As we progress in our journey through the reading of The Lord of the Rings, I have become interested in how Tolkien puts significance in seemingly unimportant things. Because he put so much effort into Middle-earth and it's characters, many of the things included in his works have a great amount of depth. For example, as we read through the books I fall more and more in love with Merry and Pippin as characters and realize their significance. I feel as if they are often regarded as unimportant, but their loyalty to Frodo, similar to Sam's, helps to protect the ring and make sure it gets from one place to the other. Elrond originally didn't want them to be included in the group but was convinced by how loyal they were to Frodo, although they were not strong, large, or magical. Together, they are responsible for the Ent's joining their fight and Merry is also partly responsible for the death of the Witch-king of Angmar at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Through Tolkien's inclusion of Merry and Pippin, the power that friendship and loyalty carries is revealed.
-Melian
2 comments:
Melian,
I really enjoyed reading your post. Loyalty and friendship are such an important theme throughout LOTR. In class, we talked about the complex relationships characters develop throughout the ages due to the various oaths and friendships that have been made in the past. I think that by looking into the Palantir, Pippin suddenly realized the magnitude of their quest. I believe this caused he and Merry to pledge their swords to Denethor and Theoden, which is a very important aspect of the narrative. Without their pledges, the Witch King may not have been defeated, and Faramir might have perished with Denethor. To me, this is more evidence of the power of oaths and friendships in Tolkien's works. Friendships of old cause new oaths to be made, that inevitably alter the narrative of the story.
How wonderful is it that we get to see Merry and Pippin literally and figuratively grow before our eyes. (because of the Ent-draughts ;) )
-Estë
I agree with you Melian, Tolkien's use of the seemingly insignificant through Pippin and Merry is wonderful. The character development for them I would argue is the most extreme, they literally go from foolish and clumsy children to leaders. As we have mentioned before in class, the acts the Hobbits and especially what Pippin and Merry achieve upon their return to the Shire would not be believable if we did not see their growth throughout the story.
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