"Cliff Notes - the hobbit & the lord of rings" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tolkien J.R.R)

Meanwhile, the struggle between the two sides of Gollum's personality continues. One day, while Sam is pretending to sleep, he overhears Gollum debating with himself. As Smeagol, he wants to keep his promise to Frodo; as Gollum, he wants to take the Ring for himself. The Gollum side decides to wait for the aid of a mysterious "She." This idea terrifies the Smeagol personality.

Frodo had originally intended to try to find a way in through the Black Gate of Mordor. It seems to be an impossible feat. But he resolves to attempt it, because his task is to go into Mordor and he knows of no other way. (If you look at the map in the book, you will see that Mordor is surrounded by mountains on all but the eastern border, which is furthest from the Black Gate.) Sam is dismayed, but loyally resolves to follow his master anywhere.

Gollum is wild with fear. He's all too familiar with Sauron's power and what it would mean for Sauron to regain possession of the Ring. "He'll eat us all, if He gets it, eat all the world." This is consistent with the possessiveness of evil; Sauron devours everything, making it no longer something free and independent, but a part of himself.

Originally Gollum was only going to guide Sam and Frodo to the edge of Mordor and then be set free. But now he offers to take the hobbits into Mordor, through a secret passage he discovered when he escaped from Sauron. Frodo decides to trust him once again.

Gollum leads the hobbits into Ithilien, which lies along the mountains that form the western border of Mordor. Ithilien is a beautiful land, full of forests and streams. Not too long ago it was part of Gondor, which lies just across the river. But now Ithilien is held by Sauron's forces, and their presence is revealed by felled trees, pits of stinking refuse, and the eye of Sauron carved into stones and trees.

NOTE: FRODO AS A SAINT Frodo's quest can be interpreted as spiritual. While he journeys toward Mordor, the stronghold of evil, he must struggle with the evil within himself, as symbolized by the Ring and the temptation to use it. By taking on the quest to destroy the Ring, Frodo is sacrificing his own desires to save the rest of the world. And through his sufferings, he's transformed. Sam notices this change in Frodo. While Frodo is sleeping, Sam sees a light shining within him. Frodo's face looks peaceful, very ancient, but also beautiful. This serenity and inner light is often used to characterize saints.

The hobbits find themselves in the midst of a battle between some men of Gondor and an army of Southrons, men from the south who have come to join forces with the evil Sauron. Tolkien takes this opportunity to make a point about the tragedy of war. One of the Southrons falls dead near Sam. In a sudden moment of insight, Sam wonders about the man's name and whether he fought only because he had been deceived or threatened by his leaders. Maybe, Sam reflects, he would have preferred to stay home and live in peace. Is Tolkien hinting that the common men in the enemy's armies really aren't all that different from those who fight on the side of good?

When the battle ends, the hobbits meet Faramir, who is captain of the Gondor army and also Boromir's brother. Compare this meeting with the one between Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, and Eomer, captain of a group of Riders of Rohan. Eomer was under orders to detain all strangers; Faramir is ordered to kill them. But like Eomer, Faramir tempers orders with his own judgment. Neither of them is likely to give the excuse that he was only following orders if he should ever do something wrong, just as so many Nazis pleaded after World War II. Here, Tolkien introduces another aspect of free will: you must be willing to accept responsibility for your own actions and not blindly follow another's orders if you think they're wrong.

Faramir also serves as a contrast to his brother. Unlike Boromir, Faramir does not love war; his only purpose in fighting is to protect the home he loves. Also, unlike the proud Boromir, Faramir is not tempted to take the Ring. He's wise enough to know that Sauron's evil power can't be used to bring about good.

^^^^^^^^^^THE LORD OF THE RINGS: BOOK IV, CHAPTERS 6-10

With misgivings, Faramir allows the hobbits to continue their quest. Gollum guides Frodo and Sam into Mordor, betraying them there.

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Gollum is captured by the men of Gondor and would have been killed, except for Frodo's intervention. Frodo at this point has come a long way from Bag End. He now accepts responsibility for others, taking Gollum under his protection to save his life. He also speaks with Faramir--as with an equal, showing his rise in status. Tolkien even compares Frodo to Aragorn: When Gollum balks at being blindfolded, Frodo says that all three of them will be blindfolded, just as Aragorn insisted in Lorien when Gimli the dwarf was unfairly singled out for similar treatment.

Against Faramir's advice, the hobbits follow Gollum past Minas Morgul, once a stronghold of good, but now held by Sauron. From there they climb a long series of stairs that leads to a secret passage over the mountains and into Mordor.

An important incident occurs before they enter the secret tunnel. Gollum returns from his wanderings to find Frodo and Sam sleeping peacefully. He is debating with himself, and Smeagol, his good side, seems to be winning. He gives Frodo a touch that is almost a caress; for a moment, he himself looks like an old weary hobbit--"starved, pitiable." But when Sam awakens and accuses him of sneaking, the moment is past and Gollum reverts to his evil self. Here you see why some people consider Gollum such a tragic character: when it seems possible he might be reformed by the goodness of others, a moment of misunderstanding ruins everything.

Gollum now leads the hobbits into a trap. The tunnel they must take is the lair of Shelob, a monstrous spiderlike creature, the mother of the spiders that attacked Bilbo and the dwarves in The Hobbit. As Shelob advances on her prey, Sam has a sudden vision of Galadriel and the phial of starlight she gave Frodo. Frodo holds out the phial, and as his hope increases so does the light, until it seems to be a brilliant flame in his hand. Frodo calls out some elvish words, but it's as if another voice is speaking through him. Some readers interpret these things--Sam's vision, the light of the phial, and Frodo's words of power--as the emergence of some inner resource that the hobbits had previously been unaware of. Others see it as a sign that Sam and Frodo are not alone, but are being aided by some power that works through them. Before the blaze of the phial and the threat of Frodo's sword, Shelob backs away, and the hobbits flee out the other end of the tunnel, into Mordor.

NOTE: SHELOB, THE PERSONIFICATION OF GREED When Gollum said that Sauron would eat the whole world, he was speaking figuratively. Shelob, on the other hand, desires literally to eat all living things. She personifies greed, showing in a horrifying way its destructiveness. Sauron's ambition is to make all other wills into an extension of his own. Shelob's ambition is to destroy not only will, but life, so that in all the world she's the only creature left alive.

Sam and Frodo haven't escaped Shelob yet. She emerges from her tunnel and attacks Frodo. With great courage and the help of Galadriel's phial, Sam manages to drive Shelob back into her tunnel. But when he returns to his master, he finds Frodo lying pale and lifeless from Shelob's sting. Believing that Frodo is dead, Sam takes the Ring and leaves, intending to carry on the quest--the destruction of the Ring--himself. The Ring is a physical burden, bowing Sam's head down to the ground. Remember that Tolkien often manipulates the physical characteristics of things to signify something different about them--for example, Gollum's momentary change into an old, tired hobbit to signify that his gentler personality, Smeagol, was in control. What do you think is the significance of the weight of the Ring and Sam's ability to bear it?

Just then, Sam hears the voices of orcs and follows them. The orcs discover Frodo's body and carry it back to their tower. Sam realizes that his love for Frodo is greater than any sense of duty, and he runs after the orcs to die defending his master. How would you characterize Sam's act? Is it noble or foolish? How do his actions relate to Tolkien's theme of the importance of friendship?

As Sam follows the orcs, he overhears their two leaders talking and learns that Frodo isn't dead, but only paralyzed. He calls himself a fool; he knew in his heart that Frodo was alive, but didn't listen. Brandishing Sting, he chases after the orcs. But the great gates of the fortress clang shut behind the orcs, locking Sam out.

^^^^^^^^^^THE LORD OF THE RINGS: BOOK V, CHAPTERS 1-5

Sauron's army begins its siege of Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor.

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Gandalf and Pippin arrive in Minas Tirith amid preparations for war. They meet with Denethor, Boromir's father, the steward of Gondor. Pippin offers his allegiance to Denethor, and the steward accepts. What moves Pippin to do this?

NOTE: Minas Tirith is the capital of Gondor, one of the ancient kingdoms of the Numenoreans, a noble and long-lived race of men. The last king of Gondor disappeared in a previous encounter with evil, and since then a series of stewards have ruled, safeguarding the throne until a king should appear. This is the throne that Aragorn is heir to.