Chapter Three: Three is Company

Hello,
I'm sorry for the cease in posts over the last several days; as it is summer traveling is not uncommon for me and I found that I could not access the time and resources needed to write. I do, however, plan to get in extra chapter-posts in the next few days so that the final entry will be closer to my planned terminus.

In this chapter, Frodo and his companions finally decide to depart their home and travel away from the Shire. In a secretive manner, they buy a house in an outlying hobbit town and tell their friends that they are going to live there. To my great dismay, Bag End is sold to none other than the matriarch of the loathsome Sackville-Bagginsses, Lobelia. However, this action shows the commitment that Frodo has put forward into taking the Ring. Frodo, Sam, and Pippin have decided to travel east to Rivendell and the House of Elrond Halfelven, and will meet up with Merry later. Their progress is quickly deterred by the appearance of a rider in black, who they hide from on the side of the road. Later, another appears. Again, Tolkien chooses to hide significance, keeping the identity of the riders a secret. The first appearance of elves follows soon after, High Elves who have lingered in the eastern lands. They give us the impression of a calm and happy people, not yet revealing any great power or ability. Their leader, Gildor, helps to emphasize a more ominous tone, mentioning a nameless "Enemy" as well as showing the danger of the Black Riders with his cautious attitude towards Frodo's report of their emergence.
Again, this chapter's pace seems very slow in comparison with the film. Not only does Frodo take the time to settle his situation in Hobbiton, the journey they start begins quite leisurely, making camp and cooking meals often. Even after they encounter the Black Rider, they do not quite find the necessity to hurry to their destination. They also have no specific plans to meet with Gandalf, only with Merry, and so far there has been no speak of a confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman. Also, the appearance of elves so early in the journey is interesting, solving much of the mystery behind the elvish existence and providing an outside source of information, mentioning Bilbo's passage and other goings-on of the area. While this dissolves some tension that remains in the movie, Tolkien transfers the tension to "the Enemy" and the Black Riders, making up for this variance.

Again, I apologize for my absence and thank you for reading,
C