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Théoden
Treebeard is a 14-foot-tall treelike ent and one of the oldest creatures in Middle-earth. Wise and thoughtful, Treebeard assists Merry and Pippin when they flee into Fangorn forest, allowing them to stay in his house and bringing them to a great gathering where the ents decide to march to war against Saruman. Treebeard has a great concern for the environment and, though the ents are dying out, recognizes their potential power as he leads them to seize Isengard.
Treebeard Quotes in The Two Towers
The The Two Towers quotes below are all either spoken by Treebeard or refer to Treebeard. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 3, Chapter 4 Quotes
‘He was polite in those days, always asking my leave (at least when he met me); and always eager to listen. I told him many things that he would never have found out by himself; but he never repaid me in like kind. I cannot remember that he ever told me anything. And he got more and more like that; his face, as I remember it—I have not seen it for many a day—became like windows in a stone wall: windows with shutters inside.
‘I think that I now understand what he is up to. He is plotting to become a Power. He has a mind of metal and wheels; and he does not care for growing things, except as far as they serve him for the moment.’
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‘Of course, it is likely enough, my friends,’ he said slowly, ‘likely enough that we are going to our doom: the last march of the Ents. But if we stayed at home and did nothing, doom would find us anyway, sooner or later. […] Now at least the last march of the Ents may be worth a song. Aye,’ he sighed, ‘we may help the other peoples before we pass away.’
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Treebeard Character Timeline in The Two Towers
The timeline below shows where the character Treebeard appears in The Two Towers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 3, Chapter 4
...asks who this being is. The figure introduces himself as an ent, named Fangorn or Treebeard, and wonders what sort of people the hobbits are. Treebeard recites a list of living...
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Treebeard warns them not to tell everyone they meet the name that they call themselves (hobbits)...
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Treebeard asks about Gandalf, and Pippin tells him that Gandalf’s story is over. Treebeard carries the...
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In his home, Treebeard offers the hobbits a drink that smells faintly like the forest and invigorates them. As...
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...are only two other ents in Fangorn forest because there have been no ent children. Treebeard interrupts the hobbits’ story to ask if they’ve seen any entwives during their travels. Long...
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Merry and Pippin sleep as Treebeard goes to stand in the rain. In the morning, Treebeard takes them to a gathering...
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Treebeard explains to the hobbits that they still have to contact the ents who live far...
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As Treebeard picks up the hobbits again, they ask if the ents will really break down the...
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Book 3, Chapter 5
...and Pippin drank from the stream and climb the same hill where the hobbits met Treebeard.
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...the Ring and the danger of Théoden taking it, forgot about the closer threat of Treebeard.
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...to the amazement of Aragorn and Legolas, who know the ents as an ancient legend. Treebeard is the oldest ent and the oldest living thing walking on Middle-earth. Gimli protests that...
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Aragorn asks if they should follow the hobbits and meet Treebeard, but Gandalf says that he will take him to speak to Théoden instead. They must...
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Book 3, Chapter 8
...his people have stories that they exist, though they don’t know anything specific about them. Treebeard has left a message for Théoden and Gandalf to meet him at the northern wall....
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Book 3, Chapter 9
...than greeting Pippin, Gandalf called him a “tom-fool of a Took” and demanded to see Treebeard to ask for help with the ten thousand orcs attacking Helm’s Deep. When Pippin asked...
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...the return of the huorns and tried to flee once he saw the wreckage, but Treebeard picked him up and trapped him in the tower until Gandalf could arrive. After that...
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Book 3, Chapter 10
...ways and join them since he would have been a powerful ally. Gandalf meets with Treebeard one more time and introduces him to the Three Hunters. Legolas praises Fangorn forest and...
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