Under the Guise of Tom Bombadil

Passage from the text:
"He reappeared, hat first, over the brow of the hill, and behind him came in an obedient line six ponies: their own five and one more. The last was plainly old Fatty Lumpkin: he was larger, stronger, fatter (and older) than their own ponies. Merry, to whom the other belonged, had not, in fact, given them any such names, but they answered to the new names that Tom had given them for the rest of their lives. Tom called them one by one and they climbed over the brow and stood in a line. Then Tom bowed to the hobbits."

Pg#s: 141

Comments & Questions:
As Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin make their way out of the forest after a scary encounter with death, the jovial Tom Bombadil retrieves the group’s lost ponies. What I find interesting about the wording in this passage is that it exactly parallels Genesis. My inclination that Tom was an “Adam, the first man” character was completely confirmed after this paragraph. What first clued me in was when Tom explained the history of all of the Old Forest in a perfectly blissful fashion- it was not a pleasant story either. If “Adam” was still living he might be able to do the same. Aside from his constantly cheerful demeanor, Tom seems to resemble man at the height of creation. No matter what, he’s always happy. Tom is constantly singing and dancing, his meals and fire-side stories are something to write to the Shire about, he refers to himself as “master” in relation to the rest of the forest, and his wife, Goldberry, is just as perfect, beautiful, lovely and blissful as Eve would have been in Eden. When given the ring, it does not do the same things to Tom as it would do to anyone else that were to slip on the ring. From Genesis,

“Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock...” Genesis 2:19-20

Tom clearly names the hobbits’ ponies. And those are their names. They come obediently too. That Tom is truly master of the Old Forest and all those animals relates to Adam’s primacy over the domain of creation.

When Push Comes to Shove

Passage from the text:
“There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow... But the courage that had been awakened in him was now too strong; he could not leave his friends so easily. He wavered, groping in his pocket, and then fought with himself again; and as he did so the arm crept nearer. Suddenly resolve hardened in him, and he seized a short sword that laid beside him, and kneeling he stooped low over the bodies of his companions. With what strength he had he hewed at the crawling arm near the wrist, and the hand broke off; but at the same moment the sword splintered up to the hilt. There was a shriek and the light vanished.”

Pg#: 137-138

Comments and Questions:
I’d like to think that I would be willing to die for someone; however, one can never be sure until the time comes. After being seen off by Tom Bombadil it is not too long before the four run into trouble. A darkness has swept over the group and Frodo finds himself lying stiff, but awake, on a stone slab while his friends on either side of him are unconscious and in similar sorts. Frodo faces a decision that could have dire consequences; put on the ring and save himself or take up the sword and risk his life to save his friends. The courage that Frodo shows in this selection is not ordinary. Rather than yielding to the selfish temptation to keep himself (and only himself) alive,  instead he does what must be done to rescue his friends. Frodo’s courage is certainly gospel courage.

"There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13)

Wherefore Art Thou Ernest?

TKC!

John Mester 1

John Mester
AP Literature
Mrs.Clifford
8/30/12

A Treatise on Earnestness

The Importance of Being Earnest is a comical play set in London, 1895. Perhaps the most noticeable feature of the play is its humor. Many jokes are made, many paradoxical things are said, but Oscar Wilde manages to fit in a storyline between all the shenanigans. Perhaps I am not capable of laughter, but I personally did not find this play too funny. The female characters are capricious and easily change their minds while the male characters are deceptive and will do anything to marry the women.  Most of the jokes are dry and poke fun at the seriousness of the upper class or social institutions in general.

Jack and Algernon are two men that are bent on marrying Gwendolen and Cecily, respectively. Their double-life escapades have allowed them each to live under two identities in the city and in the country. Jack is Ernest in the city and Jack in the country. Algernon is Algernon in the city and Bunbury in the country. To get away from their lives as Jack and Algernon the two pretend to go and visit their counterparts (which they call their brothers) whenever the feel the need. The whole play is centered around the lie that Jack’s name is Ernest (which is the only reason why Gwendolen wants to marry him)

“Gwendolen.

...my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence. The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you.”- Act 1

This lie causes Ernest much anguish and things turn for the worst when he tries to fix it. The story has to do with his name being revealed (or not).

From the beginning of the first act the main conflict is established and continues throughout the play. Jack tries to kill off Ernest in the minds of his country friends by coming back and spreading the tale of his brothers death. But, his plans are foiled when Algernon decides to go “bunburying” under the pseudonym of Ernest. Long story-short, Jack’s false identity is found out; however, in the last scene he finds something that could have saved him all the guilty trouble in the first place.

“Jack

Lady Bracknell, I hate to seem inquisitive, but would you kindly inform me who I am?

Lady Bracknell.

...You are the son of my poor sister, Mrs. Moncrieff, and consequently Algernon's elder

brother.

Gwendolen.

[[To Jack.]] ..What is your Christian name, now that you have become someone else?

Jack.

Good heavens! . . . I had quite forgotten that point. Your decision on the subject of my name is irrevocable, I suppose?

Jack.

...what name was I given?...

Lady Bracknell

Being the eldest son you were naturally christened after your father.

Jack.

[[Irritably.]] Yes, but what was my father's Christian name...

[[Rushes to bookcase and tears the books out.]] ...Moncrieff! Lieutenant 1840, Captain, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, General 1869, Christian names, Ernest John. [[Puts book very quietly down and speaks quite calmly.]] I always told you, Gwendolen, my name was Ernest, didn't I? Well, it is Ernest after all. I mean it naturally is Ernest.”-Act 3

That the main conflict is solved by a last second chance-encounter should indicate how comical the play is.

The last scene in which Jack finds out that his true name is really Ernest is a significant part of the play because the ongoing conflict that Jack’s name is not Ernest ,as Gwendolen would like it to be, is resolved. Jack can marry Gwendolen and Algernon can marry Cecily. It is the final crescendo of the plot in which the main issue is resolved. It ties up the rest of the play as a whole. The play as a whole is vain and worldly, and not very serious at all. This final scene reveals the hollowness of the play- the characters have little depth and the overall irony obscures any possible moral of the story.

“Jack.

Gwendolen! [[Embraces her.]] At last!

Lady Bracknell.

My nephew, you seem to be displaying signs of triviality.

Jack.

On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I've now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”- Act 3

The author is sure to include the title of the play as the last words of the act. It is a comedy through and through.

Works Cited

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest in Plays, Prose Writings and Poems. , London, Everyman (1930) pages 450–509
"'The Importance of Being Earnest': The First Stage Production, 1895." Victoria and Albert Museum. Web. 30 Aug. 2012. <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-importance-of-being-earnest-first-stage-production/>.

The Hobbit Version of 9-1-1

Passage from the text:
“ ‘Keep to the green grass. Don’t you go a-meedling with old stone or cold Wights or prying in their houses, unless you be strong folk with hearts that never falter!’ He said this more than once; and he advised them to pass barrows by on the west-side, if they chanced to stray near one. Then he taught them a rhyme to sing, if they should by ill-luck fall into any danger or difficulty the next day.

Ho! Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo!

By water, wood and hill, by the reed and willow,

By fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us!

Come, Tom Bombadil, for our need is near us!”

Pg#: 131

Comments and Questions:
Now it’s time that Frodo and his friends get going. They’ve spent the past two days at Tom Bombadil’s residence eating feasts fit for kings, hearing plenty of fire-side stories, and getting a profuse amount of sleep. I predict that that “help me” rhyme will come in handy. An author doesn’t just offhandedly mention things like that for the fun of it. Really though, it’s the hobbit version of 9-1-1. Tom Bombadil is probably thinking: “this motley bunch of amateur hikers might not make it through the forest before trouble finds them again. Out of the goodness of my heart I’ll mention this emergency call so that when they’re in a bind they can get out of it. I am master of the forest anyways, so I’m responsible for them too. Protecting that ring is a good idea.”

Up at Night

Passage from the text:
“In the dead night, Frodo lay in a dream without light. Then he saw the young moon rising; under its thin light there loomed before him a black wall of rock, pierced by a dark arch like a great gate. It seemed to frodo that he was lifted up, and passing over he saw that the rock-wall was a circle of hills, and that within it was a plain, and in the midst of the plain stood a pinnacle of stone, like a vast tower but not made by hands. On its top stood a pinnacle of stone, like a vast tower but not made by hands on its top stood a figure of a man. The moon as it rose seemed to hang for a moment above his head and glistened in his white hair as the wind stirred it. Up from the dark plain below came the crying of fell voices, and the howling of many wolves. Suddenly a shadow, like the shape of great wings, passed across the moon. The figure lifted his arms and a light flashed from the staff that he wielded and the wolves yammered. There was a noise like a strong wind blowing, and on it was borne the sound of hoofs, galloping, galloping, from the East. ‘Black Riders!’  thought Frodo as he wakened, with the sound of the hoofs still echoing in his mind. He wondered if he would ever again have the courage to leave the safety of these stone walls. He lay motionless...”

Pg#: 125

Comments and Questions:
So Frodo is having a nightmare. And it seems as if his subconscious desire to see Gandalf is breaking through. Yeah, that old man with white hair and a staff- that’s Gandalf. Why does Frodo want to see Gandalf? Because Gandalf has all the answers right now. One of the things Frodo is very anxious about are the things he describes as having great shadowy wings accompanied by horse galloping.  These things called Black Riders have been chasing Frodo and his friends down for half of the book so far. It’s not certain what will happen if they catch him, but it can’t be good for someone safeguarding the ring that rules all other rings. I predict there will be a climactic encounter with the Black Riders since the affair has been drawn out for so long and it keeps Frodo from getting good sleep.

Make Some Cheer. For All to Hear.

I'm reading Lord of the Rings (the first book) by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Passage from the text:
“Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! My darling!
Light goes the weather-wind and the feathered starling.
Down along under Hill, shining in the sunlight,
Waiting on the doorstep for the cold starlight,
There my pretty lady is, River-Woman’s daughter,
Slender as the willow-wand, clearer than the water.
Old Tom Bombadil water-lilies bringing
Comes hopping home again. Can you hear him singing?
Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! and merry-o,
Goldberry, Goldberry, merry, yellow berry-o!
Poor old Willow-man, you tuck your roots away!
Tom’s in a hurry now. Evening will follow day.
Tom’s going home again water-lilies bringing.
Hey! Come derry dol! Can you hear me singing?”

Pg#: 117

Comments & Questions:
This song half-reminds me of the times when I used to serenade fellow students on my way to lunch last year. Anyways, I find it interesting that simply humming a tune or whistling a song makes work and/or life (depending on who you are) more bearable- it even cheers you up. It doesn’t even have to make sense; “Come merry dol! derry dol! and merry-o”? Tom Bombadil, the singer of this quoted song is constantly cheerful. For him there’s never anything wrong. I think that his constant songs contribute to his blissful disposition.

Belated but not B-rated

John Mester 1

John Mester
Clifford
8/8/12
APLit

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a story about an old man with a lazy eye and a withered hand that whisks away an unwitting wedding guest from the wedding and tells the tale that burdens him much. The Mariner begins by setting the scene; a rickety ship with fellow sailors on a morbid ocean. He goes on to mention a fateful albatross and how his friends reacted to its death. At the end of The Rime, the Mariner reveals why he is telling the story in the first place. Coleridge’s imaginative poem meets the reader on multiple thematic planes.
The themes in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are myriad and complex. We will focus on just two themes and one concept. After our dear Mariner kills the albatross his friends are angry and unforgiving. Throughout The Rime the Mariner expresses regret over his imprudent action. The reader is left wondering whether or not the old man should have killed the albatross and if his friends’ anger was justified. Regret is not an elusive idea, let us see if we can find it within the confines of Rime.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner revolves around one moment in which the old man killed an albatross (a sea bird) that was loitering around the ship for a few days. At that moment it was not clear whether or not the bird brought good or bad fortune [in terms of seafaring weather] to the seamen but regardless the mariner decided to kill it.

“And I had done a hellish thing,

And it would work 'em woe:

For all averred, I had killed the bird

That made the breeze to blow.

Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay,

That made the breeze to blow!” (Coleridge, Rime Part 2)

The Mariner regrets having killed the bird as he recalls it as the “hellish thing” he did. Anger from his peers abounds and he wishes he had not killed the bird that “made the breeze blow”. Later on, the mariner’s actions warrant the death of his friends (strangely because of the albatross).

“Alone, alone, all, all alone,

Alone on a wide wide sea!

And never a saint took pity on

My soul in agony.” (Coleridge, Rime Part 4)

Right after the death of his friends, the Mariner laments that he is lonely and his soul is in agony; clearly a sign of regret. Along with the theme of regret that of forgiveness is also woven in the tale.

The story that the Ancient Mariner has divulged to the wedding guest is one that he tells someone whenever he feels guilty.

“Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched

With a woeful agony,

Which forced me to begin my tale;

And then it left me free.

Since then, at an uncertain hour,

That agony returns;

And till my ghastly tale is told,

This heart within me burns.” (Coleridge, Rime Part 7)

In those moments of guilt, when the Mariner feels that “woeful agony” return, he does not feel forgiven. Though he has already confessed his sin to a professed member of the clergy the Mariner feels compelled to continue confessing his sin. Interestingly enough the Mariner’s only sin, knowable by the reader, is having killed the malevolent albatross. In a way this is an invitation for the audience to forgive themselves for their past grievances against God and man; however, it is not just the Mariner who cannot forgive himself. The Mariner’s fellow seamen are unforgiving of the curse of death he has brought upon them. As they die they leave the Mariner with a good-bye “thanks a lot”.

“One after one, by the star-dogged moon,

Too quick for groan or sigh,

Each turned his face with a ghastly pang,

And cursed me with his eye.” (Coleridge, Rime Part 3)

This most likely exacerbates the Mariner’s scruples over having killed the bird. Along with these themes the concept of the anger of peers rears its troublesome head.

The Mariner experiences the anger of his peers after having killed the albatross and, inadvertently, the peers themselves. It’s interesting that though sometimes we do things that would legitimately arouse the anger of peers, other times the anger of peers is dependent on passing moods and feelings, wayward beliefs, or lofty expectations. Objectively the Mariner did the right thing when he killed the albatross because it was actually bringing the fog and bad weather with it; however, the disapproval of the Mariner’s peers would have him think differently about the matter. The last thing the Mariner receives from his shipmates is a reproachful glare. Two hundred of them gave him this warm parting gift. Perhaps it is not so much the killing of the albatross that grieves the Mariner so heavily but the inadvertent killing of his peers- and their reactions. He carries the memory of their anger with him wherever he goes: no wonder he feels obliged to confess so often. For the Mariner there is something cathartic about confessing the wrongs he has done. The Mariner experiences such a moment of relief in confession after he tells the hermit all the bad he has committed. “Shrieve me, shrieve me holy man!” he says. Thereafter whenever he feels guilty he thinks himself obliged to confess his sins to whomever he finds himself near. In the Mariner’s mind he has not truly been forgiven but must assuage his anxieties each time he remembers his past grievances. By allowing this cycle of guilt-confession-relief to prevail the Mariner does not help himself or his regret. He would do better to pull himself together and move on with his life- despite the anger of peers past.

In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner a few themes are prominent. Regret is abundant after the Mariner’s fellow seamen die. Forgiveness or lack thereof is present in the way the Mariner is dealt with after he has killed the albatross. The Mariner must also deal with the resplendent anger of his peers and the guilt associated with it. If only one thing can be gleaned from reading The Rime of the Ancient Mariner it might be to let go of the past (and not to kill the albatross).

Works Cited

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." By Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Web. 07 Aug. 2012. <http://www.online-literature.com/coleridge/646/>

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Coleridge’s Poetry.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 9 Aug. 2012..

A note on my use of SparkNotes- I only referenced the plot summary to better understand the poem. The thematic elements that I identified in this essay were not taken from this source.