Texts: J. R. R. Tolkien, “Quenta Silmarillion 21-24” in The Silmarillion
Discussion Leaders: Louis Renard, Jameson Thomas
Discussion Questions:
1. To get us into the mood to discuss this week’s themes of death, doom and decline today’s ice breaker question will be about death. Namely, of the many deaths in these last chapters which one stuck with you the most? Which one had you weeping for the loss of a beloved friend or cheering as an evil villain was slain? What was it about this death that struck you the most?
2. Doom and Fate as motifs in Tolkien’s work seem to strike a crescendo in these closing chapters. The Children of Hurin are marked by the Doom granted by Morgoth, the Oath of the Sons of Feanor pursues them until their deaths, and the final battle between the forces of Valinor and Morgoth brings a sense of apocalyptic finality to the Quenta Silmarillion. Where is the ‘freedom of choice’ that features so prevalently in the earlier chapters of the book? What is its relationship to the sense of determinism that we find later?
3. Over the course of Turin’s life he takes on a vast array of names and aliases, culminating in the name Turin Turambar or ‘Turin Master of Doom.’ What does this constant need to rename himself tell us about Turin and his relationship with fate and doom? Can we link his need to change his name with our earlier discussions of naming as a form of control?
4. One of the more striking elements of the tale of Turin is vivid emotional detail which Tolkien uses in describing both the chaos of war and the aftermath of battle. What can these moments tell us of the nature of war, violence and the relationships created during war? In what ways do these passages speak to the trauma of warfare and the ways we cope with it?
5. The story of the children of Hurin is told only a few chapters before the story of the
children (descendants?) of Huor. How do these narratives compare with one another? In what ways are Turin and Tuor different and similar?
6. In the closing chapters, we see Tolkien’s theme of the ‘call of the sea’, and even ‘the call of the west’, reach its climax when Eärendil enters into Valinor. How does the elusive ‘west’ that Tolkien discusses compare with C. S. Lewis’ ‘east’ in the Chronicles of Narnia, particularly the Voyage of the Dawn Treador?
7. Over the vast history which the Silmarillion lays out for us we have seen betrayal by
Men, war against Dwarves, the wrath of the Tree-Shepherds, and the third and final
kinslaying. On the other hand, we have seen many cross-race romances, individuals
choosing which race they want to be counted within, and even an individual with Maiar, Eldar, and Edain blood in him (Dior of Beren and Luthien). What can be made of this complex web of relationships between the peoples of Tolkien’s world? What if anything makes the geopolitics of Middle Earth compelling? Can you detect a grand narrative or overarching historical thesis which is put forward by this tale?
8. Now that we have reached the end of the Quenta Silmarillion what information can we draw from the way it is structured? Do you feel as that it was compiled and edited in a compelling way or are there elements you feel weaken the tale it is trying to convey?
