Rambling: LotR Quiz 24

Question 70– Merry rides to Minas Tirith with a rider of Rohan. With whom does Merry think he is riding?
a. Gandalf
b. Dernhelm
c. Eowyn
d. Pippin

Question 71– At the siege of Minas Tirith, how are the mumakil killed?
a. We don’t know
b. They aren’t, and Aragorn uses them to form a circus act
c. Huge stones are flung onto them by catapults from inside the city
d. Legolas climbs on one and shoots it down, others are tripped, a few scamper away

70. Movie: c; Book: b
71. Movie: d; Book: a

Rambling: LotR Quiz 23

Question 67 – At one point, Eowyn says that she fears “[t]o stay behind bars until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.” To whom does she tell this?
a. Theoden
b. Wormtongue
c. Aragorn
d. Eomer

Question 68 – Who lights the beacons of Gondor?
a. The men of Gondor, at Denethor’s command
b. Gimli
c. Pippin
d. Frodo

Question 69 – When are the beacons lit?
a. After the city is surrounded
b. After Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith
c. Before Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith
d. Before Aragorn sets out for the Black Gate

67. Movie: b; Book: c
68. Movie: c; Book: a
69. Movie: b; Book: c

Rambling: LotR Quiz 22

Question 64 – How does Aragorn learn of the black fleet of Corsairs that is about to attack Pelargir?
a. He just knows; he’s smart like that
b. An eagle tells him
c. He sees it in the palantír of Isengard
d. Elrond tells him

Question 65 – When does Aragorn look into the palantír of Isengard?
a. While he’s staying at Helm’s Deep, just after returning from Isengard
b. Right before he takes the Paths of the Dead
c. When he’s in the throne room at Minas Tirith after the Battle of Pelannor
d. While he’s waiting for Arwen to finish doing her hair

Question 66 – How many horses do Aragorn and company lead through the Paths of the Dead?
a. None
b. Two
c. Three
d. Thirty-two

64. Movie: d; Book: c
65. Movie: c; Book: a
66. Movie: a; Book: d
(32 comes from the fact that Aragorn has his horse, Gimli and Legolas share a horse, and 30 Dunedain ride with them. The lack of the Dunedain is another difference, but I won't put it in a question since I just did it in an answer.)

Rambling: LotR Quiz 21

Question 62 – Orcs from the Tower of Cirith Ungol come to investigate what Shelob has been up to. How does Sam avoid being seen by the orcs?
a. He dresses up like an orc
b. He puts on the Ring
c. He hides behind rocks
d. He does not avoid it, and the orcs capture him

Question 63 – Returning to Rohan/Minas Tirith, when does Aragorn get Andruil, his sword?
a. When Elrond brings it to him at Dunharrow
b. He always has it, even when we first meet him at Bree
c. He finds it in a Cracker Jack box
d. When the Fellowship of the Ring initially leave Rivendell

62. Movie: c; Book: b
63. Movie: a; Book: d

Rambling: LotR Quiz 20

Question 60 – After Gollum returns from sneaking off (and doing whatever he did), what does Frodo do?
a. He sings “If you’re happy and you know, clap your hands”
b. He wakes up and continues to climb the stairs with Sam and Gollum
c. He starts talking about all those people in old stories who never gave up
d. He sends Sam home

Question 61 – Who (besides Gollum) enters Shelob’s tunnel? (choose as many as apply)
a. Frodo
b. Gandalf
c. Sam
d. Aragorn

60. Movie: d; Book: b
61. Movie: a; Book: a, c

Rambling: LotR Quiz 19

Question 58 – What happens during the attack at Osgiliath?
a. Frodo nearly gives the Ring to a Nazgul, but is rescued at the last second by Sam and Faramir
b. Frodo uses the Ring to destroy the attacking army
c. Faramir takes the Ring from Frodo and uses it to defend the city
d. Osgiliath?! Frodo never goes to Osgiliath!

Question 59 – Frodo, Sam, and Gollum reach Cirith Ungol and start climbing the stairs. They stop to sleep. What happens next?
a. Gollum sneaks off to visit Shelob
b. Gollum tosses the lembas down a cliff and then makes it look like Sam ate it
c. Frodo slips and falls to his death but manages to give Sam the Ring
d. Gollum attacks Frodo and Sam, takes the Ring, and then in his joy, falls over the cliff

58. Movie: a; Book: d
59. Movie: b; Book: a

Rambling: LotR Quiz 18

Question 55 – Who tells Faramir that Frodo has the Ring?
a. Frodo
b. No one. He deduces it while he converses with Frodo.
c. Sam
d. Gollum

Question 56 – What does Faramir say when he realizes that Frodo has the Ring?
a. “I would not take this thing if it lay by the highway.”
b. “It should be mine, save an unhappy chance.”
c. “A chance for Faramir, captain of Gondor, to show his quality.”
d. “I want the Precious…gollum!”

Quesiont 57 – What does Faramir do with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum once he realizes that Frodo has the Ring?
a. He tries to take it from Frodo.
b. He sends them on their way, providing them with new provisions.
c. He tells about how he saw his dead brother in one of the boats of Lorien
d. He takes them to Osgiliath

55. Movie: d; Book: b
56. Movie: c; Book: a
57. Movie: d; Book: b

Rambling: LotR Quiz 17

Question 52 – Who rescues Frodo after he falls into the water in the Dead Marshes?
a. Gollum/Sméagol
b. Sam
c. No one. He swims back to the surface.
d. He doesn’t fall into the water.

Question 53 – Frodo, Sam, and Gollum find the Black Gate unapproachable. What happens immediately after that?
a. Frodo hitches a ride on an eagle to Mount Doom
b. Gollum convinces Frodo to try a second way into Mordor
c. Sam slips down a gravelly hillside and is rescued by Frodo at the last minute
d. Peter Jackson shows up

Question 54 – Concerning a dead Southron soldier, who wonders “what the man’s name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil, or what lies and threats had led him on the long march from his home…”?
a. Faramir
b. Gollum
c. Sam
d. Frodo

52. Movie: a; Book: d
53. Movie: c; Book: b
54. Movie: a; Book: c

Rambling: LotR Quiz 16

Question 50 – As the company rides back from Isengard to Helm’s Deep, someone meets them. Who?
a. Saruman
b. Rangers from the North
c. Elrond
d. No one

Question 51 – What happens to Aragorn in the Paths of the Dead?
a. Not much. He summons the dead traitors to follow him to the Stone of Erech and they do.
b. Nothing. He can’t even get in.
c. He breaks into yet another long song about Arwen
d. He nearly gets into a fight with the King of the Dead, but is able to convince them to help him.

50. Movie: d; Book: b
51. Movie: d; Book: a

Rambling: LotR Quiz 15

Question 46 – The Ents hold Entmoot to decide to what to do about Saruman’s treachery. What is their decision?
a. They decide to fight and march out to attack Isengard
b. They decide to fight but change their mind on the way
c. They decide not to fight
d. They decide to lobby Peter Jackson for more screen time

Question 47 – Where does Saruman die?
a. At Helms Deep
b. At Bag End
c. At Isengard
d. At Edoras

Question 48 – How does the palantír wind up in the waters around Orthanc?
a. It falls there after the Ents trash Isengard
b. It falls out of Saurman’s sleeve after he falls from Orthanc
c. It is just there
d. It is thrown at Gandalf and company as a parting shot from Wormtongue

Question 49 – When/where does Pippin look in the palantír?
a. At Edoras
b. Immediately
c. On the way back from Isengard to Helm’s Deep
d. At Dunharrow

46. Movie: c; Book: a
47. Movie: c; Book: b
48. Movie: b; Book: d
49. Movie: a; Book: c

Rambling: LotR Quiz 14

Question 43 – Who helps the Riders of Rohan defend the Hornburg at Helm’s Deep? (Pick as many as necessary)
a. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli
b. Sam and Frodo
c. Elves from Lorien
d. The Rangers from the North

Question 44 – What races are in the army of Saruman?
a. Uruk-hai
b. Uruk-hai and Wild Men of the West
c. Uruk-hai and regular Orcs
d. Uruk-hair and the Nazgul

Question 45 – Gandalf arrives near the end of the battle. Who rides with him?
a. More Elves
b. Eomer and his eored
c. No one
d. Erkenbrand and the remnants of his eored

43. Movie: a,c; Book: a (This is one of the more major changes from the book)
44. Movie: a; Book: b
45. Movie: b; Book: d (Eomer is at the battle in the book because he hasn't been exiled)

Rambling: LotR Quiz 13

Question 41 – How does Gandalf free Theoden from the mental atrophy brought on by Grima?
a. He exorcises Saruman
b. He uses athelas to heal him
c. He has Pippin recite a comic song
d. He has the king stand up, head out of his throne room, and grip his sword

Question 42 – Theoden orders all of the women and children in Edoras to flee to what location?
a. Fangorn Forest
b. Minas Tirith
c. Dunharrow
d. Helm’s Deep

41. Movie: a; Book: d
42. Movie: d; Book: c (This is one of those plot changes that I didn't fully understand. Sure, it increased tension, but it is very unrealistic.)

Rambling: After Alpha Comes...

Yet another Tropical Storm has formed in the Carribean. This one is named by the second letter of the Greek alphabet, Beta. Beta appears to be on a track to hit Nicaragua as a category 1 hurricane.
I am even more amazed at this new storm. What an amazing year this has been to me! What an ever-astonishing world!

Rambling: LotR Quiz 12

Question 38 – Eomer meets Aragorn after defeating the Uruk-hai. Why has Eomer ridden to the North?
a. He likes the North
b. He heard of a party of Orcs crossing the northern plains and decided to punish them for trying to cross through Rohan
c. He was exiled under order of Grima/Theoden
d. Gandalf told him to

Question 39 – Where does Eomer head after meeting Aragorn?
a. North, out of Rohan
b. East, towards the Anduin
c. West, towards Fangorn
d. South, to Edoras

Question 40 – Who says to Eowyn, “Who knows what [you speak] to the darkness alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all [your] life [seems] to shrink…”?
a. Aragorn
b. Grima Wormtongue
c. Gandalf
d. Frodo

38. Movie: c; Book: b
39. Movie: a; Book: d
40. Movie: b; Book: c (Gandalf speaks these lines in Return of the King at the Houses of Healing)

Rambling: LotR Quiz 11

Question 34 – Merry and Pippin flee into Fangorn forest. From whom are they fleeing?
a. The Uruk-hai and the Riders, out of fear of being killed
b. An orc who is trying to eat them
c. Treebeard
d. Peter Jackson

Question 35 – When do the hobbits meet Treebeard?
a. When he joins the Riders in attacking the Orcs
b. When they climb up him in order to escape being eaten
c. After they have climbed up a hill in Fangorn
d. When Entmoot is held

Question 36 – Where does the tree “Old Man Willow” live?
a. In Bree
b. In the Old Forest outside of Buckland
c. In Edoras
d. In Fangorn forest

Question 37 – Who says, “Old Man Willow, you should not be waking…”?
a. Tom Bombadil
b. Gandalf
c. Aragorn
d. Treebeard

34. Movie: b; Book: a
35. Movie: b; Book: c
36. Movie: d; Book: b
37. Movie: d; Book: a

Rambling: LotR Quiz 10

Question 31 – Sam and Frodo reach the far shore. Who sees them cross the River but decides not to follow them?
a. Merry and Pippin
b. Boromir
c. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli
d. No one

Question 32 – As Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas chase after the Uruk-hai, who lags behind?
a. Aragorn
b. Gimli
c. Legolas
d. No one, Legolas is an elf (infinite endurance), Aragorn is a ranger (used to long chases), and Gimli is a dwarf (dwarves do not tire on a chase).

Question 33 – As the Uruk-hai are trapped by the Riders of Rohan, what happens to Merry and Pippin?
a. They manage to crawl away before an orc chases them to try to eat them
b. The Riders find them and take them to Edoras
c. An orc takes them both away from the battle in order to try to get the Ring from them
d. Pippin bores the Uruk-hai to death with bad poetry

31. Movie: c; Book: d
32. Movie: b; Book: d
33. Movie: a; Book: c

Rambling: LotR Quiz 9

Question 27 – During their stay in Lorien, at least one member of the Company looks into the Mirror of Galadriel. Who looks into the Mirror?
a. Frodo and Sam
b. Frodo, Sam, and Aragorn
c. Frodo
d. Frodo, Sam, Gimli, and Legolas

Question 28 – As they row down the River Anduin, the Fellowship is followed by someone. Who follows them?
a. The Uruk-hai
b. Gollum
c. Saruman
d. No one follows them

Question 29 – Who says, “A shadow and a threat has been growing [in my mind.]”?
a. Aragorn
b. Legolas
c. Boromir
d. Frodo

Question 30 –Frodo has just climbed down from the seat of Amon Hen, where he has seen Sauron’s eye searching for him. What happens next?
a. He takes the Ring, throws it into the River, and goes home
b. He puts on the Ring and tries to cross the River alone
c. He meets Aragorn, who breaks out into another long song about Arwen
d. Aragorn meets him, refuses to take the Ring, and sends Frodo on his way

27. Movie: c; Book: a
28. Movie: d; Book: b
29. Movie: b; Book: a
30. Movie: d; Book: b

Rambling: Wow! Alpha...

Something has just happened that I never thought I would see: an Atlantic hurricane season has been so active that the National Hurricane Center has run out of hurricane names for the season. With Hurricane Wilma, the twenty-second named storm of the season, pounding the Yucatan peninsula, Tropical Storm Alpha has formed south of Hispanola.
Why Alpha? Because once the NHC exhausts its typical list for hurricane names (something that has never happened) it starts using Greek letters to designate tropical systems. If another tropical system were to form, it would be Tropical Storm Beta. One beyond that would be Gamma, and so on.
It's been an amazing weather year, and it once again reminds me of how amazing a God I serve. He has made a world that can such unusual and varied weather that is still orderly enough that human beings, who do not create weather, can still predict it.
So, as the crisp, autumn weather settles in here in Kansas, take some time to marvel at the nearly infinite variety that the Lord has put in this world in the form of weather.

Rambling: LotR Quiz 8

Question 24 – Pippin alerts the Orcs living in Moria to the presence of the Fellowship. How does he do this?
a. He shouts down a well
b. He touches a skeleton whose head falls off and down a well
c. He drops a stone down a well
d. He falls down a well

Question 25 – The Fellowship are attacked inside Balin’s tomb. Who stabs Frodo with a spear?
a. A Balrog
b. An orc chieftan
c. A cave troll
d. Gollum

Question 26 – The Fellowship escape Moria and head into the woods of Lothlorien. At what time of day do they enter woods?
a. Morning
b. Day
c. Night
d. At second breakfast, of course

24. Movie: b; Book: c
25. Movie: c; Book: b
26. Movie: b; Book: c

Rambling: LotR Quiz 7

Question 21 – The Council of Elrond is held. Which of the hobbits attend the Council, either invited or not? (Choose as many as necessary)
a. Bilbo
b. Sam
c. Frodo
d. Merry
e. Pippin

Question 22 – The Council selects nine people to be the Fellowship of the Ring. Their mission is assist Frodo in taking the Ring to Mount Doom. The Fellowship set out for the south. They try to cross over Caradhras. What happens as they climb?
a. Frodo slips. The Ring falls off and Boromir picks it up. Then they are snowed in.
b. They are snowed in, forced to retreat, and are attacked by wolves on the way down.
c. Sam breaks out into a comic poem.
d. Pippin falls off a cliff and everyone else rejoices.

Question 23 – After failing to climb Caradhras, the Fellowship head for Moria. The gates are locked, though. Finally, someone solves the riddle that gives the password for the gates. Who solves the riddle?
a. Aragorn
b. Gimli
c. Gandalf
d. Frodo

21. Movie: b, c, d, e; Book: a, b, c
22. Movie: a; Book: b
23. Movie: d; Book: c