I've just finished reading LOTR which I must admit I'd forgotten just how good it is (I last read it about 15 years ago)!
Anyway a collegue in his wisdom diced with death when he said it was nothing but a load of long drawn out boll*cks.
He had the audacity to suggest that the whole deal would have been much better if Gwaihir had just carried the ring, or Frodo with the ring, and just dropped them off at the mountain so that it could be destroyed instead of all the unnecessary pussyfooting around the Middle Earth!
Some people just have no appreciation of good story!
But the eagles wouldn't have done that
Tolkien said so somewhere ^^... *goes to search quote*
Theyre too proud, they owed the Mortals nothing, they usually do not meddle in the affairs of the Eruchīn... and one of the best books in the world would never have been written...
__________________ Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary components.
Last edited by Exabyte on Jun 13th, 2004 at 08:03 PM
I thought about that, when I read the book I was thinking of Tom Bombadil carrying the ring to Mount Doom and then the eagles- that would have been easier and faster-
But there would not have been a book or story, It would have been awfully boring
Bilbo: Have this ring Frodo
Frodo: Cool
Gandalf: We must destroy the ring. Gwaihir, take Frodo to Mt. Doom, so he can destroy it.
Gwaihir: K. Come Frodo. To Mt. Doooom!
Sauron: Shit, I'm dead
The end
The Eagles are entities in their own rights, not taxis.
The Eagles are Manwe's subjects, and as such cannot undertake the problems of Middle Earth directly. Like the Istari, they can help out when necessary, but they are not allowed to do all the work.
The Eagles, similar to Gandalf, are not people (or in this case birds) who intervene all the time. They are not legal citizens who would ally with Men.
First, the only reason the Eagles came to Morannon in the first place was because Gwaihir, Chief Eagle, owed Gandalf a favor. They were not planning to help win the war and tried to stay as neutral as possible, even though they did hope the side of light would be victorious. The Eagles wouldn't have been willing to play such a crucial role, since this was a war of Man, not a war of Middle-Earth vs. Mordor. They had rights as sentient citizens of Arda and would not just take Frodo all the way.
Secondly, that wouldn't help all that much. Even though the journey would be easier, the job wouldn't be. If the Eagles carried Frodo, the Men would not unite under Elessar. What about the great Uruk-hai hosts? What about the evil Men of the South and East? What about Sauron? If Frodo got to Mount Doom without affecting the rest of the world in any way, who cares if he gets the Ring in or not? Sauron might be destroyed, but his armies would destroy everything with nothing to stand in their way. Plus, no last stand of Men outside the Black Gate to distract Sauron while Frodo made his final decision. But, most importantly, NO SAM AND GOLLUM! If Frodo could just fly, no one would need to come with him except other Eagles (even good warriors can't fight very well on birds' backs). Sam was Frodo's voice of reason, without which he would succumb before he reached Mordor, and Gollum was the device to destroy the Ring, since his giddy dancing ended up doing the job just fine.
KMC Community Forums
A severe lack of appreciation!
Jun 13th, 2004 01:24 PM
i hate people that diss something like lotr
nice quote
yup
