dark Lord.

Hero:

• Frodo is an unlikely hero.  He is not all that strong or wise, but he is willing to sacrifice himself for Middle-earth and his friends.

• Frodo?  weak, scared; but can withstand the Ring's power; thrown into the Quest.

• Frodo: hero-like, but also hobbit-like, in that he displays normal characteristics, has tendency to complain - maybe ring "weighs" him down mentally?

• Frodo - very humble, different mind set;   Frodo was not affected by the Ring at first, but eventually he becomes tempted to use the Ring;

• Why Frodo has the Ring and what he must do with it

• Strider / Aragorn: something to hide?  Fighter and tracker

• Gandalf:  powerful

Hobbits:

• Ignorance of Hobbits leading to their peculiar attitudes & mannerisms

• Fat, lazy, normal people (shows normal people can be heroes)

• Always eat!

• Ages: Bilbo = III, started to travel at 50 & Frodo leaves on his adventure @ 50.  The burden of the ring is given to Frodo when he turns 33 (his coming of age).

• Frodo Baggins

• Frodo has a link of power to ring.

• Sam appears to be like a "dog" to Frodo; Sam always wants to see Elves.

• Sam not "the one," but gives strength to Frodo.  Willing to do anything.  Loyal.  Ring would not affect him - does not desire power.

• Tolkien seems like a hobbit in his own way: he likes to eat, sleep, drink, stay at home, etc.

 [Other] Races, Inhabitants of Middle-earth:

• Elves: Leaving for the Gray Havens

• Population problem on Middle-earth (?):  elves, hobbits, dwarves, moral men, orcs, trolls, wizards:
  Everyone lives long lives

• Gandalf

• Black Riders

• Identity of "Orcs": race, not individuals; mutilated elves.  Evil, can't travel by day.  Come from Mordor, the land of pure evil.

• Rangers:  remnants of the royal lineage; protect peaceful lands of Middle-earth

Plot

• Book was slow, not a constant page-turner - some chapters more interesting than others

• Author Tolkien needed to discuss Bilbo more - read Hobbit

• Main events of first Book

Settings, Moods

• Middle-earth
   

• Hobbiton: happy, carefree, makes the evil more evil appearing, gives a happy place to look back on when they are on they road

• Old Forest

• Barrow-Downs

• Darkness surrounds the "bad" guys, while things such as the sun & bright colors surround the "good" guys

• Scenery changes the mood of reader: Bright & happy, then change to dull

• Lots of description - too much sometimes, repetitious

• Rotation of settings - good, evil, good, evil, and so on . . .
  Shire, Old Forest, Tom's House, Barrow-Downs, Bree, land between Bree & Rivendell, Rivendell . . .

Poems/Songs

• A man enchanted by a woman he hears singing.  He finally finds her.  He is mortal and she is the daughter of an elf lord.  They fall in love and they are the first mortal-elf couple.

• Gandalf's poem to Strider

Tom Bombadil & Goldberry

• Tom was immune to the ring.  It had no power over him.

• Tom is made God-like in the sentence by Goldberry that he simply "is."  Similar to Moses in the Old Testament.

• Tom & Goldberry represent the male and female aspect of God.  She is mother nature and he has been here forever--before the river and trees and anything else was there.

• Tom's house:  magical and good, source of safety -->Fatty Lumpkin = that's funny

Themes

• Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

• Theme of Good vs. Evil - explains the popularity of the movie & the book.

• Tolkien's view:  Problems have to be addressed and someone has to take the reins and take action.

• Good vs. Evil

• Power

• Nature

• Courage

• Friendship; stick together, always someone there to help

• Quest: dealing with what is given you

• Character growth: grow as book progresses

• RE: author: relating to Tolkien's life

• Representation of the Ring: "evil"  - trying to get rid of the Ring - like ourselves: we all have evil desires and we need to overcome

• The Journey: life's journey - Destiny - characteristic - to fulfill their destiny

Tolkien's Characters:

• Tolkien created mysterious characters.  Not only the evil characters are mysterious, but all the characters are mysterious.  The Black Riders are mysterious because the Hobbits have no idea who they are and why they are chasing them.

• Tolkien's use of muted shades (relating to characters) - effective.
   

• Why Tolkien gave Frodo certain characteristics.  Maybe it gave him characteristics that people like us could identify with, etc.

• Gandalf & Frodo: important features of their characters

Tolkien's Writing Style

Questions:

• Who is the dark figure climbing over the gate?  --could be Gollum?  --could be Strider?  --could be a Black Rider or their spy?

• Why do only a few help Frodo?  Why not send an army to help Frodo?

• What happened to the other rings?  What did the rings represent?
  --the 9 kings?  --Greed of man.  Power above all
  --dwarves
  --3 rings elves - hidden; Elves didn't desire the power from the rings.
  --Sauron, or gifts by Sauron, but used rings to control

• Gandalf:  Why does he want to help the Hobbits? What are his motives?

• Why is the Ring a fountain of youth?  Gollum? - eventually turns evil.  Bilbo?

Seminar #2 Sources & Topics discussed (Week #3, 10/9/02)
On Critical Review of Sources

Characters

• Tom Bombadil & Goldberry (the movie viewed them as something that could be removed and not missed)

• Relations of Tolkien to his characters

• The battles fought over the Ring

• Web site Encyclopedia of Arda: in depth information about characters and the history of all

• Analysis of the Ring as a character

Fellowship of the Ring & Lord of the Rings:

• Tolkien.co.uk Website offers maps of Frodo's journey, plot summaries, explanation & synopses of towns

• Languages of Lord of the Rings:  in depth studies of Tolkien's languages & vocabulary (Tolkien invented four languages for the novel, some derived from Finnish)

• The Grey Havens:  links to every single character, collection of all songs in the novel

• Review of a great site presenting information on the different races (Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards, etc.) & their histories

• Website Tolkien FAQ gives lots of information on Dwarves, Elves, etc.--stuff that you wouldn't know unless you saw the movie.

• National Geographic [web] source covered timelines, languages, cultures, myths & storytelling

Film Adaptations (Movie vs. Novel) of Tolkien's Works

• Comparison of movie & novel versions

• Reviews of the Movie Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

• Commercialism generated by the new movies; the official Lord of the Rings web site (purchase DVD & VHS, download movie trailers, interview with director Peter Jackson)

• FoolOfATook.com offers a complete recreation of the movie using only action figures & cheaply created sets.

• Tom Bombadil & Goldberry: the movie viewed them as something that could be removed and not missed)

The Hobbit & Other Works by Tolkien

• The Hobbit Companion book, by David Day - esp. description of Hobbit characters

• Cartoon [animated film version] of The Hobbit - went through the story of Tolkien's first book The Hobbit and gave the basics of what you need to know before The Lord of the Rings

• Silmarrion - book by Tolkien - for information on the history of Middle-earth

Literary Criticism of Tolkien's Novels

• Book Reviews

• Myth & Legends (Tolkien's Ring, by David Day)

• Critics' interpretations of The Lord of the Rings

• Many critics seem to be "grasping at straws" in their interpretations

• Comparison of the novel to today's society - specifically Mordor and the current U.S. war on terrorists

• Magazine articles that presents 3 main things that make Lord of the Rings special, compares Tolkien's novel and the Bible, and discusses the novel's appeal to children

Myth & Legend

• Myth & Legend from Ancient Times to the Space Age explains myth, legend, & folklore; and helps explain the meaning of the novel.

• National Geographic [web] source covered timelines, languages, cultures, myths & storytelling

Themes, Motifs, Symbols

• Good vs. Evil (e.g. battle inside the hero, anti-Faust, overcoming evil instead of succumbing)

• Life vs. Death (Freudian?)

• Colors: Black vs. White, good vs. evil

• The Hero's Journey

• Different Symbols (e.g. trees, elves)

• The Lord of the Rings and religion

Tolkien - Biography

• Tolkien himself, his languages, history

• Tolkien's religious beliefs

• Tolkien's works

• Tolkien.co.uk Website offers interviews & information on the man Tolkien

• The Grey Havens:  pictures of Tolkien, with background information

• Tolkien Society offers a wealth of information, though not much visual

• Tolkien Society [web site] offers general information on Tolkien and "discussed everything" - a big  membership site with chat rooms & lots of information!

• Warwickshire offers an illustrated biography of Tolkien & picture of a Hobbit home

• Website Tolkien FAQ gives lots of biographical information about Tolkien (as well as Dwarves, Elves, etc.--stuff that you wouldn't know unless you saw the movie).

• Interview with Tolkien and Dennis Gerald: Tolkien talked about personal life, wasn't taken too seriously, blew of the ideals of Middle-earth as an allegory.

• Web site of Brian Kessler: deals with what the two world wars had to do with and how they affected Tolkien's writing.

• Article "Middle English to Middle-earth" talks about Tolkien as a professor, his examination of the English dictionary, and his love and extensive knowledge of language.

• Web site Encyclopedia of Arda offers a tribute to Tolkien

• One source covered Tolkien's life from childhood to death, including how he began writing and his interest in myth

• Author of the Century source broke down all of the books, step by step, plus letters & journals of Tolkien

• Another source reviewed described events that affected Tolkien's stories and offered pieces about his life.

Tolkien's Fans

• Tolkien & Lord of the Rings fanatics

You are here: Tolkien Seminars ~ Fall 2002
URL of this webpage: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng104/Tolkienseminars.htm
Last Updated: 26 July 2003

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