The Hobbit, Or There And Back Again
The Hobbit, Or There And Back Again
The Hobbit
or
There and Back Again
By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Part 1
The Hobbit takes place in Middle-Earth. It starts in Bilbo Baggin's Hole in The Hill in the Shire in Hobbiton. Most of the book takes place on the trail from Hobbiton to the Wilderland. This journey is taken during the Third Age of Middle-Earth. Tolkien recounts the journey of Bilbo Baggins and thirteen dwarfs on a quest to reconquer the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the Dragon. Tolkien leads the gang of dwarves, and Bilbo, through perilous mountains, danger-filled forrests, raging rivers, and against all types of adversaries before even entering Smaug's dominion. But, as we read, this adventure brings out in Bilbo Bagins, a Tookish side of him, that he himself never anticipated.
Though there are many characters of great importance in The Hobbit, the four most important characters are Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Grey, Thorin Oakenshield, and Smaug the Dragon. The main character of the story is Bilbo Baggins. For some reason, Gandalf chooses Bilbo to be the fourteenth member of the journey to Lonely Mountain. Early on in the story, Bilbo finds a magic ring that can turn him invisible. This helps Bilbo become braver. It is his bravery and fearlessness that grows in him from having the ring which gives Bilbo the resolution to rescue the dwarves many times. Bilbo is deeply changed by his journey, but when he returns home, he is quite ready to live a simple life again. Gandalf The Grey is a wizard. He is a mysterious figure and the mentor of the whole group, thought through a good part of the end of the journey, leaves to go handle another problem, leaving the band to fend for themselves. Even though Gandalf is powerful wizard, he is not invincible, and his powers can only help the group so much. Thorin is the leader of the dwarves. He is the one who really wants to go re-conquer the Lonely Mountain because he is the heir to the title 'King under the Mountain'. Although the dwarves look to him for command, he really doesn't do too much leading. It is really Bilbo and Gandalf that lead the group. Thorin shows himself to be nothing but stubborn and hardheaded. He refuses to make a treaty with the men and elves, he threatens Bilbo, and causes war because of...