Middle-earth Journeys

Congratulations to both winners--well-deserved indeed!

Congratulations Serinde and Finarfin . All the essays were so good there were difficult choices to be made. In terms of sheer enjoyment everyone was a winner .

Heartiest congratulations to Serinde and Finarfin! Really wonderful essays all around. Can't wait for the next contest!

Well done Serinde and Finarfin

Congrats Serinde and Finarfin! Enjoy your books!

Well earned by both Serinde and Finarfin but to all those who participated fine job by all.

Congratulations to both winners

Just as soon as we hear from our two winners on their choices for their prizes, I think we should challenge ourselves and start up again. I have another great idea for an essay.

Stay tuned.

I think I can hear pencils being sharpened .

I had some free time today and decided to spend it re-reading the wonderful essays from our Yuletide contest. I was struck once again by the wonderful array of thought and writing talent demonstrated in these entries. I can't wait for our next contest.

Serinde, I did think of one item that could be added to your essay. You mention that we are not certain about Gandalf's activities on that day. In fact, we KNOW what he was doing:

He [Frodo] heard himself crying out: Never, never! Or was it: Verily I come, I come to you? He could not tell. Then as a flash from some other point of power there came to his mind another thought: Take it off! Take it off! Fool, take it off! Take off the Ring!

At that point, we do not know to whom that other voice belongs, and if we are reading LOTR for the first time, we would have no reason to think that it is the voice of Gandalf, because we believe him to be dead. But later, when Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli meet up with Gandalf the White in Fangorn Forest, we learn the following from him:

"The Ring now has passed beyond my help, or the help of any of the Company that set out from Rivendell. Very nearly it was revealed to the Enemy, but it escaped. I had some part in that: for I sat in a high place, and I strove with the Dark Tower; and the Shadow passed."

In hindsight, the phrase "Fool, take it off!" should have been a dead give-away that the voice was Gandalf! I wonder what "High Place" he was sitting in? Perhaps the flet atop Cerin Amroth?

At any rate, now there is also one more "what if" to add to your list Serinde: What if Gandalf had not been in a position to help Frodo resist the power of the Ring and the siren call of Sauron during that fateful psychic encounter on Amon Hen?

Indeed, it was a Day of Choices!

Great point, Lindariel. I actually remember being ten years old, reading LOTR for the first time, and recognizing Gandalf's linguistic style. I wondered if it was some kind of wizard angel communicating with Frodo!

Hee! Next to "Pity," "Fool" is one of Gandalf's favorite words.

Yes, not a merciful word! Proof that Gandalf still struggles like we all do.

I love his impatience and occasional blasts - it gives him that edge that stops him being too cosy (especially as Gandalf the Grey).

Yes, Iolanthe! I LOVED Gandalf the Grey's occasional "crotchity old man" behavior. It gave a very real and human dimension to the powerful Istari. I think one of the reasons Saruman/Curunir fell from grace while Gandalf/Olorin remained faithful and endured is that Gandalf/Olorin embraced and learned from his experiences of the frailties of human existence and that it enhanced his capacity to show pity and mercy for those frailties -- even to the point that he surrendered his life to save them, and returned as the even more exalted and powerful Gandalf the White. Whereas I believe Saruman resented these experiences, considered himself to be above such things, which further fed his justification for seeking power and authority over these weaker creations.