Unlike the films, Fellowship of the Ring ends not with a battle or a death, but with everyone frantically searching for Frodo while he and Sam slip across the Anduin into the wild country on the far bank.
Frankly, I think the MOST interesting piece of this chapter is the breaking of Boromir which is the namesake of the chapter. When Boromir breaks, so goes the Fellowship. However, I'm going to save Boromir's fall for when his death comes at the beginning of Two Towers.
Instead I'm going to talk about Frodo's vision at Amon Hen and some parallels between this scene and the initial departure from Rivendell.
Frodo and the Seat of Seeing
Amon Hen and Amon Lhaw are the two hills that are on each side of the river where the Fellowship camps. Amon Hen means "Seat of Seeing" and as Frodo is fleeing Boromir while wearing the Ring, he experiences a few interesting experiences.
Frodo reaches the top of the ruins while wearing the Ring and suddenly, he can see across distant fields and observes the deteriorating state of Middle-Earth. War is being waged everywhere and no one stronghold is safe. He gazes upon the tower of Barad-dur and feels the Ring pulling to Sauron.
Just when he feels like he is about to be discovered by Sauron, he removes the Ring and safely avoids Sauron's detection.
The first interesting point here is the vision of Frodo. This is one of several that occurs in Fellowship and we know that there are others that occur later in the adventure. In a previous post, I discussed potential sources of the visions and came down to the conclusion that it could either be something innate about Frodo or the power of the Ring.
As we're progressing through the story, I think it is becoming more apparent that the power of the Ring is the big driver behind these visions.
The Ring is a physical manifestation of the might, and cunning of Sauron. As a Valar, his power is tremendous and even a portion of it, embodied in the Ring can bestow wondrous and terrible effects upon the bearer, not all of which they can control.
These visions are simply one manifestation of the Ring's power, allowing a glimpse into the insight of someone of Sauron's might. Frodo is, for a moment, able to scan across Middle-Earth like the Valar themselves.
The second interesting point comes from what happens after Frodo does his tour de Middle-Earth. He hears and feels conflicting voices inside him like an epic tug-of-war between two forces.
The first he refers to as the Eye which represents Sauron trying to find him. It's begging him to reveal himself and declare his presence. The second he refers to as the Voice which I always found interesting but mysterious. The Voice urges him to remove the Ring and to hide.
What struck me this time is the language that Tolkien used, "Take it off! Take it off! Fool, take it off! Take off the Ring!"
Who does that sound like?
I'm pretty confident this is Gandalf directly wrestling with Sauron. I vaguely remember a quote in Two Towers where Gandalf discusses fending off a Dark Shadow before he makes his return known. Once I find the quote when we get to it, I'll confirm but isn't that pretty awesome to read a scene about Gandalf fighting directly with Sauron over Frodo's will? Cool!
Parallels to Rivendell
As Frodo is off seeking some clarity on his own, the others are locked in thought and conversation. The conversation is centered around where Frodo will pick to go and if people will go with him. I think this is a small note but a nice tie-in to the initial departure.
Gimli says that he was heartbroken to leave Lorien (HE HAS CHANGED SO MUCH!) but no matter what, will follow Frodo. Legolas agrees stating that "It would be faithless now to say farewell". I just enjoy the line because it mirrors Gimli's line in Rivendell and the relationship between Legolas and Gimli is one of the most fascinating aspect of the story.
Minor detail but I wanted to mention it.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading through the first book and hope you stick around for the rest!
Next up! Boromir's fall.
I just finished reading the part involving Gandalf and his war with the Dark Shadow before returning to finding Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn in Fangorn. (Sorry, don't have the book in front of me, but maybe I can update later.) He mentions that the battle left him feeling tired; I think he had to redirect Sauron to keep him from finding Frodo.
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