Captain
`Nay! Not Elves,' said the fourth,
the tallest, and as it appeared the chief among them. `Elves do not walk in
Ithilien in these days. And Elves are wondrous fair to look upon, or so 'tis
said.'
'Meaning we're not, I take you,' said Sam. …
The tall green man laughed grimly. `I am Faramir, Captain
of Gondor,' he said. `But there are no travellers in this land: only the
servants of the Dark Tower, or of the White.'
A. Why does Faramir identify himself only as “Captain”?
B. “laughed grimly” – who else is “grim” or “laughs grimly”? What does “grim”
mean to Tolkien? Does Faramir turn out to be one of the grim guys after all?
`But we are neither,' said Frodo.
`And travellers we are, whatever Captain Faramir may say.'
'Then make haste to declare yourselves and your errand,'
said Faramir. 'We have a work to do, and this is no time or place for riddling
or parleying. Come! Where is the third of your company? '
`The third? '
'Yes, the skulking fellow that we saw with his nose in the
pool down yonder. He had an ill-favoured look. Some spying breed of Orc, I
guess, or a creature of theirs. But he gave us the slip by some
fox-trick.'
C. When Faramir says Gollum, the ‘third of your company’, is an Orc or such
like, isn’t he pretty much accusing Frodo of being the same?
Faramir by Bautista
Decision Making
‘…They were Aragorn; and Boromir,
who said that he came out of Minas Tirith, a city in the South.’
‘Boromir!’ all the four men exclaimed.
‘Boromir son of the Lord Denethor?’ said Faramir, and a
strange stern look came into his face. ‘You came with him? That is news indeed,
if it be true. Know, little strangers, that Boromir son of Denethor was High
Warden of the White Tower, and our Captain-General: sorely do we miss him. Who
are you then, and what had you to do with him? Be swift, for the Sun is
climbing!’
‘Are the riddling words known to you that Boromir brought
to Rivendell?’ Frodo replied.
Seek for the Sword that was Broken.
In Imladris it dwells.
‘The words are known indeed,’ said Faramir in astonishment.
‘It is some token of your truth that you also know them.’
D. What is that “strange stern look” about? Why does he not inform us he is
Boromir’s brother?
Boromir’s title given here is “Captain-General”, implying he was Captain
Faramir’s military superior in rank.
E. Is this consistent with Faramir’s later rank and status during the Siege
of Minas Tirith? How many Captains did Gondor have?
‘Aragorn whom I named is the
bearer of the Sword that was Broken,’ said Frodo. ‘And we are the Halflings
that the rhyme spoke of.’
‘That I see,’ said Faramir thoughtfully. ‘Or I see that it
might be so. And what is Isildur's Bane?’
‘That is hidden,’ answered Frodo. ‘Doubtless it will be
made clear in time.’
‘We must learn more of this,’ said Faramir, ‘and know what
brings you so far east under the shadow of yonder-,’ he pointed and said no
name. ‘But not now. We have business in hand. You are in peril, and you would
not have gone far by field or road this day. There will be hard handstrokes
nigh at hand ere the day is full. Then death, or swift flight back to Anduin. I
will leave two to guard you, for your good and for mine. Wise man trusts not to
chance-meeting on the road in this land. If I return, I will speak more with
you.’
‘Farewell!' said Frodo, bowing low. ... May the light shine
on your swords!’
‘The Halflings are courteous folk, whatever else they be,’
said Faramir. ‘Farewell!’
F. Is Faramir’s speech excessively formal for the situation?
G. ‘You are in peril’ ‘For your good and for mine’ – why is he so courteous and
considerate of these two trespassers/spies?
How his men see him.
‘The road may pass, but they shall
not! Not while Faramir is Captain. He leads now in all perilous ventures. But
his life is charmed, or fate spares him for some other end.’
…men were yelling and screaming, and one clear loud voice was calling Gondor!
Gondor!
‘There they go! Our men after them, and the Captain leading.’
‘But the Captain will return, if he is unhurt; and when he comes we shall
depart swiftly.’
Mablung laughed. ‘I do not think the Captain will leave you here, Master
Samwise,’
H. What other great leaders have led ‘charmed’ lives, in their men’s
estimation? Where do such legends come from?
I. Is Faramir the one yelling “Gondor”? How do you know?
J. Why do the guards refer to Faramir as ‘the Captain’?
Who is this Faramir?
K. Is the Faramir of this chapter really the same guy we later get to know
in Henneth Annun and back at Gondor? If you see differences, how do you account
for them? If not, try to show the points of identity.
We’ve talked a lot during our LotR discussion about parallels between Book III
and Book IV. One I’m thinking of here is the contrast between the meeting of
Frodo and Faramir in Ithilien, and the meeting of Aragorn and Eomer in Rohan.
Did this ever occur to you, before reading about it in a learned post or
critical essay? (It never did to me, but then that’s why I hang around TORn: to
learn stuff like this.)
L. That said, what are the similarities and differences between the two
scenes? How does Faramir here (not later in Henneth Annun) compare to
Eomer?
Text of this
chapter
Everyone is laughing for heart's ease, now that they're in Ithilien! Join me in the Reading Room this week for a squireific topic-oriented discussion of Chapter 4, Book IV of The Two Towers: "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit".
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