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LotR Re-Read Running Thoughts
Apr. 1st, 2026 04:31 pmI've started rereading The Lord of the Rings for the first time at least ten years, and I thought I would note some stuff that is popping out to me this time around:
Sam is character we almost always see surrounded by his social "betters" and in his humble servant mode, which makes it really interesting to me that the first scene he's in shows him in conversation with this social equals in a more comfortable and outspoken mode. This immediately sets up how calibrated his behaviors are to his social context.
Frodo's first line is "Has he gone?" This sets up nicely the association of his character with loss.
People in Hobbiton tend to call things "queer"; people in the East Farthing tend to call things "funny," though they also use "queer." Merry calls things "funny"; he is a true Bucklander.
Frodo is really quite witty. Hobbits are, in general, and this isn't new news for me about Frodo, but it is striking me what a high percentage of his dialogue has some sort of wit or irony. I think this was largely lost in Jackson's script, which tends to go for terrified or generically nice.
Sam is character we almost always see surrounded by his social "betters" and in his humble servant mode, which makes it really interesting to me that the first scene he's in shows him in conversation with this social equals in a more comfortable and outspoken mode. This immediately sets up how calibrated his behaviors are to his social context.
Frodo's first line is "Has he gone?" This sets up nicely the association of his character with loss.
People in Hobbiton tend to call things "queer"; people in the East Farthing tend to call things "funny," though they also use "queer." Merry calls things "funny"; he is a true Bucklander.
Frodo is really quite witty. Hobbits are, in general, and this isn't new news for me about Frodo, but it is striking me what a high percentage of his dialogue has some sort of wit or irony. I think this was largely lost in Jackson's script, which tends to go for terrified or generically nice.
