16. B1:C4 - Shortcut to Mushrooms - [LoTR Read Along]

The Nicks discuss Chapter Four of Fellowship - Getting caught in the bogs and thickets, Black Riders, Bamfurlong, Farmer Maggot's dogs, whether Frodo's story mirrors Bilbo's, narrow misses, social status, and traveling in the fog without lanterns.

Nicholas Jon sounds like he's hiding from the black riders in a tin can, and tries a looser editing style. Nick Andrew lives in the loudest place possible and tries to imagine Sam's fangirling over the Elves with a real-world example... from his own experience? We'll never know.

 

Maps

Map of Middle-earth 

LoTRproject.com interactive map - Caution: spoilers for new readers! 

 

Last time in The Lord of The Rings

Frodo inherited the Ring from Bilbo and learned that it is the One Ring and must be destroyed. He sells his house and takes his friends on an adventure through the Shire only to be dogged by a black rider. Some elves take them in for the night and give them the advice to not wait for Gandalf.

 

Where are we in the narrative?

Frodo, Sam, and Pippin are still in the Shire making their way to Buckleberry Ferry and then on to Crickhollow, Frodo’s new house. The Elves showed concern for Frodo especially when they heard that the travelers have seen a black rider and Gandalf hasn’t come as promised. Unwillingly the Elves give the advice to move ahead with their plan and not to wait for Gandalf.

 

Notes for this episode

The Story in this Chapter:

• A chance to get to know Hobbits better
• Thinking at breakfast? Hobbits are supposed to EAT!! Food is their THING.
• Frodo speaking aloud - sign of the Ring?
• The change coming over Sam
• Oracle-esque? Something in his heart/gut tells him that he “has to see it through.”
• Shortcuts
• • Golden Perch, Ivy Bush, Green Dragon (Most of the buildings mentioned in the Shire are Inns)
  • If you look at the map - the road (trail?) to Woodhall dead-ends. Was Frodo planning to go over the country from the beginning?
• Pippin - and Hobbit jesting/poking/digging “First check.”
• Sam saves the company - “You’ve got sharp ears, Sam”
• • Is this a recognition of having spotted the rider
  • Or a request to listen and keep an ear out?
• Golden Drink (possibly Miruvor as we later learn) - alcohol? stimulant? some other nourishing thing? REDBULL!
• The first Nazgul cry - “There are words in the cry,” and that was no hobbit voice.
• The ease at which the Hobbits forget their fear when the Shire does its thing.
• Bamfurlong is a great bit of LoTR trivia - good to have in your back pocket to show your knowledge - also useful as a substitute curse word when around children.
• Farmer Maggot
• How near the miss - Nazgul / Frodo at Farmer Maggot’s
• Sam’s suspicious nature
• Dogs response to the Nazgul (movie-book)
• Maggot tells off a Nazgul - “Back where you belong” - funny because he doesn’t really know what that might mean
• 14 to dinner - some mirroring to Bilbo? Bilbo had 15 - symbolically could show the incompleteness of the party (Gandalf? Merry? The rest?)
• Sam’s position showing? - “You & Pippin and all” - “You & Merry (Maggot’s closer friend) and all”
• Sundown - and they only got to the farm from Woodhall
• • 5+ more miles to the ferry
• Frodo is anxious - Pippin is drowsy - Sam is watchful “I want Mr. Baggins, have you seen him?” - not as effective in the audio book - frighteningly ambiguous in writing.

Other comments or observations:

• Book pacing
• • Natural divide between character based narrative and descriptive narrative?
  • Fast = action and character?
  • Or Fast = a lack of world description?
  • Slow = A lot of everything? - For Tolkien the physical world is hugely important - character-like - but the characters are not described in much detail.
  • • We can see the world, and the people in it, but we can’t see their faces except as we imagine them to be.
• Some books with different pacing
• • Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan - slow (though starts okay)
  • Belgariad - David Eddings - Quick pace - every chapter moves the story ahead
  • Angels and Demons - Dan Brown - Very fast pace (movie like cuts)
  • Lord of the Rings - Slower very descriptive - minimal character description - not a lot of politic-ing

Notable Difference(s) from Films: All of this is missing from the movie

Locations/Distance Traveled/Distance apart: The actual distance traveled is probably 20 miles maximum including 5+ by cart.

New Characters: Farmer Maggot and his family/household

Info/History from Other Titles/Sources: Letter 206 - Funny incident where Tolkien went to a Hobbit Dinner and spoke, and on the menu was “Maggot Soup” which was, of course, mushroom soup named for Farmer Maggot.

What to Watch for in the Next Chapter: Next chapter Frodo and all finally make it to Crickhollow - but Frodo needs to leave right away. He will have to tell his friends that he is going, but he doesn’t know how to break it to them.

 

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Special thanks to our friend Harry Murrell for the use of his music. Listen to more and subscribe to his channel here.