Why, in fact, among all of Tolkien's descriptions of nature, are there almost no descriptions of animals? How come Bilbo doesn't have a dog that goes on walks with him, and why aren't there any cats in the Prancing Pony Inn even though it would make sense? While some readers may skip over Tolkien's descriptions of nature (at worst) or make fun of them (at best), the lecture will offer ways to use them to better understand the story, encouraging the attentive reader to engage in a more sophisticated reading.
