…And when I count to three, you will all cluck like chickens!!!

In this chapter, “Fog on the Barrow-Downs,” we find the hobbits confronting a nasty group of Barrow-wights and also the return of Tom Bombadil. A return that was a lot sooner than I thought it would be. However, at the end of the chapter it turns out that Tom would be no use to them off of his land so they part ways at the Old Road.

I began to notice that Tolkien seems to be foreshadowing that trouble always seems to be coming from the East. When Frodo looked at the exit from the downs, he looked to the East and saw the barrows, leading us to think immediately of Tom’s warning of the Barrow-wights.

Now since I know the very basics of what is to come, it seems that the farther East they travel the worse it gets. Now don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here. I know that the journey will take the Fellowship East to the Land of Mordor. It just seems like Tolkien was just preparing us for the idea of all the trouble that lies in the East.

As a final thought, do you think Tolkien was sending a message about Hitler, the Nazis, and the Russians when he wrote about dark forces in the East?

Just some food for thought,

James