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| With Their Heads Full of Dreams by GamgeeFest | 41 Review(s) |
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| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/19/2006 |
| “My father used to call me that,” he said now. “I was his little ‘acorn’. I was his promise?” “No sir,” Sam said and gently placed his hand over Frodo’s. “You’re the tree.” That's a beautiful image! I like it very much! So, Odo is the name of the Gaffer's neighbour? Well, well, sometimes interpretation leads us to totally different results! I was thinking of the first drafts of "The Lord of the Rings" in HOME, where the Ringbearer was still called Bingo, and he was accompanied by his cousins, whose names were Frodo, Odo and Marmaduke ;-) Thank you for this story, I enjoyed reading and interpreting it very much :) Author Reply: That scene under the oak tree was in my mind pretty much since I first started writing this story. I checked on the web to see if my own perceptions of what 'oak' and 'acorn' symbolize were correct, and not only did I find that they were, but that Aristotle had said that the acorn was the greastest symbol of potential. Aristotle! Odo - I thought of that the other night and had a little chuckle over it. It gives the dream a different sort of twist when you read it with *that* Odo in mind. I don't know about you, but I'm very glad that Tolkien changed the names of the hobbits. I just can't imagine that moment in the movie when the Ring is destroyed and the Mt. Doom and Mordor start to collapse, and everyone shouting "BINGO!" That would rather ruin the moment, because someone would either have to win a prize, or they'd had to follow it up with "B-I-N-G-O!" And all I can think about when I read "Marmaduke" is the black lab from the comic strip! And now that I've wondered completely off topic... I'm glad you enjoyed this and I really loved getting your reviews! Thanks for reading. :) | |
| Grey Wonderer | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/19/2006 |
| Love Sam's way of looking at things. I also liked the bits of Primula's journal that were included in the story. Looks like Frodo and Sam both have a great deal to think over. The Dwarves may not have started things but their cooking brought things into a weird sort of focus for everyone. LOL Author Reply: Sam's simple approach to life certainly isn't lacking in wisdom, for all that his name would imply that it is. And who better than a gardener to finally answer Frodo's question? Even the Gaffer would have given him a similar response, though it would be lacking Sam's poetical viewpoint. The journal entries were a last minute addition. I thought it would be interesting if there really was a journal, and since the one in Frodo's dream featured Prima's handwriting, it was a small step to decide that the journal would be hers. In this way, Frodo gets to have a little bit of his mother (and his father) back in his life. They all have a great deal to think over, but none of them will really have the time to analyze these dreams for long. Hamfast was never a hobbit to sit and stew when there are things to be done, and Bilbo needs to finish planning for the party and start planning for his journey. Frodo will soon be bombarded with his new position as Master and Sam will be busy worrying about Frodo. I fiddled with the idea that the Dwarves knew exactly what their cooking would do to the hobbits, but I just couldn't make it work and it made the Dwarves seem callous and conniving, which I didn't want to do. It works better if they remain innocently unaware of what effects their cooking has. ^_^ Thanks for reading! | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 4/18/2006 |
| Ah, this explains a whole lot. When I look deep, I miss the obvious, much like Gandalf with the riddle of "speak friend." Yes, it was indeed strange at times-and I didn't think it got any weirder than running away from short, furry barbaric men, hiding non-existent high-tech dolls in boxes, and trying to keep them from crying and revealing themselves and me, but I guess I was wrong. LOL! I loved this, GF! God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: Glad that helps to clear things up! Thanks so much for reading! | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/18/2006 |
| *glares* I *hate* class distinctions! Goodness knows I love Hamfast, but something like that *can* make me very cross with him. Oh, well, it didn't matter in the end, and it's good the the Gaffer is going to spend some time with his youngest children...and that May is going to have her sister to look after her. :) I loved this chapter! I would love to see Prim's journal in full sometime...:) It sounds as if she had a delightful childhood. And the end was just beautiful. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: Hamfast is only trying to protect his son and teach him how to play by the rules. While Sam understands and agrees with most of what his father tells him, he is merely appeasing his father here. Sam's statement that he knows where his place is not a deferment to his father's POV, though Sam allows the Gaffer to think that it is. Primula had the childhood she would have wanted Frodo to have - happy, carefree and full of family and love. By reading her journal, Frodo will be finally be able to experience a little bit of that - and possibly get some dirt on his aunts and uncles. ;) I'm so glad you enjoyed the story! Thanks for reading. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 4/18/2006 |
| Whoa! A dream within a dream! I hate when that happens to me-it's so weird. I love the foreshadowing here, and especially Frodo as an eagle carrying his Sam. :) And the maiden is Luthien. Isn't she? That scene in the valley was beautiful. I can't wait to see how they all awaken! God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: It is in a way a dream within a dream. More than that, Sam is taken on a sort of vision quest and returned back to where he had been (similar to Ellie in "Contact"). Sam knows that his master is strong, but it is good for him to hear (even if just in a dream) that Frodo also knows this. He won't be as worried about Frodo as he would have been otherwise. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/18/2006 |
| Wow. Very sad and melancholy, but I enjoyed it very much. Memories are strange things, indeed, and I love Bilbo's thoughts on journaling. This is somehow realistic and very dreamlike-the memories of his early years mingled with the scene changes of dreams. And that younger Frodo put up a fuss about learning to swim in the dream says a lot about the insecurity that maybe he doesn't even know he still has. But my very favourite part was the conversation with Sam. Who is Frodo's protector? He's talking to him. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: In the end, Frodo has many protectors, but Sam is the one who will be there through the darkest hours. His parents picked the perfect hobbit for the job. I've had many memories that, upon closer analysis, I realized couldn't possibly be accurate. It's funny, the way the mind will remember things or even make up memories. Frodo received that message loud and clear here. He certainly has swept his insecurities under the rug, but they're coming to the foreground again and he now has to deal with them once and for all. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/18/2006 |
| Goodness gracious, what a dream! Smaug a lizard? And the Last Homely House made of *gingerbread*? And Elrond evil? My goodness, how do you come up with it? If there is a meaning here, I'm afraid I missed it, but I truly admire your creativity. I always have a hard time coming up with interesting dreams. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: Gingerbread - just like a hobbit to dream of food! Indeed, they all dream of food at one point or another. And Elrond wasn't evil - that was the dragon. ;) I don't think I could ever get tired of writing dreams and if I go too long without doing a dream sequence, I'll start looking for ways to squeeze them in! Usually, it's Frodo who has the dreams, so it was a treat to get the others involved and see what's been weighing on their minds lately. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 4/18/2006 |
| Wow, GF! Such meaning from such a chaotic dream. Poor Ham! Somehow that's really, really sad...but I can't exactly put my finger on what's sad about it. Yet there's something that's funny too. Can't teach a snake to play the fiddle? What in the world! LOL! But the message is clear here. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: There are all sorts of little tiny bits of meaning in Hamfast's dream that we don't get in the other ones. I'd have to write another whole story just to address them all! I was going for both sad and whimsical and I hoped that the craziness didn't make it too evasive. I'm glad you were able to see both sides! Maybe he could teach the snake to play the chimes! lol | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/18/2006 |
| What a wonderful ending! It's such a shame, however, that the Gaffer could not get beyond his own notions of "proper". I especially enjoyed the scene of Bilbo and the Dwarves planning their journey, and Bilbo's acknowledgement to Frodo that he would try to keep in touch. I am one of those who believe that Frodo's remark about "last letter" indicates that they did so. And I really enjoyed the moment at the end. Frodo was an oak, indeed! Author Reply: Hamfast is rather stuck in his ways and that won't change easily. Sam did not necessarily agree with his father, though he certainly made it sound like he was. I wouldn't be surprised if he finds some way out of that visit to Fred's. ~_^ I think Bilbo might have tried to send letters home at first, but that "last letter" must have been received quite some time before the Quest (if not immediately upon Bilbo's departure) for Frodo to have "always" kept the Ring on its chain. There's certainly room for interpretation here. Drogo couldn't have come up with a more suiting nickname for his son. No one could have had any idea just how strong and enduring Frodo would become. :) Thanks so much for reading! | |
| Elf Friend | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 4/16/2006 |
| Frodo as an eagle! *chuckles* That sounds just like a crazy dream! :) I like how this dream shows that Sam does realize, even if just subconciously, that even as he protects Frodo, Frodo will protect him. Also, Sam's dilemma whether to stay or follow the elves, I think, really reflects what happens to him in Lotr. First he has to leave home and follow Frodo into darkness and then he has to stay home and watch Frodo sail away from Middle Earth. This dream was perfect for Sam! Can't wait for the next chapter! Featuring the following morning, yes? Author Reply: Dreams do often include something that happened that day, and Frodo and Sam's talk about Frodo becoming a bird, as well as how Sam and his friends look for elves in the Woody End, were bound to make appearances. Frodo is just as protective of his friends as they are of him, and Sam is no exception. Frodo will do anything he can to make sure his friends are happy and content and, in Sam's case, aren't left wanting for anything. Sam *would* dream about Elves! For the first time, he has been presented with the dilemma that will plague him the rest of his life: stay or follow. And he will always follow. | |