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[rabidsamfan]

Having a sudden fit of re-reading the book, and as I wander through the prologue and the "history" of the Red Book I am tempted to "play the game" and assume that Tolkien is pretty much translating what was written by Bilbo, Frodo and Sam (as well as Merry and assorted scribes of Gondor in the appendices).

But if so, then a curious phenomenon arises. Presumably Frodo was writing the parts about what happened in Shelob's cave through the coronation, but the point-of-view character for Frodo and Sam's part of the quest is usually Sam. And Sam probably wrote what we know about the recovery of the Shire and the Grey Havens, right? But that's where we see Frodo hiding his injuries for the sake of not bothering Sam and Rosie...

So -- playing the game -- did Sam revise what Frodo wrote about Cirith Ungol and the Mountain? Or did Frodo write what Sam told him about those places because he couldn't -- or wouldn't -- remember his own thoughts and actions? And how did Sam know about what Frodo had been thinking during that long year of writing and waiting? What conversations did they have between the time that Frodo admitted his intentions and they actually reached the harbor?

*shoos plotbunnies out into the world...*

Comments

sorry had to add something... ;)

[periantari.livejournal.com]

I think the end of Book 4 was definitely written by Sam... probably most of Mordor was recollected by Sam too with Frodo recording what he wrote... lots of the Red Book is a compilation of what happened with others (like the paths of the rest of the Fellowship Frodo must've had "interviews" with ) Frodo probably wrote most of Fellowship of the Ring and bits and pieces of Book 6... very interesting shift that Tolkien wrote... but then again it's understandable and predictable since the Ring had been preoccupying Frodo's mind so much...

Re: sorry had to add something... ;)

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Frodo must have had many many conversations with the others. They'd told Bilbo a lot of the story in Rivendell, so he no doubt had the framework, but I can see him trying to elicit details from them. And *snags another bunny* you could also play it up in a parody where the hobbits are complaining about Tolkien taking the basic framework of the story and adding all sorts of emotional bits as he "translates".

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the bunnies.