📖👀 Chapter 9: The Great River

[Rivendell_librarian]

Chapter 9 of Book II

The Company are on the move now and now by boat on the great River Anduin. Even so, the Company seem reluctant to move quickly letting themselves go with the flow of the river: putting off the east/west choice. Only Boromir seems certain of what he wants to do. Hints at Boromir's growing desire for the Ring are being laid on with a trowel now. The land on the east is described as withered and desolate but the west is much lusher and more welcoming. Aragorn remarks on the swans they see being black suggesting they are malign (Black Riders etc.) but it's not definite. Again this is the time of year when wild swans would migrate from their wintering grounds in the Bay of Belfalas to their northern breeding grounds using the Anduin for navigation and roosting.

Sam notices a floating log with eyes (Gollum) and tells Frodo and that night Aragorn tells Frodo he first knew Gollum was following them in Moria but why did Aragorn keep this to himself? Boromir saves the Company from foundering in the rapids at Sarn Gebir and after an attack from orcs (Legolas: "yrch") on the east bank and Legolas downing a Nazgul with the bow of Galadriel the Company moor in a shallow bay on the west bank. This passage reminds me of The Last of the Mohicans or something written by Jack London - there is even the Hawkeye moment.

Sam has noticed the missing month that must have been their time in Lothlorien even though he can only remember three nights there. Frodo mentions Galadriel's Elven-ring but is Aragorn warns him not to speak of it outside Lorien. An argument between Boromir and Aragorn ensues as to whether they should abandon the boats and strike over land to Minas Tirith whereas Aragorn prefers carrying the boats via the North Stair to Rauros-foot via the high seat of Amon Hen. Boromir accedes given that Frodo prefers Aragorn's choice but says that he would leave the Fellowship at Amon Hen. After avoiding the rapids they resume the boats and see the tremendous two statues of the Argonath before mooring the boats in the shadow of Tol Brandir (the Tindrock). Now is the time the Fellowship need to make the decision to travel on by the east of west bank.

There are some wonderful landscape descriptions in this chapter. There is a poignant moment when Boromir says: "I shall turn to my home, alone if my help has not earned the reward of any companionship" but the majority of the Company had favoured Minas Tirith in Lorien. In the end the choice is forced on them.

 

[Muskrat]

Vignettes: The seventh night sky, the hill country, Legolas”s mighty shot, shooting the Argonath, pale Nen Hithoel. One of my favorite chapters.

 

[Eljorahir]

Aragorn remarks on the swans they see being black suggesting they are malign (Black Riders etc.) but it's not definite

After reading this post today, I've been reading up on black swans and am fascinated by the history and how the history of black swans has been incorporated into the field of reasoning. I've not reached any conclusions, but at the moment I'm considering the idea that the sighting of the black swans is Tolkien's way of foreshadowing Boromir's downfall which allows Frodo to make his decision.

From the Wikipedia article, "Black Swan Theory":
The phrase "black swan" derives from a Latin expression; its oldest known occurrence is from the 2nd-century Roman poet Juvenal's characterization in his Satire VI of something being "rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno" ("a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan").[4]: 165 [5][6] When the phrase was coined, the black swan was presumed not to exist. The importance of the metaphor lies in its analogy to the fragility of any system of thought. A set of conclusions is potentially undone once any of its fundamental postulates is disproved. In this case, the observation of a single black swan would be the undoing of the logic of any system of thought, as well as any reasoning that followed from that underlying logic.

Juvenal's phrase was a common expression in 16th century London as a statement of impossibility.[7] The London expression derives from the Old World presumption that all swans must be white because all historical records of swans reported that they had white feathers.[8] In that context, a black swan was impossible or at least nonexistent.

A black swan in Australia

 

[Muskrat]

There is a good book about this whole issue: The Black Swan by Nissim Taleb. Gyray for scientists .

 

[Muskrat]

Also Karl Pepper based his whole theory of science on cases like this. I think everyone should read Popper. It might teach us a little humility.