Summary — Chapter 8: The Scouring of the Shire
The hobbits find the bridge at Brandywine closed with
a large spiked gate. When they demand entrance, a frightened gatekeeper
informs them that he is under orders from the Chief at Bag End to
let no one enter between sundown and sunrise. Frodo guesses that
the Chief must be Lotho, his greedy relative. Merry and Pippin climb
over the gate. The four hobbits set out for Hobbiton and encounter
a large group of Hobbit Shirrifs, who inform them they are under
arrest. The four hobbits laugh and move on. One of the Shirrifs
quietly warns Sam that the Chief has many Men in his service.
Leaving the Shirrifs behind, the four hobbits find a half-dozen Men
who claim they do not answer to Lotho, the Hobbit Chief, but to
another mysterious boss named Sharkey. The men threaten Frodo, but
the other three hobbits draw swords. The men turn and flee. Sam
rides on to find Tom Cotton, the oldest hobbit in the region. Farmer
Cotton and his sons gather the entire village to fight. The band
of Men returns, but surrenders after a brief fight.
After the battle, Farmer Cotton explains that shortly
after the Hobbits first left, Lotho began to purchase farmland,
causing a shortage of food in Hobbiton. Cotton says that a gang
of Men from the south took over the town. The next morning, a band
of nearly one hundred Men approaches Hobbiton. Pippin arrives with
his relatives, and a fierce battle ensues. Seventy of the Men die
in the Battle of Bywater, as the conflict is forever remembered.
The three remaining companions lead an envoy to Frodo’s
home, Bag End, to deal with the new Chief. To their surprise, the
hobbits find Saruman standing at the gate to Bag End. Saruman—who,
it turns out, is the mysterious boss Sharkey—pronounces a curse
upon the Shire if any hobbit should harm him. Frodo assures his
friends that Saruman has no power, but he forbids them to kill the
wizard. As Saruman passes by Frodo, he draws a knife and stabs Frodo,
but Frodo’s armor shields him.
Frodo again demands that his companions show mercy on
the old wizard. Frodo’s clemency, however, enrages Saruman. Frodo asks
about his relative Lotho, and Saruman informs Frodo that his servant,
Wormtongue, killed Lotho in his sleep. Wormtongue, standing nearby,
cries out that Saruman ordered him to do so. Saruman kicks Wormtongue,
but Wormtongue stabs the old wizard. Wormtongue flees with a yell,
but three Hobbit arrows kill him. From Saruman’s corpse, a gray
mist rises and blows away.
Summary — Chapter 9: The Grey Havens
“It must often be so, Sam, when things
are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that
others may keep them.”
(See Important Quotations Explained)
The Shire’s brief police state overthrown, the Hobbits
rebuild the villages of the region. Sam opens the box Galadriel
gave him and finds a small silver seed, which he plants. In the
Party Field, a sacred tree springs up to replace the old one. Many
children are born that year. Merry and Pippin become heroes in the
Shire, but Frodo quietly retires. That spring, Sam marries Rosie
Cotton, Farmer Cotton’s daughter, and they live at Bag End with
Frodo.
