Comparing The Hobbit And The Lord Of The Rings: Focusing

As I read through Homer’s The Odyssey, and J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit, I immediately noticed several similarities between the two. Of course not only were their things that they both shared in common, but also things that set them apart from each other. I mean what kind of authors would they be if they wrote the same exact story. I hope that by reading this essay you gain a better understanding of both books as well as what they have in common and what is different between them. By the end you should be able to identify the similarities and differences between both of their journeys as well as between most of the characters in this book.

In the novel, The Hobbit, the author J.R.R. Tolkien, suggests when an individual pushes themselves to explore risk-taking, they take the opportunity to grow within themselves, and test the extent of their newfound values, which result in the character fostering a stronger sense of self-identity.

Throughout the story line of The Hobbit, Tolkien links his fantasy world of middle earth with the reader's world. He uses his imagination to draw his reader into middle earth and allows them to glimpse his view of the evil that he witnessed living and serving in the time of WWI. Tolkien does this to show that not all technological advancements are for the common good.

Going forward, in this essay, topics such as heroism and transformity will be strongly analyzed through quotes directly from the book The Hobbit and opinions formed while reading. Through the book The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien is able to show how a hero isn’t always the typical buff and boots with a cape on his back kind of person. Tolkien shows the reader that a hero is made by the struggles he conquers and isn’t just a perfect character thrown into the beginning of the story.

Do you ever wonder what kind of person you are? Are you adventurous, perseptive, athletic? Have these traits ever affected your decision making? Because in “The Hobbit” By J.R.R. Tolkien, The protagonist Bilbo Baggins feels conflicted whether he should act like his more daring ancestors, the Tooks by embarking on a perilous journey to retake a kingdom. Or to be like his more respectable ancestors, the Bagginses and stay in the comfort of his warm home. As you can see, the traits he has acquired from his forebears are altering the way he sees the situation. Much like Bilbo, I believe that we all have similar sides to our personalities, whether the conflict is to be brave or timid, or smart rather than foolishly. And it is up to us to correctly

Looking. Searching. Seeking. There is just nothing like it for getting to conclusions. Finding. “There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after” (Tolkien). Certainly, when E.M Forster wrote A Passage to India or J.R.R Tolkien wrote The Hobbit or Kurt Vonnegut wrote Slaughterhouse -Five they were not looking for anything. However, they ended up finding a crucial link in their books–links to society at the time their books were published. 1924, 1937, 1969 or is it 1890, 2157 (Shire reckoning), 1945-It is not possible to be entirely sure. And it is this ambiguity that reveals a major aspect of literature. Literature has a tendency to represent the prevailing collective outlook. Forster highlights the growing discontent, of both Indians and the British, with the way the sub-continent is handled. Tolkien represents, very allegorically, the hardy nature of the people surviving the great depression, naming them hobbits. Vonnegut expresses the general disillusionment of the post-war years and Billy Pilgrim’s fatalist nature provides a grim undercurrent to the cheery “good war” (Jarvis 62). Thus, as seen through Forster, Tolkien, and Vonnegut’s books A Passage to India, The Hobbit, and Slaughterhouse -Five (respectively) authors tend to mimic

To me, both Tolkien and movie producers in Hollywood captured many of the different aspects and angles of the timeless classic The Hobbit. Although I pictured some scenes and characters different in my mind, both the movie and the book outdid themselves with lovely yet gruesomely fascinating detail. I myself am not sure if I favor the movie or the book better. Each did a great job of benefiting details to the story by either giving great descriptions of high quality imagery. Both the movie and the book both portrayed the story perfectly in their own ways.

How can an author write a story which appeals to a present day audience? Richard H. Tyre published an article in 1978 that gives an answer to this very question. Tyre explains how most kids today choose to read books like the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings series, and even The Wizard of Oz. An existing theory that Tyre came up with explains that each of these books, along with many others, have one thing in common: 6 plot elements. Not only do these stories contain the same 6 elements but those elements are in the same order! Tyre states that “(1) those who hunt for treasure, (2) must go alone, (3) at night, (4) and when they find it, (5) they must leave some of their blood behind, (6) and the treasure is never what they expected.” (Tyre 2). J.R.R. Tolkien is the author of The Hobbit. The Hobbit revolves around one hobbit in particular named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo embarks on a journey with 14 others to recover a treasure that is guarded by a dragon. Along the way Bilbo faces many challenges that range from running into huge trolls, to taking part in fierce battles. Due to it’s main character hunting for treasure, facing most of the dangers alone, battling during the wee hours of the night, eventually finding the treasure, after sweating/crying/and enduring injuries, just to have the treasure revealed to him as not what he expected, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is undoubtedly a perfect example of Tyre’s 6 plot elements.

In many stories, there is a hero ‒ a character who rescues, saves, survives, and sacrifices in order to help the greater good. He usually is of mysterious origin and often starts off seeming ordinary and insignificant. However, as the hero eventually grows and develops, he follows the hero’s journey, or the general structure of a hero’s adventures. Such is the case in J.R.R. Tolkien’s renowned The Hobbit, a high fantasy novel detailing the adventures of Mr. Bilbo Baggins, a small furry creature known as a hobbit. Bilbo lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until he is compelled to join a dangerous quest with Gandalf the wizard and thirteen dwarves. As Bilbo Baggins progresses along his hero’s journey, he transforms, develops, and changes into an extraordinary hero.

Literary consonance is a literary device where the same consonants are repeated numerous times in short succession. Sibilance is a form of literary consonance made by the flow of air through the sharp edges of the teeth. Phonetic Alphabet symbols representing sibilants are [s], [z], [ʃ], [tʃ], [dʒ] and [ʒ], which all create hissing noises when spoken. Tolkien effectively provides a thorough demonstration on how an author can play with consonance. He adds depth to Gollum’s character by emphasising his hissing noises with the assistance of this poetic device. His sibilance is designed to portray him as sinister, cold and distant from the normal Hobbits to the reader. It

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have been beloved works among many generations of readers since they were first published. The author of these two books, J.R.R. Tolkien is just as interesting a man as many of the characters he created in the world of Middle-Earth. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Africa to a banker manager and his wife in 1892 and had only one sibling, Hilary, who was less than two years younger (Wikipedia). When he was young both of his parents died (one from rheumatic fever, the other from diabetes) and he and his brother were raised by a Catholic priest in Birmingham (Wikipedia). Tolkien was involved in World War One and Two, first as a serviceman, then as a cryptographer (Wikipedia). Indeed he was very

As the English poet Robert Graves said “One gets to the heart of the matter by a series of experiences in the same pattern, but in different colors. This quote is exemplified in the stories of The Hobbit and “The Story of Sigurd” when they have action and use the same hero’s journey pattern to create a great story. Both authors of the stories use strong and resilient characters in their stories to take down the monsters. In this case, there are two heroes taking down a greedy dragon. Based on the stories and characters, authors are also able to show their own opinions in the stories. Concluding that, both the scene with Smaug and Fafnir have similarities in characteristics and outcomes in the story, showing that authors follow the same

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit living in the Shire having a peaceful quiet life in his hobbit hole. One day after living a life of leisure and pleasure he is awakened by a rude knock on his door. In a matter of a few hours he will meet the people that changed his life for good. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is a story about a hobbit and his adventure. His adventure starts with a knock on his door by his old Friend Gandalf. Gandalf then promptly asks Bilbo”I am looking for someone to share in an adventure”(tolkien). Bilbo then denies Gandalf and continuous with his usual day until that night. When Bilbo is about to eat his dinner he gets a knock. He opens it to find two dwarves Dwalin and Balin. Bilbo 's shocked but invites them in. Bilbo does this eval times until he 's left with thirteen dwarves Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Ori, Nori, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin Oakenshield. They then invite him on a quest that would change his life. During his quest he faces many evils and overcomes them all to become a hero.

The protagonist of the book is Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo the main character in the book, is a hobbit. He was scared to leave his home town of Bagan. Bilbo was invited by dwarves to go on an adventure to find treasure that belonged to the them. Little was known about what could happen on this trip, but still Bilbo was drawn to this adventure with much excitement. It was when he did not have food to eat that he would question why he left his hobbit hole.

In “The Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy there are two characters of similarity that play a key role in both narratives. Thorin II Oakinshield and Aragorn II Elessar are two would be kings who come into their crowns in time for their own respective books or series to end. Both dwarf and man have a journey to their individual thrones and in particular the genesis, the journey and the end of their adventures share a great deal of commonality and precarious differences, variables that with or without their crowns says and awful lot about them.