The fact that this chapter is titled “The Choices of Master Samwise” and not something like “The Fall of Frodo” or “The Top of the Pass” or whatever is very telling. This isn’t about Frodo’s fall to Shelob’s sting, or Gollum’s confrontation with Sam, or Sam’s fierce defense of Frodo, or Frodo’s capture by the Orcs. This is about Sam dealing with Frodo’s (apparent) death, and his choice to take up the Ring and continue the quest.
Sam’s grief is really wrenching to read:
‘Frodo, Mr. Frodo!’ he called. ‘Don’t leave me here alone! It’s your Sam calling. Don’t go where I can’t follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo! O wake up, Frodo, me dear, me dear. Wake up!’
He goes through many of the traditional stages of grief, before ultimately hitting upon “what now?”:
‘What shall I do, what shall I do?’ he said. ‘Did I come all this way with him for nothing?’ And then he remembered his own voice speaking words that at the time he did not understand himself, at the beginning of their journey: I have something to do before the end. I must see it through, sir, if you understand.
His debate with himself is interesting to read. Tolkien indicated at several points that Eru nudges things from time to time: for example, when Gandalf talks about Bilbo being meant to find the Ring, or when Frodo seems to feel another voice speaking through him when he says “I shall take the Ring.” I find myself wondering if the other voice that Sam is arguing with, that tells him the Council gave the Ring-bearer companions for a reason, and he didn’t “choose” the burden any more than Bilbo or Frodo did, might not be the voice of God reassuring and encouraging Sam. Tolkien was nothing if not a man of faith. The old cliche about how some people have greatness thrust upon them 100% applies to Sam in this moment.
And then he finds out that Frodo isn’t dead, just poisoned and in a coma, and that changes everything.
The conversation between Shagrat and Gorbag that Sam overhears is super interesting. A Russian writer named Kirill Eskov published a retelling of LotR a few years back titled The Last Ringbearer, based on the premise that history is written by the victors and maybe the Orcs weren’t actually bad guys after all. As far as the book goes, the premise is better than the execution and I honestly can’t recommend it, but the premise is very good. This chapter is part of the reason why.
Tolkien doesn’t do anything to disguise the fact that the Orcs are cruel, bloodthirsty, evil in every sense of the word. They delight in pain and torment. But at the same time, they aren’t overly fond of their masters. They’re terrified of the Nazgûl, even more of Sauron, and both Shagrat and Gorbag talk fondly of “the old days” before Sauron’s return and talk about maybe one day taking a few of “the lads” and going off on their own again. I still have zero issues with killing them, but it’s sequences like this that make tossing around words like “Orc children” and “genocide” distinctly uncomfortable. It’s an issue he basically sidesteps, and one that has always plagued the fantasy genre. I don’t really know what to say about it besides to acknowledge the problem.
And thus endeth The Two Towers. Now, I never skip ahead in books, but by Eru himself was I tempted the first time I read LotR and it ended with that cliffhanger and I realized that I’d have to get through the first half of RotK before finding out what happened next. Tolkien never intended LotR to be three books (postwar paper rationing necessitated spreading out the publishing), and I know that the reading world was different at the time, but it had to be awful for people who read the book when it was released. In the age of Martin and Rothfuss the notion of waiting a year for the next one seems laughable, but we also have twitter and blogs and news about this stuff.
So, the burning question - what specific towers do you think “the Two Towers” refers to? Orthanc? Minas Morgul? Barad-dûr? Minas Tirith? The Towers of the Teeth? The Towers of Cirith Ungol? A game of Jenga that went way overboard? DIscuss!
Next time, the beacons are lit on way to Minas Tirith.