Posted: July 24, 2000 at 08:50:01: by RobRoy
: I always figured that the conversation presented in chapter 2 was a condensation of several that Gandalf had with Frodo: he was delivering a very serious message, quite out of Frodo's ordinary experience. His first reaction would be shock and it might take several repititions for the true weight of Gandalf's news to sink in. Sam heard and reported on one (or a couple of) the early conversations, perhaps not with every detail, certainly without the news that Frodo would be leaving the Shire, since it is that decision that leads Sam to gasp or something, which Gandalf hears.
: Condensation of this sort is a common literary ploy. While this does fit the circumstances, I don't believe that Tolkien would have used a device like this. The conversation takes place over one sitting, and while it may have gone on a long time, Sam was captured while outside "cutting" the lawn, thus is didn't go on so long that night had overtaken them, nor so long that Gandalf didn't hear Sam "cutting" the lawn at the begining of the conversation to recognize that the cutting had ceased well toward the end. Unless Sam spent several days cutting the same area of the lawn. ;) -RR
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