Megan Madrigrano
Mr. Weber
British Literature
13th August, 2015
Reader Response: The Hobbit
Settings:
Generally, The Hobbit takes place in many different places as listed and described below but the time period is considered to be set in the years of 2941 and 2942 of the Third Age (before the Lord of the Rings)
The Hill: More commonly referred to as “Bag End”, The Hill was a smial where the Baggins family and later the Gardner family resided. A smial is described as the Hobbit’s style of dwelling, holes in the hillside, during the late Third Age while most other Hobbit-holes had been replaced by buildings made of wood or brick. In the beginning of the novel, the reader is entered into Bag End with descriptions surrounding them such as “a perfectly round door like a porthole...with a shiny yellow brass knob” (Tolkien, 3) and “panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted” (Tolkien, 3).
Lone-Lands: The Lone-Lands was a name used by the Hobbits to describe an area of wilderness east of the land of Bree. The Lands held the Weather Hills and Weathertop, once seen as a vision of vigilance and now seen as a realm of desolation and defeat. By the end the of Third Age, the Lands were bare of all inhabitants.
Rivendell: Rivendell holds the “Last Homely House” protected by the great lord Elrond. Rivendell is a secluded valley heavily occupied with elves filled with song and laughter. Though, Rivendell is good-natured, it is still obscured by the Misty Mountains.
Misty Mountains:
Generally, The Hobbit takes place in many different places as listed and described below but the time period is considered to be set in the years of 2941 and 2942 of the Third Age (before the Lord of the Rings)
young boy in a seemingly utopian society and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, a fantasy novel about a
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
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.
Memorable, isn't it, the hobbit hole. Throughout the adventure, Bilbo had wished countless times that he could be back in his calm, little hobbit hole, especially when he was in a life or death situation. Anyone would have wished for their comforting home back, but Bilbo was someone who not only liked comfort, but he loved comfort. The author made the readers associate the hobbit hole to comfort, but it isn’t just a comfortable place, it reflects Bilbo’s personality where comfort is something important. The green door with the golden yellow doorknob represent the welcoming, company-appreciating personality that Bilbo has. The polished chairs represent his polished manner. All of this is great but there is one thing that deceives you a little bit - his hobbit utopia. At the beginning of the book, Bilbo has a no adventure policy, and when Gandalf comes to him saying that he has been invited to take part in an adventure, he looks very out of place with his glowing, magical smoke rings. Bilbo doesn't want an adventure. Bilbo doesn't want the glory. Bilbo doesn't want the feeling of energy that adventures bring. All he wants is a comfortable, respected life. Respected by other Hobbits that is. The Took family is less respected in the Hobbit community because their goal is to live simply without any unexpected or surprising events, if they can avoid them. This hobbit hole, Bilbo's home, goes deeper and deeper into the side of the hill. It's like this hill is his comfort zone, or his little utopian dream of having an extremely and ridiculously normal life.
117). The last building is Beorn's house, which is mainly one wide hall with a veranda on itssouthern side. Then the setting changes coarse once again and heads toward Mirkwood. Notmany people know of Mirkwood, but those who do know that, " . . . Mirkwood is dark,dangerous, and difficult." (Tolkien 131). The only way to ensure survival through the forest is to
basement, somewhere north of the furnace and east of the root-cellar, where Clayt and Ella’s
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.
Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves and Orcs: A Look at the Life and Works of J.R.R. Tolkien
“As Frodo sets off from the Shire with Sam, Merry, and Pippin, they reach the forested area of woody end. There, they get their
The definition of a hero is an individual, man or woman, in which he or she exhibits immense courage, fortitude, and being humble. In today 's culture, one might think of Batman or Wolverine as heroes, however, in J.R.R Tolkien 's The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins redefines the entirety of the definition of a hero and deemed like no other. Throughout his adventure across middle-earth with the dwarves, Bilbo exemplifies several of these qualities. In contrast to both Norse and Anglo conceptions of heroism, Bilbo Baggins redefines the conception and definition of hero.
lush, green Shire. Our first view of Frodo in the film is when he is
The book I am reporting on is The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. The setting of the story begins in a place called Middle Earth. The story begins in Began where Mr. Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit lives. Bilbo, thirteen dwarves and a wizard travel to Rivendell, Misty Mountains and finally Mirkwood. The book was set before the Lord of the Rings but it is unclear exactly when. The story is a fantasy so time is not important.
Thorin II Oakinshield is the heir to the dwarven throne in the east, under the Lonely Mountain near the ruins of Dale. His family and people are driven out by a great and terrible dragon named Smaug. After this catastrophe he and the remainder of his people wander middle earth looking for work and settling where they can. Thorin leads them for some time before meeting with a Wizard by the name of Gandalf, who convinces Thorin and his company of dwarves that they should invest in a burglar and go retake their homes. Thorin and Company meet Gandalf at the home of a hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins and recruit him for their escapade thus beginning the quest.
The characters in the story The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien have been to different locations where it has had an effect on them. Specific characters have changed in some of the places that they went to. Some of the places are Rivendell, Troll’ cave, and the fire with the trolls. These places from the first chapter all the way to the last chapter have had an effect on at least one of the characters.