At the Sign of the Prancing Pony

[Simbelmyne]

Seeing as there have been no posts since April, I figured I might as well start the discussion on Chapter 9: At the Sign of the Prancing Pony. If you haven't read it and still want to discuss it, that's fine, if you haven't read and want to before you start responding, this discussion isn't going anywhere.

Questions:

What do you like about Bree and its atmosphere? What don't you like?

How well did they carry Bree from page to screen?

My opinions:

I loved this chapter. The detail about Bree is so rich, and I can read it and get a picture of Bree, the image they used in the films. Bree to me seems warm, and friendly (although three-storey buildings don't seem as popular with the hobbits...) I also love the dialogue in this chapter, it makes such good quotes...

Opinions anyone?

#noedit

[ArwenUndomiel]

I agree I really like this chapter! It descrbes Bree so well as a homely yet mysterious place! Its not one of my very favourite chapters but it is good!

[Morwen]

Ahm, I'll have to read it first...but I just wanted to say this: I totally agree with you concerning the dialogue in this chapter. It's clever and snappy and very funny. Aragorn brings much tension into it, being a new and very mysterious, lol, character.

[Linithiel]

I agree - in the book The Prancing Pony is such a nice cozy place. But they didn't make it like that at all in the films - all the people in it are very hostile to the hobbits, and there aren't any other hobbits to be seen. We're not even sure if Butterbur is meant to be friendly, as there is no mention of Gandalf's letter. But it probably worked better like that on screen, as having them go to another Green Dragon wouldn't have built up the tension as much.

I love Strider in this chapter - he's so mysterious. And I love the hobbits' different reactions to him - Frodo is wary but wants to trust him, whereas Sam is very distrustful. This is also very similar to their reactions to Gollum - you can see that Frodo wants to look for the goodness in people, whereas Sam wants to be careful and put his master's safety first.

Edit: Oh sorry, this last paragraph applies to the next chapter instead. Sorry...   Is it alright if I leave it here for now? Sorry.

[Marieke]

Yay, finally the next chapter in the Book Club!

I like the way Bree is described. It's very detailed. The first time I was reading this chapter, I thought that it was a bit boring, I wanted to get on with the story, but now I think that it's a good thing. It's so easy to picture Bree, and the way Tolkien describes it really brings it to life.
In the book, the Prancing Pony seems to be a nicer place than in the movies, like you already said. The singing and stuff makes the Pony so cozy, I think. It's also a big difference that there are some Hobbits in the book. The Hobbits seem to be a bit lost in the movie. I don't think they look miserable in the movie, and the (movie) Pony would probably be a nice place if you live in Bree, but the Hobbits were obviously the strangers on screen. They seem to be more comfortable in the book.
And, of course, there's the introduction of Aragorn. The way Tolkien talks about him, makes you realize that this is going to be a very important character, I think, but without telling too much about him. Strider is still the mysterious Ranger, I think, but an important mysterious Ranger, if that makes any sense.

[ArwenUndomiel]

That all made perfect sense!!