After my classes were done and all
mandatory meetings were attended, I had time to go for a walk. Of course all of
those mandatory meetings had pushed my schedule back and I didn’t hit the
trails until around sunset. But I had come prepared for the dark with a reflector
jacket, headlamp, and walking stick. I only walked 6.07 miles (9.76 km) since
I didn’t want to stray onto unfamiliar or dangerous trails in the night. By the
time I returned to my dorm the temperature had dropped significantly and I
could see my breath on the air. For close to half an hour I stood barefoot in
the cold grass outside feeling the wind toy with my hair and watching the
twinkling light of civilization far below in the valley.
Even though the hobbits did not
often have the time to stop and contemplate their surroundings, or pause to
take in the view; I sometimes wonder if they found the new lands they were in
remarkable. Everything from the Old Forest, to Chetwood, to the Weather Hills was
vastly different from the pastoral rolling hills of the Shire. So much was new
to the hobbits on their journey, and though it was fraught with peril the road
they walked took them to new and marvelous lands. Tolkien takes the opportunity
in several places before Weathertop to note sunrises and the topography of the
land the hobbits and Aragorn were traveling through. While this description can
be seen as tedious by some, it is worth noting for me. Tolkien took the time to
envision and describe the world he had created, showing a deep appreciation for
nature and its role in the lives and journey of the Fellowship throughout the
entire novel. So I also want to come to the conclusion that the hobbits, a race
Tolkien considered himself to be in all by size, also held a deep appreciation
for the nature they were surrounded with (sans the Midgewater Marshes).
The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons
The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons
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