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One thing in Lord of the Rings I’ve found extremely relatable lately is how the hobbits react to apocalyptic horrors by focusing on the mundane details of their day.
“Looks like we’re on a hopeless journey into Hell in the middle of a world-ending event where everything we know and love will be destroyed. What are we going to have for breakfast today, Mr Frodo? :D”
This is also why the moment where Sam is forced to throw away his pots/pans in Mordor really Gets me…because Sam comforted Frodo and himself by recreating the mundane “normal” rituals of their life in the Shire, especially the rituals around meals and food. Throwing away his pans means throwing away his ability to do that, throwing away the ability to feign ‘normalcy’ for even a moment
I really liked the detail about Sam’s box of Shire salt. He may not know how or where he would find something to cook, but if he does it won’t be tasteless. The little things matter when they’re the only things you can control.
Ahhh yeah exactly ;-;
Another similar moment that gets me is the way Sam rations food for the return journey as a way of reassuring Frodo and himself that there Will be a return journey.
So the moment in Mordor when Sam throws away all his cooking implements…or the later moment when Frodo points out there will be no water left for the return journey and Sam says “I don’t think there will be a return journey,” showing that he’s given up the mentality he had in the beginning of the film where he was emphatic that the two of them would return…..ahhhhhhhhh
It’s more than just rationing food, and it’s more than just sacrificing little habits and routines. Its like— by sacrificing these little habits and routines, they’re sacrificing any belief that they can have a future.
It’s like “why perform these meaningless daily rituals where you take care of yourself and carry around little things that make you happy, when the world is ending?” And the answer is “because if you stop doing those little things, you’ve given up any hope that the world can be saved, and that you can be part of it”
