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Stephenson:Neal:Cryptonomicon:121:Randy is a Dwarf...(Alan Sinder)

From the Quicksilver Metaweb.

!!Warning: Plot details follow !!

This page talks about why Randy is a Dwarf and examines Dwarves and Wizards

Stephensonia

“… Charlene's crowd most definitely did take it personally. It wasn't being told that they were wrong that offended them, though -- it was the underlying assumption that a person could be right or wrong about anything. So on the Night in Question -- the night of Avi's fateful call -- Randy had done what he usually did, which was to withdraw from the conversation. In the Tolkien, not the endocrinological or Snow White sense, Randy is a Dwarf. Tolkien's Dwarves were stout, taciturn, vaguely magical characters who spent a lot of time in the dark hammering out beautiful things, e.g. Rings of Power. Thinking of himself as a Dwarf who had hung up his war-ax for a while to go sojourning in the Shire, where he was surrounded by squabbling Hobbits (i.e., Charlene's friends), had actually done a lot for Randy's peace of mind over the years. He knew perfectly well that if he were stuck in academia, these people, and the things they said, would seem momentous to him. But where he came from, nobody had been taking these people seriously for years. So he just withdrew from the conversation and drank his wine and looked out over the Pacific surf and tried not to do anything really obvious like shaking his head and rolling his eyes.  …”

Authored entries

When One is in a Middle-Earth Mindset

One can't just defeat EVIL every age like one's hero grandfather. One could find themselves blessed enough to live in a period of peace. The modern-era protagonist of Cryptonomicon, Randy Waterhouse views himself as a Dwarf in a Tolkienian sense. He isn't going to use his “axe” on the professor who's stolen his now “ex” - Charlene — as a new business opportunity is beckoning far away from home. He's blessed that unlike his ancestor Quicksilver's Daniel Waterhouse; he is not a lesser Wizard made obscure by polymath genius level Wizards. You've got to wonder if Randy has pigeonholed himself in the right category.HildebrandtMW.jpg
The Fellowship of the Ring
Pippin, Gimli, Legolas, Sam, Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, Merry, and Boromir

I have to agree with Avi and Amy though — we are well rid of Charlene. Will GEB grow a beard to tell Charlene the romance has gone?

First we address the only active dwarf in the trilogy -- Gimli.

Gimli

Mostly sourced from Wikipedia - but I really know this stuff.

Gimli was one of the members of the Fellowship that journeyed with Frodo to destroy the OneRing. He also became an Elf-friend due to his relationships with Legolas and Galadriel. At the beginning of the Fourth Age he lead a group of dwarves to help rebuild Minas Tirith and after he became Lord of the Glittering Halls at Helms Deep.

As the appointed representative of Dwarf-kind to the Fellowship, Gimli bore the burden of addressing — if not redressing — each of the grievances suffered by Dwarves at the hands of Sauron's agents. Gimli travelled over region, and observed the memory and the graves of Elves in the wrought stones below the ground. These were the Noldorin Eldar, the Dwarves ' closest elven friends, and the elves most closely aligned with Aule the Smith, the patron of the Dwarves.

Gimli travelled into Mines of Moria, and there helped confront the monster at its gates, the orcs, and Durin's Bane. He served as a gifted amateur ambassador to elf-kind, and travelled within sight of DolGuldur, where many dwarves lost their Rings of Power. He entered the lands of Men, served in their armies, and he saw the Glittering Caves of Aglarond. And he helped confront the voice of Saruman, a secret architect of many insults against his kind.

Dwarves of Middle-Earth

The Dwarves are beings of short stature, often friendly with Hobbits although long suspicious of Elves. They are typically smiths and stoneworkers by profession, unrivaled in some of their arts even by the Elves.

The popularity of Tolkien's books, especially The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, has led to the popular use of the term "Dwarves" to describe this race in fantasy literature. Before, the term "dwarfs" (with a different spelling) was used, as seen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Professor Tolkien felt that if Elf gets a v in its plural form so should Dwarf.

Unlike Elves and Men, the Dwarves are not counted among the Children of Ilúvatar. They were created by Aulë the Smith. They were kept asleep until the creation of the Elves. Aulë created the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, from whom all other Dwarves are descended. Aulë later repented and confessed to Ilúvatar. Ilúvatar granted the Dwarves life, and therefore they are known as the Adopted Children of Ilúvatar.

Fathers of the Dwarves

The Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were the first of their race. It is told in The Silmarillion that the Vala Aulë created the Dwarves because he was impatient for the arising of the Children of Ilúvatar (Elves and Men. He created seven Dwarves, and was teaching them the language he had deviced for them (Khuzdul) when Ilúvatar confronted him. Aulë offered his creations to Ilúvatar, who accepted them and gave them life.

However, the 'Fathers of the Dwarves' had to wait until the Elves first arrived, and Aulë laid them to rest in various places in Middle-earth. The eldest of all, Durin, 'lied alone' at Mount Gundabad in the north of the Misty Mountains. He later founded the line of the Longbeards (or Sigin-tarâg in Khuzdul), the Dwarves which were most friendly to the Elves and Men. His city was Khazad-dûm.

Two others were laid to rest near Mount Dolmed in the Ered Luin or Blue Mountains, and they founded the lines of the Broadbeams and the Firebeards who later lived in Nogrod and Belegost. The other four Fathers of Dwarves were laid to rest in the far east, two of them at the northern end of the Orocarni, and the other two near the southern end of the range. These founded the lines of the Ironfists and Stiffbeards, and Blacklocks and Stonefoots.

Of the Fathers of the Dwarves, only Durin is said to have 'lied alone'. This can be interpreted as referring to the fact he was indeed laid down to rest alone while the other Fathers were laid to rest in pairs, but older versions of the story suggest that it meant Durin alone had no female companion. (By implication this means that the other Fathers did.) By this version of the story, Durin's Folk was formed out of Dwarves from the other six lines. It is probably a mistake to take this origin story too litterally, like the mythological stories about the first man or woman we must assume that this was a Dwarven tradition passed on amongst themselves, and was never meant as an actual historical recount.

Durin's Longbeards

Most Dwarves mentioned in Tolkien's works are of the clan founded by Durin, called the Longbeards. (A notable exception are the inhabitants of the dwarf-cities of Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains, spoken of in The Silmarillion).

They mined and worked metals throughout the mountains of Middle-earth. In many ways, they were in between the Elves and Men. They were not immortal, but lived to two hundred and fifty years or more. They were generally less corruptible than Men, but committed their share of rash and greedy acts. (Among these are the slaying of Thingol and the dispute over the Arkenstone).

The Dwarven language was created by Aulë, and was known as Khuzdul. It was a strange language to Elves and Men, and few non-Dwarves learned it, also because they kept it secret. Thorin brings twelve Dwarves to Bag End to recruit Bilbo for their treasure hunt in The Hobbit.

Gimli joins the Fellowship of the Ring and befriends Legolas. He also is more capable of defending himself against the weakness of Dwarves — the desire for gold. If Randy has a dwarfish nature — it's one like Gimli's.

Wizards

The best known wizard in a Middle-Earth context is Gandalf. He is the best-known of the Maiar of the people of Manwë and Varda. He is said to be one of the wisest of that order, rivaling Saruman. He came to Middle-earth in the Third Age as a wizard in order to counsel and assist all those in Middle-earth who opposed Sauron. (Aside — Professor Tolkien originally planned for Gandalf to be a dwarf).

Maiar

The Maiar are those spirits which descended to Arda to help the Valar to shape the World. Singular is Maia. There were supposed to be numerous, yet not many were named. It's best to consider them angels and the Valar as archangels. Melkor is the Lucifer of Middle-Earth; And, when he revealed himself to be fully evil, he was renamed Morgoth. The Balrogs, like Sauron, were Maiar corrupted by Melkor. Their associated Vala is not known. Melian served both Vana and Estë. Their chiefs are Eönwë, banner-bearer and herald of Manwë, and Ilmarë, the handmaid of Varda. Each of the Maiar was associated with one or more particular Vala. For example, Ossë and Uinen, as spirits of the sea, belonged to Ulmo, while Curumo, who came to be known in Middle-earth as Saruman, belonged to Aulë the Smith. Others included Sauron (originally also of Aulë's people), Aiwendil, who was known in Middle-Earth as Radagast the Brown and belonged to Yavanna, and Olórin, known as Gandalf, who belonged to Manwë and Varda. Alatar and Pallando, known as the Blue Wizards, travelled to the east, and never returned to the west. Their fate is unknown.BalrogVGandalfMW.jpg
Angels At War
Gandalf fights the Balrog

Brief Synopsis

In The Hobbit, Bilbo and Thorin 's company travel to the Lonely Mountain to regain the treasure Smaug had stolen. Set into the side of the mountain was a secret door, five feet high and wide enough for three to walk abreast. Gandalf had managed to obtain the door's key, which would only open it when the setting sun and the last moon of autumn were in the sky together. By a fortunate coincidence, this happened just as Bilbo and the Dwarves arrived.

Glamdring

Glamdring is a sword in forged for the Elf Turgon in the First Age. For several thousand years it went missing, until Gandalf (and company) found it (along with Sting and Orcrist) in the trolls' cave in The Hobbit and claimed it for himself. He continued to use Glamdring through the events of The Lord of the Rings. Though not in the current films — they all glow when orcs are near.

Glamdring is translated as Foe-hammer, and the goblins in The Hobbit call it "Beater." Glamdring, along with Orcrist, its mate, are described in The Hobbit as having "...beautiful scabbards and jeweled hilts" while in Unfinished Tales one of the footnotes to the story "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin" mentions that the sword of Turgon was "...white and gold...in a ruel-bone (ivory) sheath,..." While Glamdring is not mentioned by name, it is reasonable to assume that the same sword is described. Glamdring was most likely taken to the Undying Lands by Gandalf at the end of the Third Age.

Glamdring is inscribed with runes in the Elven language. Gandalf could not read the runes, but Elrond could, suggesting they were enscribed not in normal Cirth but in some special mode which Gandalf did not know. Alternatively, they were not enscribed in normal Sindarin, but in the northern dialect of Dorthonion and Hithlum, which differed from the Sindarin which survived into the Third Age. Elrond as a survivor from the First Age would have been able to read the inscription in either case, whereas it is likely that Gandalf, who had lived in Aman until the middle Third Age, was unaquainted with it. Like all High-Elven swords, Glamdring is supposed to glow blue when orcs are near, like Frodo's sword Sting and Thorin Oakenshield's sword Orcrist, which were also made in Gondolin.LOTRTTTmovie.jpg
The Two Towers' Wizards:
Gandalf and Saruman

Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings

In The Lord of the Rings, he urges Bilbo to give his magic ring to Frodo, whom he motivates to take the ring and destroy it in Mount Doom. Gandalf is initially unable to accompany Frodo and his servant Sam, but rejoins them in Rivendell as the second half of The Fellowship of the Ring begins. Taking leadership of the fellowship (nine good people "set against the Nine Riders"), he and Aragorn lead the hobbits and their companions on an unsuccessful effort to cross Mount Caradhras in winter. Then they take the "dark and secret way" through the mines of Moria which leads to Gandalf's apparent demise. Gandalf reappears as if born anew in the Ents' forest, when he encounters the Three Walkers (Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas) who were tracking Merry and Pippin.

Gandalf initially appears as an old man with a gray beard, a gray cloak and a large gray hat. Although some of the Wise know his true nature, others mistake him for a simple conjurer. After fighting the Balrog in the Mines of Moria, he reappears as a more imposing figure clad all in white. The change of color is significant, for he has come to replace the corrupted Saruman as the chief of the Wizards. In a sense he has become Saruman, or rather what Saruman should have been.

Círdan the Shipwright seemed to have foreseen this, for he entrusted to Gandalf rather than Saruman the care of Narya, the ring of Fire, one of the Three Rings of the Elves.

Other names:

  • Olórin, his name in Valinor and in very ancient times. It is Quenya, and means "dreamer" or "of dreams", from the root olor-.
  • Mithrandir, his Sindarin name, used in Gondor, and meaning Grey Pilgrim.
  • Gandalf the Grey
  • Gandalf the White
  • The White Rider
  • Stormcrow
  • Incánus (in the south)
  • Tharkûn (to the Dwarves)

Effect of the Rings of Power upon Their Bearers

Sauron tailored his gifts to entrap in clever ways. The Rings effect each race in odd ways working on desires or fears of each race. The nine rings of Men twist the fear of death and doom the kings of men into immortal Ringwraiths minus their individual free will. The seven rings of Dwarves increase their gold-lust and seal their doom. They diminish in isolation. The three rings of the Elves most likely would have attacked them via their world weariness weakness; However, those three rings remained untouched by Sauron. And kept their wearers invisible to Sauron. The one ring makes one power hungry.

In Norse mythology, Gandalf is a dwarvish name referenced in the "Catalogue of Dwarves " section of the poem Voluspa contained within the Elder Edda. The name means "cane-elf ".

Images not from the film are from the below:

!! Greg and Tim are swell people -- the following two books are highly recommended !! * ISBN 0823051056 Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, the Tolkien Years; Author: Gregory Hildebrandt Jr.; Watson-Guptill Pubns; (September 2002) * ISBN 1569066833 The Tolkien Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt 2004 Calendar; Author: Greg Hildebrandt, Tim Hildebrandt. Ronnie Sellers Productions; Pub. Date: July, 2003 * ISBN 0762413832 The Brothers Hildebrand's Lord of the Rings: A Pocket Companion Author: Brian Simmons; Publisher: Running Press; Miniature edition (September 2002)