The sun’s orange light that gleamed its reflection off the calmly flowing mirror-like streams began to dim. The Fellowship continued to trot along the winding path towards Weathertop Hill; their legs seemingly becoming ever heavier as the night deepened. A quick gust of wind whispered through the grassy thickets that lay next to them, as the sound of chirping birds slowly faded.
‘We must halt here for the night,’ Strider said. ‘We must reach Weathertop by sunset tomorrow, so we had better get good rest tonight.’
The night was warm, the soil on the ground surprisingly comfortable. No insect or creature would disturb them this night, as had happened the previous night. They set up a small camp, complete with a compact fire that projected its comforting and warming flames against the Hobbits and their steeds. Frodo rest his head on the cool dirt beneath him, peering up into the dark sky above. Strider had gone to ensure they hadn’t been followed, leaving the Hobbits to tend to their temporary camp. One by one, the hobbits lay at rest beside the fire. Merry and Pippin dozed off to sleep, but Frodo and Sam stayed awake in anticipation of the return of Strider. Time passed; the night became deeper and colder.
‘Where could Strider be?’ asked Sam, worriedly.
‘I do not know,’ replied Frodo. ‘I must go out and look for him. Who knows the evil he may be facing … what might come for us.’
Frodo disappeared into the consuming pitch black of the night. No flame lit his way; he hardly had the sight of the path they had followed just previously. He continued cautiously, ensuring his footsteps were kept subtle and quiet on the worn soil. Suddenly, a chilling wind blew through the foliage and past Frodo. He felt an ominous presence, yet he knew not what it was. Out of the corners of his vision, he caught the sight of four black figures approaching. The figures towered over the little hobbit, sending a chilling terror through Frodo’s spine. His thoughts raced; however, they seemed to all lead towards one thing: the ring. Having foolishly left his sword at the camp, he came to a harsh realization that he had no other option. In a panic, Frodo swiftly drew the ring from his battered leather coat pocket. As he began to move the ring towards his forefinger, he heard a voice echo through the surrounding forest.
‘Frodo!’
Reflection
J.R.R Tolkien brilliantly uses an omniscient narrator that tailors their storytelling to fit the context of the situation, while also using a variety of language features to engage the reader. He meticulously describes detail within the story, helping to immerse the reader in Tolkien’s ‘Middle Earth’ and captivating their attention at every moment of the story.
Despite the narrator in Tolkien’s work mostly being omniscient, he is able to withhold certain information from the reader at times to create a feeling of tension or suspense to fit whatever the story wants to portray. Although the reader will eventually find out the details of what threat or problem the protagonists face, Tolkien expertly leaves the audience guessing some information. For example; in the adaptation of Tolkien’s writing style, the identity of the ‘black figures’ was purposely not revealed to ensure that the reader is left wondering what the threat may be: captivating them and creating a sense of suspense.
Tolkien is very well known for his world-building. He is one of; if not the greatest author to ever create a fantasy world of this magnitude. He accomplishes this in a realistic way by meticulously describing every little detail about the world around the protagonists. Whether this is through the sight of nature around them, the sounds they are hearing, or the characters’ exact feelings, he understands the importance of painting a clear picture of his world in the audience’s mind. In the adaptation of Tolkien’s writing, the opening line of “The sun’s orange light that gleamed its reflection off the calmly flowing mirror-like streams began to dim.” can serve as a great example of the detail that is used to ensure the reader understands what ‘Middle Earth’ would look, feel and sound like.
Tolkien also uses a variety of language features throughout his work to help captivate his target audience. Due to the length and volume of his works, Tolkien is able to include almost every type of language feature. However; due to the limited length of the adaptation, metaphors and similes were chosen as the main focus. “A quick gust of wind whispered through the grassy thickets that lay next to them” is one example of how Tolkien would use a metaphor to tie into the detail of his story and add to his world-building prowess. He uses the perfect amount of detail and language features to create a captivating environment: something that fantasy audiences deeply seek in a story. In general, fantasy readers aim to be transported into a different world when they read. Tolkien accomplishes this with the aforementioned methods: detail, varying information from the narrator, and using a variety of language features to add to the immersion of the story.
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