Definition of Setting
Settings function as more than backdrops in this novel—they embody the themes of decline, resilience, corruption, and renewal. Tolkien’s geography mirrors the moral landscape, with each place carrying symbolic weight and the map itself underscoring the vast scale of war and the return home.
The Beacon Hills highlight alliance and urgency, as Gondor depends on others for survival:
Pippin became drowsy again and paid little attention to Gandalf telling him of the customs of Gondor, and how the Lord of the City had beacons built on the tops of outlying hills along both borders of the great range, and maintained posts at these points where fresh horses were always in readiness to bear his errand-riders to Rohan in the North, or to Belfalas in the South. ‘It is long since the beacons of the North were lit,’ he said; ‘and in the ancient days of Gondor they were not needed, for they had the Seven Stones.’ Pippin stirred uneasily.
Settings function as more than backdrops in this novel—they embody the themes of decline, resilience, corruption, and renewal. Tolkien’s geography mirrors the moral landscape, with each place carrying symbolic weight and the map itself underscoring the vast scale of war and the return home.
The Beacon Hills highlight alliance and urgency, as Gondor depends on others for survival:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Pippin became drowsy again and paid little attention to Gandalf telling him of the customs of Gondor, and how the Lord of the City had beacons built on the tops of outlying hills along both borders of the great range, and maintained posts at these points where fresh horses were always in readiness to bear his errand-riders to Rohan in the North, or to Belfalas in the South. ‘It is long since the beacons of the North were lit,’ he said; ‘and in the ancient days of Gondor they were not needed, for they had the Seven Stones.’ Pippin stirred uneasily.