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dreamflowerHere are my next two quotes for Back to Middle-earth Month.
From Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings by Matthew Dickerson
Concerning Merry, at the Battle of the Pelennor--
“Merry is terrified of battle in general and terrified of the Black Rider in particular. He has no love whatsoever for war. He is a Hobbit, and although he is (or is to become) more adventurous and more noble than most of the other folk of the Shire, he is not one to long for battle or see it as glorious. For Meriadoc Brandybuck, the victory comes in overcoming his fear in order to come to the rescue of Éowyn, even if it means doing so in the most inglorious fashion of crawling along on his belly and stabbing the Nazgûl from behind. ‘She should not die, so fair, so desperate! At least she should not die alone, unaided.’ And the glory of the scene is also his love for a king who had become like a father: ‘King’s man! King’s man!’ his heart cried within him. ‘You must stay by him. As a father you shall be to me, you said.’ The glory is the awakening of the ‘slow-kindling courage of his race’. (ROTK p 116). It is his sheer choice to move and act, despite the terror that would have paralyzed him. It is his will not to give in to terror and despair. That this choice is made in the context of a battle, and involves a sword, is not the critical aspect of the heroism (or glory) for we see the same glory in each step taken by Sam and Frodo across the plains of Mordor. Indeed, the battle itself is very inglorious.
Concerning Pippin, at the Battle before the Black Gates--
“In particular, not only is the narrator concerned with Pippin’s role and position as the battle begins, but he tells us just what is going through the Hobbit’s mind during those first few moments. Certainly some of his thoughts are directed toward the present instant: the horrors he is about to face and what he hopes to accomplish against his foes. But much of his thought is turned toward things having little to do with battle: first toward his friend Merry, and then toward “cool sunlight and green grass.” These are the things--friends, sunlight, grass--that are really important in the tale; this and not war and battles, is the stuff of life: the stuff that counts. And this this, even in the midst of a battle scene is what Tolkien’s narrative brings us back to.
From Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings by Matthew Dickerson
Concerning Merry, at the Battle of the Pelennor--
“Merry is terrified of battle in general and terrified of the Black Rider in particular. He has no love whatsoever for war. He is a Hobbit, and although he is (or is to become) more adventurous and more noble than most of the other folk of the Shire, he is not one to long for battle or see it as glorious. For Meriadoc Brandybuck, the victory comes in overcoming his fear in order to come to the rescue of Éowyn, even if it means doing so in the most inglorious fashion of crawling along on his belly and stabbing the Nazgûl from behind. ‘She should not die, so fair, so desperate! At least she should not die alone, unaided.’ And the glory of the scene is also his love for a king who had become like a father: ‘King’s man! King’s man!’ his heart cried within him. ‘You must stay by him. As a father you shall be to me, you said.’ The glory is the awakening of the ‘slow-kindling courage of his race’. (ROTK p 116). It is his sheer choice to move and act, despite the terror that would have paralyzed him. It is his will not to give in to terror and despair. That this choice is made in the context of a battle, and involves a sword, is not the critical aspect of the heroism (or glory) for we see the same glory in each step taken by Sam and Frodo across the plains of Mordor. Indeed, the battle itself is very inglorious.
Concerning Pippin, at the Battle before the Black Gates--
“In particular, not only is the narrator concerned with Pippin’s role and position as the battle begins, but he tells us just what is going through the Hobbit’s mind during those first few moments. Certainly some of his thoughts are directed toward the present instant: the horrors he is about to face and what he hopes to accomplish against his foes. But much of his thought is turned toward things having little to do with battle: first toward his friend Merry, and then toward “cool sunlight and green grass.” These are the things--friends, sunlight, grass--that are really important in the tale; this and not war and battles, is the stuff of life: the stuff that counts. And this this, even in the midst of a battle scene is what Tolkien’s narrative brings us back to.