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TOLKIEN 03: The Return of the King
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Book V
Denethor's cruelty and madness - while it is not uncommon, it was still painful to read how Denethor was cruel and unjust toward his second son, just because he wasn't (I guess) manly enough for his love of books and Gandalf's company. On the other hand, he snapped when he realized he'll lose him (influenced by palantir though). What do you think of his personality? Maybe he favored Boromir because he was more like him, while Faramir was more like his mother?
Blood of Westernesse - connected to the topic above, Gandalf noted how that blood flew through Denethor and Faramir but not in Boromir, yet Denethor loved more the latter. Again, I don't think it is about the number of blood cells, but about their personalities. Do you agree with Gandalf? In what manner Faramir was the one better suited to be a heir to the steward of Gondor?
Eowyn - Tolkien's depiction of a strong and frustrated woman was top notch and impressed me very much. Women in LotR are so rare, yet where they are, they are strong, smart and impressive. My favorite quote in her dispute with Aragorn:
'What do you fear, lady?' he asked.
'A cage,' she said. 'To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond reacll or desire.'
What do you think of their opposing views of her duty to the country and her house? Do you agree with Aragorn or with Eowyn? My view was that they left her behind not because she was weak (because she was obviously trained to fight even though she was a woman), but because she would be the last member of their house if both Theoden and Eomer die on the battlefield. They left her in charge of her people. However, she didn't feel it that way, neither would I in her place. The line of duty is blurred when you see your loved ones going away without you. Aragorn didn't help with his (outdated) views. What would have Arwen said?
Wildmen (Pukkel-men?) of Rohan - I do not remember if they were in the movies? They were quite mysterious, and I would love to know some more of their background and history!
Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth - again, he wasn't in the movies? Good character too, wasn't he?
Sauron and the Mouth of Sauron - interesting how Tolkien didn't actually describe much the enemy - he remained mysterious and more like a shadow till the end. He didn't appear in person anywhere. Some might say that it is his Christian influence, to make him look like a Satan, working behind curtains. Better treatment was left for his servants, like Mouth of Sauron, who is described to be a Dunedain of Umbar, equal to Aragorn in his lineage, a Black Numenorean, in a sense he was corrupted and evil. Further in the book, we'll see how Sauron's influence was the main force behind so many troops he ordered around, and when it was gone, the will of people and orcs was free and many of them run away.
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Cirith Ungol - I loved this part. Orcs did all the work for Sam! What do you think of Sam here? I think he was stronger than he thought, especially in wielding the ring. To me, the end of TTT marked the change of the places; now Sam was the main character of their quest and Frodo would not get anywhere without him.
Orcs again - what do you think of the following quote:
The Shadow that bred them can only mock, it cannot make: not real new things of its own.
Was it again a Christian background - all creatures are made by God, but Satan (Sauron here) can twist them and corrupt. Your thoughts?
Eowyn and Faramir - I personally loved their romance. I liked how Faramir wooed her. He didn't try to put her down and demean her. On contrary, he let her heal on her own terms.
I didn't mind so much that she chose to abandon arms and to use her strength for healing. Faramir was also that kind of man, always taking care of his men, rather then sending them to senseless deaths, so it made sense. Besides, my view was that she wanted heroics just because she felt like a prisoner there, without any clear purpose, now she had it. Undoubtedly, that didn't mean she wouldn't fight together with her husband if need arises. He wouldn't have any say in the matter :) What do you think?
Grey Havens & The Fourth Age - it made me so sad, that all these characters we cared so much for, are now going away, leaving their heritage in the hands of short-living and fickle men.
The ending - I actually loved so many endings here. I liked that Tolkien didn't leave any strand unfinished. We learned what happened with Wildmen of Rohan, with southrons and easterlings, ents, Saruman, Lothlorien, Rivendell and Shire. They all had their part in the War of the Ring. The scouring of Shire was a bit anti-climactic though. Your impressions?
APPENDICES
My copy of the book contained only the story of Aragorn and Arwen. Even though I lacked more information about their romance while reading the book, it was better I learned more about it afterwards, because of many spoilers. The story was lovely and appropriate. Have you read other appendices? I did ages ago in another book, but I do not remember much. Should I read them? Are they in any way included in other Tolkien's books?
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Zeljka wrote: "In conclusion, reading of this book made me so happy. News nowadays are so gloomy and desperate. The virus obviously won't go away (and we should simply learn to live with it) and this new Putin's ..."amazingly written.
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Return of the King (other topics)The Lord of the Rings (other topics)
For discussion about specific segments related to the previous books, please head over to these threads:
TOLKIEN 01: The Fellowship of the Ring
TOLKIEN 02: The Two Towers
Here you can also discuss the differences between the book and the movie(s) too if you would like to. Next month there will be a separate thread for movies and books about them.