I have very little to add, except "Well Done".
I did want to comment on one of your sets of questions:
Q: What do you think about Sam’s power fantasy? Any guesses or thoughts on
what power fantasy Frodo would have had in this position? What specifically is
Tolkien saying about power in this passage? What do you think about Sam really
seeing and feeling that he has only two choices to pick from in regards to what
he should do?
I think Sam's fantasy made me realize how evil the Ring was and how difficult
it would be to resist it. Throughout the books, Tolkien personalized the
lure of the Ring to whoever who was attracted to it, and Sam's world-size
garden was another example of that. Galadriel would be a dark queen,
Gandalf would try to do good, Boromir would save Gondor, and Gollum would eat
fish all day. I think somewhere Gandalf said that the power of the Ring
was commensurate with the strength of the person who wielded it, and these
fantasies really match up well with the person who was having them.
So, extrapolating Frodo's dreams and wishes to the Ring, I would guess that
Frodo would impose the Shire on all of Middle Earth. Unlike Galadriel, he
did not want to be master of anyone, but he firmly believed that the Shire was
the best place in the world, and its people, customs and lifestyle should be
emulated everywhere. Of course, this would eliminate all other cultures,
but that would be OK with
Frodo.
******************************************************
The Nancy Drew Series
By Carolyn Keene
Ultra-Condensed by Samuel Stoddard, David J. Parker, Chris Curtis, and Carol Curtis
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Nancy Drew and her friends EAT. Her mother died when she was three.)
Someone: Nancy Drew, help me with this mystery.
Nancy Drew: Ok. Friends, let's talk about the mystery and eat food.
Hannah Gruen: Nancy Drew, be careful. Here, have a new car and an all-expenses paid exotic vacation.
Nancy Drew: Look. That guy I saw being rude before seems to be involved in this mystery.
(Nancy Drew and her friends EAT. They find a CLUE. They EAT. Nancy gets CAPTURED, but she ESCAPES with information that SOLVES the mystery.)
Someone: Thank you, Nancy Drew. Have a reward.
Nancy Drew: No thanks.
THE END
I like my party hat, so I'm going to keep it for a while.
