The Lord of the Rings Reading Logs 5

I've finished The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings, Part 2 by J.R.R. Tolkien.

(The other logs: logs 1, logs 2, logs 3, logs 4)

Here are my thoughts on the last part of The Two Towers with spoilers.

01 - It seemed rather slow this last part but probably because of all the descriptions of the landscape even as Frodo and Sam are moving.

02 - Gollum/Sméagol is quite pitiful. I guess his mind has been warped by the ring so much that he no longer can tell right from wrong, all he wants is the ring. If I was Frodo, I wouldn't trust him but they really didn't have a choice. Sam certainly didn't trust Gollum.

03 - I don't like that Sam acknowledged Frodo as master and Frodo also accepted Sam as his servant, both using the terms quite easily. How are classes defined with hobbits in the Shire? I think Frodo is considered higher class but I'm not sure. We know they care for one another so there's friendship between them so I really do prefer to see them as equals.

04 - I admire Sam for fighting off Shelob, a giant spider of some sort. He's quite courageous but I suppose anyone can be when in dire need. But I think Sam's more admirable when he decided he should complete the task of the ring and carry on Frodo's work when he thought Frodo was dead. It really is a quite a burden and a hard task to decide on.

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I've started on The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings Part 3. The plot according to the back of the book: The armies of the Dark Lord are massing as his evil shadow spreads ever wider. Men, Dwarves, Elves and Ents unite forces to do battle against the Dark. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam struggle further into Mordor in their heroic quest to destroy the One Ring.

Here are my thoughts on the first part of The Return of the King with spoilers.

05 - I realized with this final installment why we get mostly the hobbits' perspectives - it's more of their tale than men. So it makes sense we get mostly Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam's perspectives rather than Gandalf or Aragorn though we do get some of their views.

06 - I notice all the men are described as tall (tons of times) aside from hobbits and dwarves - this makes sense considering where it comes from (see #5 above).

07 - I would like to know more of what Gandalf did when he leaves Frodo, Aragorn and company. He seemed to have done a lot of things but we only a get tiny glance here and there. But I think he cares deeply about the world and wants to help everyone even though most people thought he's nosy which they actually said so even to his face. I suppose since he keeps a lot of things to himself that it makes it hard people to understand him. And he didn't get a lot of apologies or thanks even though he helped a lot of people.

08 - I don't want to say Lady Éowyn is repressed but she is since she only keeps house for the king. I guess in those times, women are not sent to battle but stayed at home or go off into safety (along with the children) while the men fight and if they are around, they are there to heal the wounded.
    I only realized Éowyn was disguised as a soldier calling herself Dernhelm a few pages before the reveal but I thought that was kind of amusing and admirable. But the way everyone around her seemed so surprised to see her, it just says women are expected not to be around.
    But I like that Éowyn rebelled and joined the battle even if she put herself in danger. And the way people just assumed someone is dead (namely Éowyn) just because they lie around unconscious, that's just odd. I just wonder why they don't check first to make sure a person is really dead because they burn the dead (and they were going to burn her) so I think they should have checked first.

09 - Men here so devoted to their kings and lords that they always did what they are told even if it seemed mad which I thought is a bit too much. In the case of Lord Denethor, it's a bit crazy to help him kill himself and his son, right? I would think being loyal means helping your lord or whomever to stay alive and not the opposite. But Denethor was mad so he couldn't help himself but those around him, well, I don't know. But I guess some madness would show up since wars are quite depressing.

Have you read The Lord of the Rings?