I knew I wanted to get into shape
when I started this goal (and so far I have lost 8 inches), but I never thought
I would end up enjoying it. Now I know one of the reasons why the hobbits were
such a happy culture, good company and good food certainly makes for a cheerful
life. Walking was one of the main transports the hobbits had access to, and as
such walking was something they were designed for. Turning to a hobbit’s
lifestyle has made me feel so much more satisfied than I ever thought I would
be. To borrow a phrase from Tolkien, I truly am becoming a hobbit in all but
size.
On Day 18 I walked 6.57 miles (10.57
km). So far I have walked a total of 117.3 miles (188.8 km)!
At this mile marker in their
journey, the hobbits have found themselves in a good bit of trouble. Having
wandered astray in the foggy Barrow-Downs, they have been captured by
Barrow-Wights. This instance in their journey is told through Frodo’s point of
view and really gives a good glimpse of his character, and also of the affects
the rings is already having on him.
After getting quite disoriented in
the fog, Frodo finds himself lost and alone. With his friends failing to
respond from him, Frodo becomes frantic and walks into the waiting arms of
peril. When he awakes he finds himself in the barrow of a wight, surrounded by
death, decay, and cold riches.
Tolkien was very fond of Norse mythology
(along with others) and even translated a copy of Beowulf for the fun of it. It
is in the Barrow-downs that some of this Norse influence can readily be seen.
Barrows, also known as tumuli, are burial mounds. Throughout most of European
mythology, barrows were raised over the burial sites of individuals of great
glory and renown. These barrows were sometimes filled with great treasure
befitting the status and deeds of the individual for whom the barrow was built
(as was done with Beowulf). It is this
treasure that attracted the wights whom Frodo and company find themselves
captives of.
Frodo finds his friends pale as death,
great treasures adorning their bodies with swords by their sides and shields at
their feet. Merry, Pippin, and Sam are being presented like the Kings of old. And
creeping along towards his helpless friends, the severed arm of a wight intent
on bringing death.
It is here in the barrow that the effects
of the ring can clearly start to be seen in Frodo. For a while, Frodo
entertains the idea of slipping the ring on and escaping, the invisibility
allowing him to slip past the wights. He imagines himself grieving for his
friends and Gandalf telling him there was nothing he can do. For one terrifying
moment Frodo’s hand gropes desperately in his pocket for the key he believes
would set him free, but then courage grows; courage enough to spur Frodo into
action. He defeats the arm of the wight and calls for Tom Bombadil to come save
them.
“There is a seed of
courage hidden (and often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and
most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow.
Frodo was neither very fat nor very timid; indeed, though he did not know it,
Bilbo (and Gandalf) had thought him the best hobbit in the Shire. [Frodo]
though he had come to the end of his adventure, and a terrible end, but the
thought hardened him.” (The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow Downs)
It is here that the greatest peril
faced thus far shows Frodo’s character and why he is the one who must bear the
ring. This peril also shows the battle already raging within the hobbit, a
battle that has only just begun and will prove crucial in the story to come. But
one of the most important thing that this peril reveals is the fact that Frodo
cannot undertake this journey and bear this ring alone. To survive and
overcome, he will need the help of friends.
The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons
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