J. R. R. Tolkien - THE HOBBIT

J. R. R. Tolkien - THE HOBBIT
Biography, Theme Analysis, Metaphor Analysis, Character Profiles, Summary &Analysis
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973) gained a reputation during the 1960s and 1970s as a cult figure among youths disillusioned with war and the technological age; his continuing popularity evidences his ability to evoke the oppressive realities of modern life while drawing audiences into a fantasy world.
Tolkien was born on Jan. 3, 1892, the son of English-born parents in Bloemfontein, in the Orange Free State of South Africa, where his father worked as a bank manager. To escape the heat and dust of southern Africa and to better guard the delicate health of Ronald (as he was called), Tolkien's mother moved back to England with him and his younger brother when they were very young boys. Within a year of this move their father, Arthur Tolkien, died in Bloemfontein, and a few years later the boys' mother died as well. The boys lodged at several homes from 1905 until 1911, when Ronald entered Exeter College, Oxford. Tolkien received his B.A. from Oxford in 1915 and an M.A. in 1919. During the interim he married his longtime sweetheart, Edith Bratt, and served for a short time on the Western Front with the Lancashire Fusiliers. While in England recovering from "trench fever" in 1917, Tolkien began writing "The Book of Lost Tales, " which eventually became The Silmarillion (1977) and laid the groundwork for his stories about Middle-earth. After the Armistice he returned to Oxford, where he joined the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary and began work as a free-lance tutor. In 1920 he was appointed Reader in English Language at Leeds University, where he collaborated with E. V. Gordon on an acclaimed translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which was completed and published in 1925. (Some years later, Tolkien completed a second translation of this poem, which was published posthumously.) The following year, having returned to Oxford as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, Tolkien became friends with a fellow of Magdalen College, C. S. Lewis. They shared an intense enthusiasm for the myths, sagas, and languages of northern Europe; and to better enhance those interests, both attended meetings of "The Coalbiters, " an Oxford club, founded by Tolkien, at which Icelandic sagas were read aloud.
During the rest of his years at Oxford—twenty as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, fourteen as Merton Professor of English Language and Literature—Tolkien published several esteemed short studies and translations. Notable among these are his essays "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" (1936), " Chaucer as a Philologist: The Reeve's Tale" (1934), and "On Fairy-Stories" (1947); his scholarly edition of Ancrene Wisse (1962); and his translations of three medieval poems: "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, " "Pearl, " and "Sir Orfeo" (1975). As a writer of imaginative literature, though, Tolkien is best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, tales which were formed during his years attending meetings of "The Inklings, " an informal gathering of like-minded friends and fellow dons, initiated after the demise of The Coalbiters. The Inklings, which was formed during the late 1930s and lasted until the late 1940s, was a weekly meeting held in Lewis's sitting-room at Magdalen, at which works-in-progress were read aloud and discussed and critiqued by the attendees, all interspersed with free-flowing conversation about literature and other topics. The nucleus of the group was Tolkien, Lewis, and Lewis's friend, novelist Charles Williams; other participants, who attended irregularly, included Lewis's brother Warren, Nevill Coghill, H. V. D. Dyson, Owen Barfield, and others. The common thread which bound them was that they were all adherents of Christianity and all had a love of story. Having heard Tolkien's first hobbit story read aloud at a meeting of the Inklings, Lewis urged Tolkien to publish The Hobbit, which appeared in 1937. A major portion of The Fellowship of the Ring was also read to The Inklings before the group disbanded in the late 1940's.
Tolkien retired from his professorship in 1959. While the unauthorized publication of an American edition of The Lord of the Rings in 1965 angered him, it also made him a widely admired cult figure in the United States, especially among high school and college students. Uncomfortable with this status, he and his wife lived quietly in Bournemouth for several years, until Edith's death in 1971. In the remaining two years of his life, Tolkien returned to Oxford, where he was made an honorary fellow of Merton College and awarded a doctorate of letters. He was at the height of his fame as a scholarly and imaginative writer when he died in 1973, though critical study of his fiction continues and has increased in the years since.
A devout Roman Catholic throughout his life, Tolkien began creating his own languages and mythologies at an early age and later wrote Christian-inspired stories and poems to provide them with a narrative framework. Based on bedtime stories Tolkien had created for his children, The Hobbit concerns the reluctant efforts of a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, to recover a treasure stolen by a dragon. During the course of his mission, the hobbit discovers a magical ring which, among other powers, can render its bearer invisible. The ability to disappear helps Bilbo fulfill his quest; however, the ring's less obvious faculties prompt the malevolent Sauron, Dark Lord of Mordor, to seek it. The hobbits' attempt to destroy the ring, thereby denying Sauron unlimited power, is the focal point of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which consists of the novels The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), The Two Towers (1954), and The Return of the King (1955). In these books Tolkien rejects such traditional heroic attributes as strength and size, stressing instead the capacity of even the humblest creatures to prevail against evil.
The initial critical reception to The Lord of the Rings varied. While some reviewers expressed dissatisfaction with the story's great length and one-dimensional characters, the majority enjoyed Tolkien's enchanting descriptions and lively sense of adventure. Religious, Freudian, allegorical, and political interpretations of the trilogy soon appeared, but Tolkien generally rejected such explications. He maintained that The Lord of the Rings was conceived with "no allegorical intentions …, moral, religious, or political, " but he also denied that the trilogy is a work of escapism: "Middle-earth is not an imaginary world…. The theatre of my tale is this earth, the one in which we now live." Tolkien contended that his story was "fundamentally linguistic in inspiration," a "religious and Catholic work" whose spiritual aspects were "absorbed into the story and symbolism." Tolkien concluded, "The stories were made … to provide a world for the languages rather than the reverse."
Throughout his career Tolkien composed histories, genealogies, maps, glossaries, poems, and songs to supplement his vision of Middle-earth. Among the many works published during his lifetime were a volume of poems, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book (1962), and a fantasy novel, Smith of Wootton Major (1967). Though many of his stories about Middle-earth remained incomplete at the time of Tolkien's death, his son, Christopher, rescued the manuscripts from his father's collections, edited them, and published them. One of these works, The Silmarillion, takes place before the time of The Hobbit and, in a heroic manner which recalls the Christian myths of Creation and the Fall, tells the tale of the first age of Holy Ones and their offspring. Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth (1980) is a similar collection of incomplete stories and fragments written during World War I. The Book of Lost Tales, Part I (1984) and The Book of Lost Tales, Part II (1984) deal respectively with the beginnings of Middle-earth and the point at which humans enter the saga. In addition to these posthumous works, Christopher Tolkien also collected his father's correspondence to friends, family, and colleagues in The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981).
It is as a writer of timeless fantasy that Tolkien is most highly regarded today. From 1914 until his death in 1973, he drew on his familiarity with Northern and other ancient literatures and his own invented languages to create not just his own story, but his own world: Middle-earth, complete with its own history, myths, legends, epics, and heroes. "His life's work, " Augustus M. Kolich has written, "… encompasses a reality that rivals Western man's own attempt at recording the composite, knowable history of his species. Not since Milton has any Englishman worked so successfully at creating a secondary world, derived from our own, yet complete in its own terms with encyclopedic mythology; an imagined world that includes a vast gallery of strange beings: hobbits, elves, dwarfs, orcs, and, finally, the men of Westernesse." His works—especially The Lord of the Rings—have pleased countless readers and fascinated critics who recognize their literary depth.

THE HOBBIT
Theme Analysis

"More Than Meets the Eye"
Tolkien never precisely invokes this old cliché, but it aptly summarizes his characters' experience of Bilbo Baggins, and Bilbo's experience of himself. Bilbo is an unlikely hero, but from the outset of the adventure Gandalf knows that the little hobbit has it within him to be more than even he imagines-and Gandalf says so on more than one occasion! The other characters' growing knowledge of Bilbo, and Bilbo's deepening awareness of himself, signals the theme of self-knowledge that forms the heart of any mythic quest tale.
Greed and Pride
As mentioned in the Analyses and the Metaphor Analysis, the theme of the dangers of too much pride and of greed runs throughout The Hobbit. Thorin, who ultimately loses his life because of stubborn commitment to ancestral pride and overmuch desire for his family treasure, serves as a cautionary tale. Furthermore, the broken relationships between men, elves, and dwarves at the end of the book warn readers today of how greed and pride can damage the social fabric.
Morality
Readers may wish to consider the question of "What is moral?" in the context of The Hobbit. After all, the hero of the story is a burglar who, at various points, conceals the truth from his friends, doesn't quite "play fair" in a riddle contest, and steals the one part of the treasure that Thorin most desires. Do ends always or even often justify the means? Is Bilbo consistently obeying a larger and greater good? How might the theme of morality interact with the theme of "More Than Meets the Eye," discussed above?
Engagement and Withdrawal
As the discussion of the Shire as a metaphor above indicates, The Hobbit concerns itself with questions of when and how to engage with the wider world. While "Bag End" is not bad-indeed, Tolkien presents Bilbo's home as quite a comfortable place (as in the novel's celebrated opening lines)-it is not the sum total of the "wide world" (to use Gandalf's phrase) either. Like Bilbo, we all must discover our place in the wide world, even if it end up being a "small" one (but, caveat lector: consider once more the theme of "More Than Meets the Eye"-what is "small," and who decides?).
History Haunts Us
Tolkien draws on the vast, personal mythology which he had been creating for years in The Hobbit-to a lesser degree than he does in The Lord of the Rings, to be sure, but the past is still very much present: for Thorin, for the Wood-elves, for the Master and the people of Esgaroth, for Bard, and even for Bilbo, who must reconcile the "Baggins" and "Took" sides of his personality. Readers should ponder the questions: How aware am I of my personal and social history? Does that history affect me largely for good or for ill?-for it is, of course, possible that it may do both. To what extent should we respect and learn from the past, and to what extent should we let it be past?
Scapegoating
As mentioned in the Analysis for Chapter 14, the Master "scapegoats," or unfairly shifts blame to, the dwarves for Esgaroth's troubles after the final attack of Smaug. Readers will wish to be aware of the tendency toward scapegoating not only in society at large but also in their own experience. Perhaps they have committed scapegoating; perhaps they have been the victims of it; perhaps some combination of both. How can we, as individuals and as a society, prevent scapegoating? How might the theme of history haunting us be brought to bear on this issue?
Metaphor Analysis
The Shire
The Shire, the pastoral and idyllic homeland of the hobbits, is on one level simply Tolkien's idealized portrait of rustic, rural England. On a deeper level, however, it symbolizes the withdrawn life, the insulated life, the too-self-directed life. Bilbo must leave the Shire, not really to go questing after dragon's gold, but in order to grow up-in order to engage the world and to find his place in it. As Gandalf tells him near the novel's end, Bilbo is "only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all"-but that "only" still leaves quite a large role for Bilbo to play, and he must discover that role in the wide world for himself. The Shire represents comfort and tranquility, and while these experiences are not bad in and of themselves, they are also not all that constitutes life. When Bilbo returns to the Shire, he is a more experienced and more knowledgeable person, especially of himself, than he could have been had he stayed in the Shire forever. He has learned to value the world outside; as his own song puts it, "The road goes ever on." There are always more journeys-outer as well as inner-to be taken, even at one's home.
The Dragon
As mentioned earlier, dragons are, in fantasy literature, often metaphors for greed. Readers of The Hobbit may profitably ask, however, who is the real dragon: Smaug, or Thorin, or any of the elves and men who lust after the treasure hoarded beneath the Lonely Mountain? Once Smaug has been killed, the greed over the wealth he leaves behind turns what should be "the happy ending" of this fairy tale into an occasion for war and violence and even betrayal (as Bilbo steals the Arkenstone, even to bring about a good goal). As happens in many stories, a dragon is slain, only to reveal that the slayer himself is a dragon as well. Even Bard desires the treasure, but he manages to overcome that desire, whereas Thorin's desire ultimately leads to his death-just as Smaug died before him.
Mirkwood Forest
On the literal level, of course, the forest is the forest. Metaphorically, however, Mirkwood represents the mythic "descent into darkness," through which the hero faces a crisis, or turning point, and achieves greater self-knowledge. It is in Mirkwood that Bilbo kills spiders and begins to feel braver than he did when entering the forest (at which point, significantly, Gandalf his mentor figure departed); it is just after Mirkwood, in the dungeons of the Wood-elf King, that Bilbo, by himself, concocts a plan to rescue the imprisoned dwarves. He has "journeyed to the underworld," as it were, and has, like countless mythic heroes before him, emerged as a new person.
Character Profiles
Bilbo Baggins: The protagonist, a small, furry-footed member from a respectable family of hobbits who, despite his best intentions of leading a quiet and peaceful life, gets swept up into an adventure. Thanks to another branch of his family heritage, however, as well as some luck (or is it providence?), quick thinking, and innate bravery, Bilbo rises to the occasion and returns from his quest quite a different hobbit than he was before: he has become a hero (albeit losing the respect of his neighbors!).
Thorin Oakenshield: A proud-in fact, too proud for his own good-dwarf, fond of long-winded speeches, descended from the ancient King Under the Mountain, who has resolved to reclaim his line's lost treasure from the dragon Smaug. Thorin leads a company of twelve dwarves, and hires Bilbo-much to the hobbit's surprise-as both a burglar for the expedition and as "the lucky fourteenth" member of the expedition.
Gandalf: A wizard best known to hobbits for his fireworks displays, but who, as it turns out, is an important figure in the larger affairs of Middle-earth. Before leaving them to deal with the troubling matter of the Necromancer, Gandalf serves as guide and mentor to Bilbo and the dwarves.
Elrond Halfelven: The most important of the elves in Rivendell, the happy valley where evil and sorrow still do not threaten. Elrond is a wise figure, and his wisdom is best demonstrated when he deciphers the moon runes on Thorin's map, thus giving the questing dwarves a crucial clue for reclaiming their treasure.
Smaug: The terrible dragon who, long ago, invaded the land of Esgaroth and attacked the Lonely Mountain and its surrounding region; so devastating was Smaug's fury the region is now known as the "Desolation of Smaug." Smaug, greedy as all dragons (and, it turns out, some dwarves and men) are, has taken the ancestral treasure of the dwarves for his own, and now lies atop a pile of stolen wealth, little suspecting that his one small weakness-a vulnerable spot in his scale- and jewel-encrusted underbelly-will be his undoing.
Beorn: The mysterious shapeshifter, who often appears as a large black bear, and who keeps to himself but also enables the armies of elves, men, and dwarves to defeat the goblins and wargs at the Battle of Five Armies. Beorn thus demonstrates a balance between engaging the world and withdrawing from it, a theme that surfaces throughout The Hobbit and a balance the knowledge of which forms part of the true object of Bilbo's inner quest.
Bard: The archer who fells Smaug. He is described as a "grim" man, but he also proves reasonable and wise, as evidenced by his many attempts to negotiate with Thorin. He is not possessed of infinite patience, however, as his ultimatum to the dwarves demonstrates.
The Master: The governor of the lake-town in Esgaroth, who is more concerned with maintaining his own hold on power than in actually serving his citizens.
Gollum: The decrepit and lonely creature who once lived above ground but who now lives far beneath the Misty Mountains, with only "his precious"-a magic ring-to keep him company. He is bitter from his long years of exile, and, as Bilbo very nearly discovers, is committed to his own survival, no matter what or who he must eat to live. As his riddling contest with Bilbo shows, Gollum is clever, but he can only now use his wits for self-preservation.
The Ring: An inanimate object, but a charater all the same, the Ring is Gollum's magic ring of power, which Bilbo finds-or does he steal it-or does the Ring find him? The Ring turns its wearer invisible. Readers will later learn, in The Lord of the Rings, that the Ring is in fact the One Ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in order to seize control of all Middle-earth. Even in The Hobbit, however, we see hints of its dark nature, and intimations of the fact that the Ring has a sinister will of its own.

Chapter 1
Summary
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit-one of a short, furry-footed, amiable race of people living in the pastoral land of The Shire, whose passions include tobacco, brightly-colored clothing, parties, and multiple meals a day-living a quiet and respectable life (although some questions linger about his ancestors from the Took family, who had a habit of disappearing on mysterious adventures). The wizard Gandalf interrupts Bilbo's tranquil routine one day, announcing that he is seeking someone to accompany him on adventure. As any self-respecting hobbit would, Bilbo declines. The next day, however, thirteen dwarves arrive at Bilbo's home; Gandalf soon follows, announcing that Bilbo has been selected as the burglar for an expedition the dwarves have planned. Thorin Oakenshield, the dwarves' leader, explains that he and his kin are headed east to the Lonely Mountain, to reclaim their ancestors' treasure from the dragon Smaug, who is hoarding it. Although Bilbo is quite sure he does not wish to be hired as a professional burglar, something within the Took side of his ancestry is stirred as the dwarves sing of their intriguing quest to a far-off land. Gandalf, however, seems to settle the matter: "If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself."
Analysis
Tolkien skillfully introduces readers to his story's fantastic setting by presenting them with a protagonist who, except in superficial ways, largely resembles a real person. (That setting, incidentally, was not, at the tale's origin, necessarily Middle-earth. Brian Stableford calls The Hobbit a "fine, robustly plotted adventure story, richly detailed by virtue of the fact that Tolkien already knew very much more about the Secondary World setting ('Middle-earth') than he was yet ready to publish" [Fantasy and Horror 5-288]. His statement is true, but may obscure the fact that only over the course of the novel's development did Tolkien conclude that hobbits and The Shire were part of his long-cherished "subcreation." The references in this chapter to Moria and "the Necromancer," for example, serve to tie what originally began as an unrelated children's tale into the private mythology Tolkien had been constructing-or, as he would have put it, "discovering"-since at least World War I.) Yes, Bilbo is short and shoeless, but in most respects he represents an idealized English country existence. Further, like many modern people, Bilbo harbors a desire for adventure and excitement-a desire often at odds with the demands and expectations of conventional society. "What the neighbors will think" is no less a concern for Bilbo than it is for many people today.
Chapter 1 also introduces the intertwined themes of greed and pride. Dragons, of course, often serve as symbols of greed in fantastic literature. Roz Kaveny writes, "Though dragons like Tolkien's Smaug are typologically related to the Satanic dragon of Christianity, their endless pursuit of anyone who has stolen from their hoard derives from the Norse version of dragonishness" (The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, p. 295). Yet Smaug is not the only cipher of greed in The Hobbit. While Thorin claims that his motivation is to right the wrong done by Smaug to the dwarves of previous generations, his pride in those dwarves' past achievements cannot be neatly disentangled from his own thirst for riches, as events in later chapter will show (and note in this chapter the moment at which Thorin "stroke[s] the gold chain round his neck.") Judging from his manner of speaking, Thorin clearly considers himself a person of high importance; while he is, Gandalf's treatment of him also may indicate that the dwarf esteems himself overly much-in contrast to Bilbo, whom Gandalf says underestimates himself. Readers may consider when pride crosses the line between healthy and unhealthy, as well as the ways in which it can mask other motives.
Chapter 2
Summary
The morning after his unexpected party, Bilbo awakens to a house full of dishes that must be cleaned. As he chastises himself for even considering joining the dwarves on their quest, Gandalf arrives and directs his attention to a note under the clock on the mantle. The note contains Bilbo's "terms of employment" as the expedition's burglar, and instructs him to meet the dwarves at a nearby inn-in ten minutes. A flustered Bilbo runs to the inn just in time to embark on the journey with the dwarves. Gandalf soon joins them-but, as the rain-drenched party finds a stopping place for the day, they notice that the wizard is no longer present. They do, however, notice a flickering light in the darkness not far from where they are camping, and the dwarves send a reluctant Bilbo to investigate. He discovers that the light is a campfire, around which sit three large and ugly trolls, complaining that all they ever have to eat is mutton. One of the trolls spies Bilbo as the hobbit is attempting to pick the troll's pocket. Flummoxed, Bilbo reveals that he is not alone-and, in an instance of terrible timing, Balin soon arrives. The dwarves had grown impatient waiting for Bilbo's report, and their impatience costs them: in very little time, all of them have been captured and placed in sacks. Bilbo has escaped into a tree. Fortunately for the company, Gandalf returns and, through ventriloquism, starts an argument among the three trolls. They bicker with each other until the sun rises, turning them all to stone. Gandalf and Bilbo free the dwarves, and the whole group explores the troll's cave, where the creatures have been hoarding treasure. Bilbo takes a short knife for himself; given his size, it will serve him as a sword.
Analysis
The encounter with the trolls presents Bilbo with his first "test"-a "test" he fails miserably. He cannot sound the signal (the hoot of an owl) that the dwarves ask him to sound; he inadvertently reveals information to the trolls; and he is passive throughout the episode, hiding in a thorn-bush. Tolkien is establishing Bilbo as an unlikely adventurer (which, of course, Bilbo already believes himself to be). By bearing this chapter in mind, readers will be able to trace Bilbo's character development throughout the rest of the novel. David Langford notes that Bilbo-along with Frodo and Sam in Tolkien's related masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings-is an exemplar of what author Robert A. Heinlein dubbed the "brave little tailor" motif: "the unheroic hero (or seeming anti-hero) who adopts or is thrust into a role initially far too large for him, and successfully grows to be worthy of it" (The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, p. 136).
On a deeper level, however, Bilbo's ineffectiveness in Chapter 2 highlights the archetypal pattern of the hero's quest that serves as The Hobbit's narrative backbone. As set forth by world mythology scholar Joseph Campbell-especially in his classic work, The Hero With a Thousand Faces (first published 1949)-the hero's quest begins when someone (often, as is Bilbo, an "unlikely" someone) receives a "summons to adventure" (in Bilbo's case, Gandalf's arrival in Chapter 1). Responding to the summons (sometimes even unwillingly, as Bilbo does), the hero meets a guide or mentor figure (in Bilbo's adventure, the mentor himself delivers the summons). The quest is underway when the hero separates him- or herself from the world he or she has previously known (a separation of which Bilbo is painfully aware, as his soon-to-become frequent wishes for tea in the comfort of his own home demonstrate). This separation, however, must occur in order for a transformation and a renewal or rebirth to take place. The heroic quest need not take the form of a sprawling, epic, "sword-and-sorcerery" narrative. It certainly does not appear in that form in The Hobbit, even though such elements and motifs do. Rather, Bilbo's heroic quest is an intensely internal journey; his external circumstances in the book serve to alert readers to his progress on that journey. Readers may wish to consider how the heroic quest pattern of separation, transformation, and rebirth can apply to their own experiences.
Chapter 3
Summary
Gandalf leads the company to a time of rest in the idyllic valley of Rivendell, where Elrond, an elf-lord, lives in the Last Homely House. Bilbo loves to hear the elves sing, for "Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars." The group spends two peaceful and refreshing weeks with Elrond (despite the fact that some elves tease the dwarves; the narrator notes in passing that the two peoples do not always get along well with each other). During the adventurers' stay, Elrond deciphers the runes on their swords from the trolls' larder and determines that the weapons are "very old swords of the High Elves of the West," forged for an ancient war against goblins. Elrond also reads the runes on Thorin's map of Esgaroth (the region over which the Lonely Mountain rises). Clearly visible runes give the dimensions of a door into the Mountain, but "moon-letters"-runes visible only by the same kind of moonlight under which they were penned-give instructions for finding the door's key-hole: "Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole." At last, with great reluctance, Gandalf, the dwarves, and Bilbo depart, headed toward the Misty Mountains.
Analysis
For Tolkien, elves were not the "elfs"-the "brownies and pixies"-of so many folktales and fairy stories. Rather, elves are "aristocratic and full of the wisdom of the ancient world. Tolkien's image of elves now dominates most genre fantasy" (The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, p. 316). As Tolkien's biographer Humphrey Carpenter notes, readers can sense-especially in The Lord of the Rings and its mythological "backstory," The Silmarillion-that Tolkien's elves "are to all intents and purposes men: or rather, they are Man before the Fall which deprived him of his powers of achievement" (J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, p. 100). Tolkien's fiction was shaped by his devout Roman Catholic faith, and so some understanding of Christian ideas about sin is necessary to appreciate the nature of elves in his work as a whole. In The Hobbit, however, the elves of Rivendell function chiefly to provide a glimpse of-using Tolkien's own words in his famous essay, "On Fairy-Stories" (1938; first published 1947)-"Faërie, the realm or state in which fairies have their being.[as well as] the air that blows in that country. Faërie itself may perhaps most nearly be translated by Magic-but it is magic of a peculiar mood and power, at the furthest pole from the vulgar devices of the laborious, scientific, magician" (The Tolkien Reader, pp. 38-9). Tolkien aims to create in this chapter such an experience of enchantment; in seeing Rivendell through Bilbo's eyes, we, like him, are moving into a larger world, separate from the one we have previously known. We are entering "the Perilous Realm itself" (The Tolkien Reader, p. 38).
Readers of Tolkien's other work will note the admittedly minor way in which the author here introduces the theme of discord between elves and dwarves, a theme present in the origin myths of The Silmarillion and fully developed in the relationship between Legolas and Gimli in The Lord of the Rings. Though to a lesser degree, The Hobbit will also ultimately address the necessity of cooperation and friendship between disparate peoples (see, e.g., Chapter 16).

Chapter 4
Summary
As the company winds its way through the narrow passes of the Misty Mountains, a storm breaks. The travelers take shelter in a cave. Unfortunately, the cave has not been thoroughly explored, and it becomes a trap: that night, terrible goblins enter through a crack in the wall and take the dwarves and Bilbo captive; Gandalf escapes in a tremendous flash of lightning that actually kills several goblins. After being forced to march far underground, the dwarves and hobbit face the Great Goblin, who demands to know the purpose of their journey. One of the goblins produces Thorin's sword, to his fellow goblins' dismay: "They knew the sword at once. It had killed hundreds of goblins in its time." Enraged, the Great Goblin orders that the company be imprisoned and executed. At just that moment, Gandalf returns and, powerfully wielding his own sword, enables the dwarves and hobbit to escape. He leads them to safety, lighting their way with his wand. Their goblin pursuers catch up to them, however, and Bilbo rolls off the back of the dwarf who is carrying him. He hits his head on the ground and loses consciousness.
Analysis
If elves represent for Tolkien all the potential virtue of humanity, then goblins-or, as the same race is called in The Lord of the Rings, orcs-represent all of humanity's potential vice. (In fact, The Silmarillion reveals that orcs are "fallen" or corrupted elves.) The goblins of The Hobbit are more than mere monsters. They are monsters who create only to destroy. They are industrious, but their industry is cruel and harsh. In a most revealing passage, the narrative voice-which is, of course, Tolkien's own-speculates that the goblins "invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world, especially the ingenious devices for killing large numbers of people at once." The dark, dangerous, deadly caverns of "Goblin-town" beneath the Mountains could not stand in starker contrast to the pastoral tranquility of The Shire or the idealized beauty of Rivendell. Tolkien loved nature. His keen knowledge of trees, flowers, and plants shows itself throughout his fiction. No wonder Tolkien viewed industrialization, mechanization, and other such social forces as opposed not only to nature but also to a truly human existence. Furthermore, these forces, for Tolkien, are inextricably linked to the massive folly of warfare-which readers should note Tolkien always views with sadness, no matter how justified and necessary warfare may sometimes be. The goblins of Middle-earth, then, are the embodiment of humanity's technological ambition gone terribly wrong. In a 1945 letter to his son Christopher, who was fighting in World War II, Tolkien comments: "The destruction of [Nazi] Germany, be it 100 times merited, is one of the most appalling world-catastrophes. Well the first War of the Machines seems to be drawing to its final inconclusive chapter-leaving, alas, everyone the poorer, many bereaved and millions dead, and only one thing triumphant: the Machines. As the servants of the Machines are becoming a privileged class, the Machines are going to be enormously more powerful" (Tolkien, Letters, p. 111).
Chapter 5
Summary
By a lake far beneath the Misty Mountains, a creature named Gollum spends a lonely existence in the darkness. He spots Bilbo, who is wandering lost, and intends to eat him. When Bilbo introduces himself and shows Gollum his sword, however, Gollum, stalling for time as he figures out whether the hobbit is safe to attack, challenges him to a contest of riddles: "If precious [Gollum's name for himself] asks, and it [meaning Bilbo] doesn't answer, we eats it, my preciousss. If it asks us, and we doesn't answer, then. [we] shows it the way out, yes!" Bilbo agrees. As the game progresses, Gollum seems to be on the verge of eating Bilbo, until the hobbit feels something in his pocket that he picked up earlier and asks himself aloud, "What have I got in my pocket?" Gollum mistakes Bilbo's wondering for a proper riddle and Bilbo, because he has no better strategy, sticks with the question. It so happens that Bilbo has in his pocket Gollum's prized possession: a ring that renders whomever wears it invisible. Frustrated by his inability to solve Bilbo's "riddle," and now very hungry indeed, Gollum returns to his rock in the middle of the lake to look for his ring. Its absence infuriates him; he realizes he must have lost it when hunting a goblin earlier. He returns to Bilbo, but Bilbo-who, hearing Gollum's ravings about his lost "precious," begins to wonder what he does have in his pocket after all-slips the ring on his finger. or, rather, as the narrator makes a point of saying, "it quietly slipped on to [Bilbo's] groping forefinger." At one point, Bilbo thinks to stab Gollum in order to escape but, at the last movement, pity for Gollum keeps him from doing so. Unseen, Bilbo eventually escapes from not only Gollum but also the goblins guarding an exit to the surface; the hobbits squeezes through a narrow crack and emerges at last into the light of day. Behind him, in the darkness, Gollum still cries: "Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it for ever!"
Analysis
The ring that comes into Bilbo's possession in this chapter is, of course, the One Ring at the center of The Lord of the Rings-the Ring of power that the Dark Lord Sauron secretly forged in order to dominate the world. Initially, however, Tolkien did not intend for Bilbo's ring to be anything more than it appears to be: an expedient plot device, yes, but also "a natural receptacle for magic," like so many other rings in fantastic literature (e.g., Wagner's Ring Cycle) (The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, p. 813). Only later, after The Hobbit's initial printing, did Tolkien decide (or, as he might have said, discover) that Bilbo's ring provided the means to link the hobbit's story to Tolkien's larger personal mythos of Middle-earth: "On 21 September 1947, while writing The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien sent [his publisher] Stanley Unwin a list of corrections to errors remaining in the 1946 fourth impression [i.e., printing] of The Hobbit, together with a 'specimen of re-writing', a new version of chapter 5 which brought the story better into accord with its sequel as it had developed." This "specimen" was inadvertently included in the next impression, however, before Tolkien had completely finished it. The author wrote to the publisher, "I did not mean the suggested revision to be printed off; but it seems to have come out pretty well in the wash." In fact, however, "additional small corrections had to be made later" (for all direct quotes and information pertaining to the printing history of Chapter 5, see Wayne G. Hammond, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography, New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Books, 1993, pp. 22-23).
In the chapter's final form, then, we see hints that the Ring has a malevolent will of its own, most notably in the language the narrator chooses to describe how it comes to be on Bilbo's finger (quoted above). Also note the debilitating effects the Ring has had on Gollum during his ownership of it.
Apart from Gollum's role in the larger story of Middle-earth, he and Bilbo may function as foils in The Hobbit. Note the general similarity, for instance, between the book's famous opening sentence ("In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit") and our introduction to Gollum ('Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature"). Both Gollum and Bilbo are small creatures who live in holes-indeed, as we learn in The Lord of the Rings, Gollum hails from a race of people related to hobbits-but where Bilbo has chosen (albeit reluctantly) to engage the larger world outside his hole, Gollum (also reluctantly) has disengaged from that world to retreat underground. Bilbo has been summoned to leave the safety of home; Gollum (for reasons not revealed until The Lord of the Rings) has been driven to seek safety away from his home. Furthermore, Gollum's initial reaction to Bilbo-"What iss he, my preciouss?"-mirrors the trolls' response to the hobbit, and it foreshadows Beorn's reaction to Bilbo in Chapter 7 ("And what's this little fellow?"). Tolkien may be suggesting that we must interact with others in our own larger contexts in order to determine our identity: by the story's end, Bilbo will know himself better, while Gollum will remain (at this point)-to him, and to Tolkien's readers-an enigma.
Finally, note the narrator's remark when Bilbo finds the Ring: "It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it." Readers will want to see in what sense this statement proves true. They may also wish to reflect upon turning points in their own lives that have only become apparent in retrospect.
Chapter 6
Summary
Bilbo emerges on the other side of the Misty Mountains, but does not know whether his friends are still being held captive by goblins. He has just made up his mind to go back into the Mountains to rescue them when he hears the dwarves and Gandalf approaching. Bilbo is still wearing the magic ring, and he decides to leave it on in order to surprise the others, which he does, revealing himself in a dramatic way. The stunt dramatically improves Bilbo's standing in the dwarves' eyes: "If they had still doubted that he was really a first-class burglar. they doubted no longer." Bilbo tells them about his adventures; however, he leaves out the fact of the Ring-an omission about which Gandalf seems somehow to be aware. The others tell Bilbo about their escape, including the fact that the Great Goblin has been killed.
The company resumes its trek. They are suddenly set upon by Wargs-wild, evil wolves. Gandalf, and the others scurry up trees to avoid the beasts. Gandalf, who understands the Wargs' howls, hears that the Wargs are planning to meet the goblins for a raid on nearby villages of men. The goblins have been delayed by the escape of Thorin and his band. The Wargs plan to stay in the glade until the goblins-who, unlike the Wargs, can climb trees-arrive. By magic, Gandalf sets fire to a tree branch and tosses it at the Wargs, setting them on fire. Meanwhile, from far away, the Lord of the Eagles hears the commotion in the woods. By the time he flies to the scene, the goblins have arrived, and are threatening Gandalf and the rest. The Lord of the Eagles snatches Gandalf to safety, and the other eagles rescue the dwarves and the hobbit. The eagles will not take the company anywhere near the villages of men for fear that the men will shoot at them, but they do agree to carry the travelers to safety.
Analysis
This chapter is primarily a direct episode of adventure, designed to move the plot forward, as well as to lay the foundation for a large part of the novel's conclusion. It is fast-paced and tightly written. Still, it does offer a few points worthy of further reflection. Bilbo's failure to tell his fellow travelers about his discovery of the Ring, for example, may be seen as a further hint that the Ring is no ordinary, morally neutral piece of jewelry. The Lord of the Eagles' reluctance to carry the company south toward the realm of men echoes the mistrust readers saw earlier between elves and dwarves (see Chapter 3), and, like that earlier instance, anticipates Tolkien's further development of the theme of interdependence in The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien also offers two amusing, fictional derivations of customary sayings in this chapter (a practice that will occur again in The Lord of the Rings-as when Frodo sings his song at the Prancing Pony in Book I-but only briefly and only in the work's early portion). The presence of these derivations is evidence that Tolkien began The Hobbit as, fundamentally, a work for children. In one of his letters, Tolkien expresses regret for some of the instances in which he "talked down" to his readers. It was a stylistic choice he would not make again when turning to The Lord of the Rings. Although the latter work began life as a straightforward sequel to this work-Tolkien, in letters to his publisher, sometimes referred to it as "the new Hobbit"-it quickly grew more mature, complex, and, consequently, darker.
Chapter 7
Summary
The eagles carry the company to a great rock in the grasslands. After the eagles leave, however, Gandalf announces-to the dwarves' and the hobbit's dismay-that he, too, will soon be leaving, "for after all this is not my adventure." Before he departs, however, he takes them to the home of Beorn, a skin-changer: "He changes his skin; sometimes he is a huge black bear, sometimes he is a great strong black-haired man with huge arms and a great beard." Gandalf brings the group before Beorn gradually, two-by-two, so as not to offend him. Beorn receives Gandalf and Bilbo first, rather gruffly. But, as Gandalf tells Beorn the tale of the journey to this point-every so often changing the number of people involved in the quest, so that Beorn must ask questions-the skin-changer is so swept up in it that, by its end, he cannot help but welcome his visitors: "A very good tale! The best I have heard for a long while. If all beggars could tell such a good one, they might find me kinder." Beorn offers the travelers food and lodging. He warns them not to wander outside during the night. Bilbo does not, but he does awaken during the night, and he hears the snuffling and scuffling of a creature outside. He wonders if he is hearing Beorn in his bear form. The same thing happens the next night. As it turns out, Beorn is verifying the company's story for himself, covering the ground between his home and the Misty Mountains, looking for evidence to corroborate the tale. Beorn encounters a Warg and a goblin who tell him of the Great Goblin's death, and that the goblins and wolves might soon set out in search of the dwarves, or to fight the men whom the goblins think might be aiding Thorin and his fellows. Beorn sends the company on its way with new ponies and food. He warns them that they are about to make a difficult journey through the dark, dangerous forest of Mirkwood. He demands that they not stray from the path through the forest for any reason.
When the company reaches the edge of the forest, they send back the ponies to Beorn as they have promised him. Gandalf chooses that moment to leave them, as he has "some pressing business away south." He, too, warns them not to leave the path. Bilbo asks if there is not some safer way through, but Gandalf tells him there is not: "You must either go through or give up your quest." Somewhat despairingly, the dwarves and hobbit watch Gandalf gallop away, and then turn to enter the wild forest of Mirkwood.
Analysis
There comes a point in the hero's journey when the mentor departs. The absence of the guiding figure is crucial, in fact, if the protagonist is ever to develop into the hero at all. To this point, readers have seen only glimpses of Bilbo's heroic potential-and, of course, they have heard Gandalf's repeated assurances that this potential exists within the hobbit. Readers have watched Bilbo fail (as in the episode of the trolls), but have also watched him succeed (as in his escape from the Misty Mountains). From this point in the plot forward, readers will be able to see what fate-failure or success-ultimately awaits this would-be hero. In this respect, as in so many others, the heroic journey reflects common human experience. Most people must face a time, at some point in their lives, when mentors (parents, older siblings, teachers, etc.) are no longer with them, and they must continue the journey of life on their own. The motif of the mentor's departure also mirrors the inner, psychological process described as "individualization," "actualization" of the ego, and so on. Although-as posited earlier (see Analysis for Chapter 5)-we only know who we are in relationship to others, we must also clarify and test our understandings of ourselves as individuals.
Chapter 8
Summary
The dwarves and the hobbit wander for days in the darkness of Mirkwood. At one point, Bilbo climbs a tree to gage their progress. Above the trees, he is "nearly blinded by the light." Although the company is, in fact, not far from the edge of the forest, Bilbo does not realize that fact. When he returns to the ground, therefore, he gives the others a despairing report. Tired, out of arrows and food, and despondent, most of the travelers eagerly grasp at a glimmer of hope when they see far-off lights in the forest; one of the dwarves has been dreaming of a feast, and he believes his dreams may be coming true. Although the others remember Gandalf's warnings against straying from the path, they do just that, drawn on by the sound of merry laughter and the smell of roast meats; soon, the dwarves and hobbit are lost and cannot find their way back. Eventually, desire overcomes the dwarves. They are drawn toward a wonderful, sumptuous feast at which Wood-elves are dining. As soon as the dwarves arrive at the feast, however, they, along with the feast and the elves, disappear, leaving Bilbo alone. Bilbo, exhausted by searching for his companions, falls asleep. When he awakens, he finds he is being wrapped in a giant spider's web. Bilbo attacks and kills it with his sword, however, and gives his blade the name "Sting." Emboldened by his accomplishment, Bilbo sets off in search of his friends.
Wearing the Ring, Bilbo comes upon several other spiders who have captured the dwarves. He throws stones at the spiders, singing songs to taunt them. He manages to attack them with Sting and then frees the dwarves, cutting them down from the trees in which the spiders had hung them. He has, of course, taken off the Ring before freeing the dwarves; he thus allows the spiders to see him. The spiders attack, and are about to recapture the entire company when Bilbo-to his regret-tells the dwarves about the Ring; he plans to put it on and distract the spiders again. The plan succeeds: Bilbo vanishes and begins taunting and "stinging" the spiders, who eventually abandon their pursuit of the dwarves.
Later, the dwarves notice that Thorin is still missing. The narrator informs readers that Thorin has been captured by the feasting Wood-elves, "more dangerous and less wise" than the High Elves of Rivendell, but "[s]till elves they were and remain, and that is Good People." Long ago, the Wood-elves and dwarves fought over gold, silver, and rare gems, and the king of the Wood-elves has a "weakness" for treasure. Thorin and his family, however, had nothing to do with the ancient quarrel, and so Thorin is indignant that he has been taken prisoner. He will not tell the king why he and the others were traveling through Mirkwood, and so he remains a captive in the Wood-elves' dungeon.
Analysis
When Bilbo kills the great spider, he immediately feels more confident than he has before. When he then frees the dwarves from the other spiders, their estimation of him changes as well. Readers cannot help but notice the change in Bilbo, too. A milestone on the heroic journey has been passed. Note also how the theme of greed reappears in this chapter as the narrator explains the Wood-elves' past conflicts with the dwarves, and how that theme is again interwoven with pride (namely, Thorin's wounded pride at being held as a prisoner; the Wood-elves' wounded pride regarding the long-ago conflict with the dwarves). Thorin's imprisonment offers another example of how misplaced pride can lead to the carrying of old grudges, which can lead to new injuries-creating opportunities, of course, for the proverbial "vicious cycle" to continue.
Incidentally, critics often point to a time in Tolkien's very young childhood in South Africa, in which he was frightened of and bitten by a spider, as a possible source for his depictions of giant, monstrous spiders, not only here but especially in The Lord of the Rings. For his own part, Tolkien dismissed such attempts at biographically based literary criticism.
Chapter 9
Summary
Having already captured Thorin, the Wood-elves now capture his companions as well. Quickly, Bilbo puts on the Ring. He follows the procession of captives to the hall of the Wood-elves' king. The king charges the dwarves with trespassing and imprisons them. He does not tell them that Thorin is also captive in the dungeons, but Bilbo discovers that fact. After one or two weeks, Bilbo realizes that, if the company is to escape, he will have to take action by himself. The hobbit discovers that a stream runs from under the palace to the river outside; the enchanted gates are not the only exit. A portcullis opens to allow barrels of wine and other commodities to float from the palace to Lake-town, a city of Men, at the river's end. Bilbo devises a plan in which he picks the dungeon keys off the chief guard's person, frees the dwarves, and packs them in empty barrels. The Wood-elves thus unknowingly release their prisoners onto the river. The barrels float to Lake-town, the invisible hobbit riding atop the raft of them. The narrator ends the chapter on a suspenseful note by commenting that dwarves "escaped the dungeons of the king and were through the wood, but whether alive or dead still remains to be seen."
Analysis
This chapter allows Bilbo to "shine" as the true hero he is becoming. He has earned the dwarves' trust by this point, and he proves that their trust in him is well-placed. Readers again see more of Bilbo's transformation, and how the hero's journey has affected him. In that mythic pattern, the hero at some point must undergo what mythology scholar Joseph Campbell has called a "descent into darkness"-for example, Odysseus' descent into Hades in Greek mythology. Sometimes the descent into darkness even involves death, whether literal or figurative. Twice now, Bilbo has "descended into darkness." Under the Misty Mountains, he found himself alone-save for Gollum-and managed, thanks to the help of the Ring and, as the narrator acknowledges, a good dose of luck, to escape. Now, however, in the dungeons of the Wood-elves, Bilbo escapes (again, admittedly, with the help of the Ring) thanks to his wits and practical abilities. The two sequences of episodes parallel each other, as if to emphasize the point: for instance, the company is captured and taken before the Great Goblin, as they are captured and taken before the Wood-elves' king. In both instances, the narrator pays special attention to Bilbo-in the first case, however, Bilbo was among the imprisoned, while here he is an independent, freely acting character. Upon noticing the similarities between the two incidents, readers should be able to see how Chapter 5, as a "descent into darkness," prepared Bilbo for this moment in the story. Once more, the mythic, archetypal pattern expresses a reality many people experience during their lives: their own, personal "descents into darkness" lead them to become stronger, more fully realized individuals.
Also note how the motif of animosity between elves and dwarves continues in this chapter, which specifically anticipates the way in which that motif will resurface in The Lord of the Rings: the elves of Lothlorién initially take Frodo and his companions prisoner because they-including Gimli the dwarf-have trespassed in elven lands. Tolkien is further establishing the context of conflict against which the climactic events of the book will take place.
Chapter 10
Summary
Bilbo and the barrels float into the Long Lake and to the bay of Lake-town. Bilbo releases the bedraggled but grateful dwarves from the barrels. When Thorin announces the company's arrival, he creates a stir among the citizens of Esgaroth the lake-town. Some remember ancient prophecies and legends about dwarves' return to the Lonely Mountain, but others do not and treat such talk as foolishness. The Master of the town, for example, does not believe any "king under the mountain" will ever appear. He is wary of welcoming Thorin and the company because he does not wish to create any more animosity with the Wood-elves than already exists. Still, popular sentiment runs in the dwarves' favor, for many people in the town expect Thorin's arrival to usher in a new age of prosperity. They treat the dwarves with great favor, even though the dwarves do not entirely embrace the high expectations some of the men hold of them. Thorin, however, "looked and walked as if his kingdom was already regained and Smaug chopped up into little bits." The Master of the town, upset with the disruption the dwarves have caused and eventually suspicious that perhaps Thorin really is the rightful heir to the dwarf kings, is eager to see the dwarves depart for the Lonely Mountain, where they expect to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
Analysis
This chapter suggests that more than mere circumstance may have been at work in the way in which Bilbo and his friends came to Lake-town. Because of the dispute over river traffic between Wood-elves and men, and because of the "earthquakes" that Smaug has been causing, "Bilbo had come in the end by the only road that was any good," despite his and the dwarves' having lost the path through Mirkwood. As he did when describing how Bilbo came to be in possession of the Ring (see Chapter 5), Tolkien hints that "fate" or "luck" plays just a much a part in the lives of his characters-and, perhaps, in everyone's life-as do their own, self-willed actions. (Incidentally, Tolkien will develop this theme's significance for Middle-earth further in The Lord of the Rings. Critic Tom Shippey, in J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century [Houghton Mifflin, 2001], suggests that this theme reflects Tolkien's own Christian belief in providence, or the guiding foresight-pro + video; literally, "to see before"-of God.)
The narrator points out that men "remembered little" of the ancient history of the Lonely Mountain and Lake-town: the past wealth of the dwarves, the vast wars of ages gone by, the prophecies that the dwarf kings of old would return to inaugurate a new golden age. Such belief men now dismiss as a "pleasant legend." If Thorin, in a sense, remembers "too much"-see the discussion of his possibly unhealthy pride in the Analysis of Chapter 1, a pride also seen in his over-confident swaggering in this chapter-then the men of Lake-town remember "too little." They are unaware of their land's history, which, even though it may seem to be only the dwarves' history, is really part of their own history as well. Note also that Tolkien here continues to develop the theme of conflict among the disparate peoples of Middle-earth by a reference to the Wood-elves and men's dispute over the upkeep of the river. As The Lord of the Rings will further demonstrate, people must recognize their common heritage and interdependence in order to ensure a positive future. The Hobbit is becoming, in this chapter, more and more a direct thematic introduction to Tolkien's larger work.
As a further example of this tendency, note the Master of the town's reaction to Thorin: his suspicion by chapter's end that Thorin is really the prophesied King Under the Mountain anticipates Denethor's refusal of Aragorn's claim to the throne of Gondor in The Lord of the Rings. In Tolkien's Middle-earth-as in the real world-power seduces, and people do not easily relinquish it.
Chapter 11
Summary
The dwarves arrive at the Lonely Mountain and position themselves outside the hidden door into the caverns beneath it, where the hoard of treasure-and Smaug-await them. As Bilbo is sitting on "the doorstep" (as the company calls it), thinking about how to enter, he sees a thrush knocking a snail against a stone. He remembers the runes on Thorin's map (see Chapter 3) and watches a single ray of the setting sun's light pierce the clouds and illuminate a keyhole. Thorin unlocks the door with the key he has been carrying. The door described on Thorin's map opens, only to reveal darkness beyond.
Analysis
In this highly descriptive chapter, readers again see how Bilbo functions as a hero. He remembers the runes on the map, and only he is observing his surroundings carefully enough-for he is undistracted, as are Thorin and the dwarves, by dreams of wealth-to see how those runes are fulfilled. Tolkien also uses some irony in this chapter. In Chapter 1, the dwarves had, somewhat cynically, told Bilbo that his job as burglar would involve sitting on the doorstep and thinking of a way to enter the Lonely Mountain; now, as the hobbit points out, Bilbo does exactly that, and thus discovers the solution to that problem. Readers sense that Bilbo surprises even himself-as Gandalf had said he would-with his usefulness to the expedition.
Chapter 12
Summary
Thorin announces that the time has come for Bilbo to earn his reward. Alone, Bilbo enters the tunnel that leads to the dragon's lair far beneath the Lonely Mountain. At the tunnel's end, Bilbo sees Smaug for the first time, lying atop his huge heap of treasure. The beast is sleeping. Bilbo steals a cup and returns to the dwarves, who are excited by his accomplishment. When Smaug awakes, however, he misses that cup, and he shakes the roots of the Mountain in his fiery rage. Smaug flies forth from the Mountain, breathing fire on it and the surrounding area. The dwarves and Bilbo take shelter within the entrance to the tunnel until Smaug returns to his lair. Thorin and the others even blame Bilbo for disturbing the dragon. The hobbit, however, defends his actions, pointing out that he could not steal all of the treasure all at once, and that the dwarves have made no plans of their own for dispatching Smaug. The dwarves apologize. Bilbo has "become the real leader in their adventure."
Bilbo returns to Smaug's lair, with a plan of his own. He puts on the Ring and engages Smaug in a conversation full of riddles. Smaug smells but cannot see his visitor. Despite this fact, he is vain enough to be willing to show off his jewel-encrusted underbelly to Bilbo. The hobbit spies a bare patch where the dragon would be vulnerable. He leaves, but not before making one last teasing comment, which again infuriates Smaug. Back on the "doorstep," Bilbo tells the dwarves what he has learned. He throws a rock at the thrush, who appears to be listening, but Thorin tells him that the thrush is from an ancient and magic race of birds which Men used to use for carrying messages. Then the dwarves fall to dreaming about what they will do once they have recovered their treasure. Thorin is especially interested in finding the Arkenstone, the fairest and largest gem of all delved by the dwarves. Eventually, Smaug again emerges, angered and eager to remind the world "who is the real King under the Mountain!"
Analysis
Readers see further development of Bilbo's character. The narrator tells us, "Already [Bilbo] was a very different hobbit from the one that had run out without a pocket-handkerchief from Bag-End long ago." Bilbo's bravery in going into the Mountain alone is called "the real battle"-and, indeed, in the mythic pattern of the hero's journey, many exterior battles serve to mirror interior ones, the struggles of the soul to realize its identity. As in real life, the worst enemies of heroes in fiction are sometimes not other characters, but the heroes themselves. Note that in The Lord of the Rings, Frodo will at several points, albeit to a much greater degree, experience the "battle" Bilbo does, the conflict between a desire to press on and a desire to abandon the quest. Continuing the quest for identity, Tolkien seems to be saying, let alone seeing it through to a successful conclusion, requires courage-the facing, as it were, of our own "inner dragons."
Readers may also note how carefully Tolkien has plotted to this point, preparing Bilbo for his confrontation with Smaug. For example, his riddling with the dragon hearkens back to his riddle contest with Gollum. His misdirection through conversation in order to gain a desired end-in this case, information about Smagu's possible weaknesses-echoes Gandalf's similar use of conversation with Beorn. Both by learning from his own experiences and by observing others, Bilbo is able to rise to this occasion and become a hero. The same processes, of course, hold true in our own lives: we learn from others and from experience.
In regards to conversation, readers may finally wish to pay attention to the role of conversation and language in The Hobbit. Bilbo's plan of playing at riddles with Smaug almost backfires on him; as the narrator says, "the effect that dragon-talk has on the inexperienced" is to overwhelm and confuse. Further, Bilbo fears he may have revealed too much information about the expedition in his conversation with Smaug. How else is language used-both responsibly and irresponsibly, for good and for ill-in the book? How do readers use language and conversation in their own lives?
Chapter 13
Summary
While the dwarves panic about being seemingly trapped inside the Mountain, Bilbo suggests that the only way out is down-into Smaug's lair. Not knowing whether Smaug is present, the company nevertheless goes down into the dragon's cave. Among the treasures in Smaug's hoard Bilbo finds the Arkenstone-the large, precious jewel that Thorin especially wishes to recover. He puts it in his pocket, hoping that he can choose it as his share of the reward, although he suspects the dwarves did not intend for him to have the choicest of the treasure, "the Heart of the Mountain" itself. Thorin, in fact, searches the cave for the Arkenstone, but does not find it. He does, however, give Bilbo a princely coat of dwarf chain mail. The dwarves outfit themselves in valuable mail as well before leaving Smaug's lair, still wondering where the "old worm" himself is.
Analysis
Tolkien employs irony as he shows readers how Bilbo, who was hired by the dwarves to be a burglar, in turn "burgles" them. Readers should note that, in taking the Arkenstone, Bilbo seems to be motivated by nothing more than, in the narrator's phrase, "the bewitchment of the hoard." Shortly, however, he will be able to "redeem" or "justify" his action (just as he has justified his action in taking the Ring, albeit at first unknowingly, from Gollum, by using it to save himself and his friends). The subsequent events, of course, only raise the old question of whether ends-including unintentional ends-justify means.
Chapter 14
Summary
The narrator now provides information about Smaug's actions while the dwarves and Bilbo have been in the Mountain. When the people of Esgaroth see a golden light flowing from the Mountain, some at first believe that the ancient prophecies about the return of the King Under the Mountain have been fulfilled. A man named Bard, however, knows that the dragon has come, and calls the town to arms. As Smaug attacks the town, destroying much of it in flame, Bard leads archers in a return attack. Despair settles over some of the town's fleeing residents-including the Master, who gets into a boat seeking to save himself-but, when things are looking bleakest, the thrush whom Bilbo saw earlier tells Bard (who can understand the thrush's language) about the vulnerable hole in Smaug's underbelly. Bard shoots an arrow directly into the hole, and the dragon falls to earth, utterly demolishing the town. The surviving population clamors to crown Bard as their new king, but the Master understandably resists this idea, pointing out that the people of the land have always chosen their leaders "from among the old and wise." When this argument fails to sway the people, the Master tells them that their troubles began only when the dwarves came among them. For the time being, Bard agrees to stay and continue serving the Master, ordering the camps and seeing that the wounded are cared for. Bard-like many of the people of Esgaroth-is interested in Smaug's hoarded treasure, now apparently free for others to claim (since Bard believes that Thorin and his companions must have perished in the dragon's attack).
Bard sends messengers to the King of the Wood-elves requesting assistance. Those messengers, however, discover that the Wood-elves are already on the march, who also believes that Thorin and the rest have perished. The Wood-elves, aware of the commotion around the Lonely Mountain, believe that war has erupted, and are marching to defend their interests-"he too had not forgotten the legend of the wealth" of the ancient dwarves. But, upon hearing Bard's news of what has really happened, the King of the Wood-elves orders many of his people to go to Esgaroth to assist in relief and reconstruction efforts. Other men of arms, however, elven and mortal, make ready to march to the Lonely Mountain, in search of Smaug's hoard.
Analysis
The Master's shifting of attention from his own efforts at self-preservation to the supposed guilt of the dwarves at arousing the dragon should take on a special resonance for modern readers, who have witnessed such scapegoating throughout the 20th century, most notably in the events of the Holocaust. Tolkien, of course, wrote The Hobbit before World War II; but the genocide undertaken by the Nazis alerts post-Holocaust readers to the presence of the universal tendency to blame others for one's own failings or troubles in literature of any period. The Holocaust has, one can only hope, sensitized audiences to the troubling recurrence of scapegoating, whether in real or fantastic contexts. This chapter further "darkens" the tone of the book, indicating that Tolkien-perhaps along with his readers-is discovering how fully realized his fantasy world is. It and its denizens harbor, as do all human beings, the possibility for both good and evil. With the death of Smaug, the "fairy tale" quality of The Hobbit seems to disappear altogether-and, as readers will see, those left behind in the wake of the dragon's attack do not immediately "live happily ever after." The quest driving the plot is still recovery of lost treasure, but those who undertake that quest now want to recover the treasure, not from a dragon, but from each other.
Chapter 15
Summary
The thrush who told Bard how to bring down Smaug now overhears Bilbo and the dwarves talking about the ancient friendship that existed between Thorin's ancestors and ravens. The thrush leaves, then returns with an old raven who relays the news of Smaug's death to the company. The raven also informs them of the forces of elves and men gathering to take the dragon's treasure for themselves. The raven advises Thorin to trust Bard instead of the Master. An angry Thorin asks the raven to send word to other dwarves, that they might assist him in defending the treasure. The raven departs, and the dwarves and Bilbo head back to the Lonely Mountain. At length, the elves and men arrive, surprised to find Thorin and the others still living. Bard requests negotiations with Thorin, pointing out that his own ancestors' wealth is mingled with the dwarves' in Smaug's hoard. Thorin adamantly refuses negotiations, however. Bard later gives Thorin an ultimatum: deliver to him one-twelfth of the treasure, from which Bard himself will assist in the rebuilding of Esgaroth, or be considered the foe of the lake-town. Thorin refuses, and the men and elves declare the Lonely Mountain besieged.
Analysis
One recurring motif in this chapter is Bilbo's failure to understand that, even with the death of Smaug, the adventure and his part in it are not over. As his nephew Frodo will be in The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo has been thrust into an adventure-that is, into a life-far larger than he had bargained for. As do all of the characters of Middle-earth whom Tolkien evaluates positively, however, Bilbo "soldiers on," doing what must be done, regardless of personal feeling. Bilbo complains, to be sure, but he does not renounce his companionship with the dwarves and begin heading home to the Shire. This decision further alerts readers to his character's growth. It also reinforces Tolkien's unspoken but unmistakable commitment that engagement with the world is preferable to withdrawal from it.
Readers should also note the almost-passing reference that Bard makes of the newly forged friendship between elves and men surrounding the rebuilding of Esgaroth. Bard is offering the same chance at friendship to Thorin. Were Thorin somewhat less consumed by pride and greed than he is, he might be able to accept that offer. The siege of the Lonely Mountain thus functions as a cautionary episode, one of many in The Hobbit warning against the potentially destructive power of pride and greed (see Analyses for earlier chapters).
Chapter 16
Summary
As the siege of the Lonely Mounain wears on, Thorin continues to seek the Arkenstone, speaking of his desire for it: "to me it is beyond price." Upon hearing these words, Bilbo begins to form a plan by which the stone might become an occasion for peace-making. Under cover of night, and wearing the Ring, Bilbo takes the Arkenstone to the seigers' camp. He reveals himself and asks elf guards to be introduced to the archer. He shows Bard the Arkenstone and gives it to him as an aid in negotiations. As he leaves, he meets Gandalf, who has returned and who congratulates Bilbo on a job well done. Bilbo has no time to ask Gandalf any questions about the wizard's absence, for, as Gandalf says, "Things are drawing towards the end now." He does, however, allude to news that not even the ravens know.
Analysis
Although Bilbo states that his only motivation in giving the Arkenstone to Bard is to be done with a tiresome affair, readers may not be far off the mark in suspecting that Bilbo-who, as we will see, has grown genuinely fond of Thorin-truly wishes to do what he can to bring about peace between the dwarves, the elves, and the men as well.
Gandalf's sudden return at the end of the chapter reminds readers that, like the characters in a book's plot, we may not have all the information about any given situation. The wizard is aware of news that not even the ravens know-and, at this point, we as readers do not know it, either. Tolkien is doing more than merely heightening suspense; he is making a point that is crucial to his own personal philosophy and thus is writ in an even larger manner in The Lord of the Rings. As stated in the Analysis of the previous chapter, Tolkien believes that we must engage with the world and continue to do so come what may. In this chapter we realize that Tolkien believes we must so act even without benefit of all information, without benefit of having all our questions answered, without benefit of knowing exactly "how it will all turn out." Not for nothing does Gandalf tell Bilbo, "You may come out all right" (emphasis original to the text). Not even a wizard knows the final outcome; nevertheless, he, Bilbo, and we as readers must continue to live our lives, hoping for the best, even if things seem to be at their worst. Critic Tom Shippey, in J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, explains this attitude as one that Tolkien absorbed from the Norse mythology that he loved as a young man. In Tolkien's case, however, that philosophy was tempered by his deep Christian faith that, in the end, all would turn out well. Even so, Tolkien believed, all people must do their duty in the moment, regardless of outcome. There is worth and value in doing the right thing, even if it seems the right course of action will not be rewarded as we think it ought to be. (There is some irony, then, in the fact that the right thing for Bilbo to do at this juncture-the thing that will make for peace-involves secrecy and burglary!)
Chapter 17
Summary
Bard again seeks to parley with Thorin, showing the dwarf the Arkenstone. Thorin guesses that Bilbo is responsible and shakes him in anger. At that moment, Gandalf shows himself to Thorin. The dwarf, feeling much betrayed buys back the Arkenstone by promising Bard the one-fourteenth share of the reward originally promised to Bilbo. With that, Thorin sends Bilbo away.
The host of dwarves for whom Thorin had earlier called arrives with enough provisions to withstand a long siege. As battle between the dwarves, men, and elves is about to be joined, Gandalf announces, "Dread has come upon you all!" for the goblins and their wargs are approaching. "So began a battle that none had expected; and it was called the Battle of Five Armies, and it was very terrible." The battle rages long and terribly; Bilbo watches, wearing the Ring. Just as the goblins seem to be on the verge of capturing the Mountain, Bilbo sees the Eagles arriving. A stone falls on his head, and he loses consciousness.
Analysis
As the Battle of Five Armies begins, Tolkien's prose takes on an almost biblical tone, anticipating the tone of the latter books of The Lord of the Rings and underscoring the more serious turn that the present volume has taken. Bilbo's horrified reaction to the battle also finds a counterpart in Sam's reaction to his first encounter with men's violence in The Lord of the Rings, and it no doubt relies on Tolkien's own hatred of and horror at war, forged on the French battlefields of World War I.
The eagles' arrival in the darkest part of the battle illustrates Tolkien's theory of the eucatastrophe: a sudden and unexpected reversal, not from good to bad, as the word "catastrophe" means, but from bad to good (indicated by the Greek prefix "eu"-as in euphoria, euphonious, et al.-attached to "catastrophe"). Tolkien held, "The eucatastrophic tale is the true form of fairy-tale [as a genre], and its highest function" (A Tolkien Reader, p. 85). The "sudden joyous 'turn': this joy, which is one of the things which fairy-stories can produce supremely well, is not essentially 'escapist' or 'fugitive.' In its fairy-tale-or otherworld-setting, it is a sudden and miraculous grace: never to be counted on to recur. It does not deny the existence of dyscatastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium [Gk. "good news," or "gospel"], giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief" (A Tolkien Reader, p. 86). Readers need not share Tolkien's Christian convictions to appreciate the contribution he makes to the study of the fairy tale. He identifies the eucatastrophe as that element which, in many ways, makes fantastic literature distinctive, and Bilbo's experience of the eagles-his sudden, unexpected, undeserved experience of hope in the midst of hopelessness ("he had seen a sight that made his heart leap.")-demonstrates that Tolkien, the master craftsman, can construct the same experience for his audience.
Chapter 18
Summary
Waking up and removing his Ring, Bilbo is found by a man who has been sent to search for him. The hobbit is carried to a camp where Thorin lies dying. He and Bilbo reconcile before Thorin's final moments. Later, Bilbo learns how the eagles turned the tide of the battle against the goblins. Even the birds' aid was not enough, however; fortunately, Beorn appeared , "grown almost to giant-size in his wrath," and routed the goblins and wargs. Laden with treasure, Bilbo says his farewells and departs, with Gandalf, for the Shire and home.
Analysis
If anything good can be said to come out of war, it is only the chance for peace at conflict's end. Not only do the elves, dwarves, and men reconcile with each other following the battle, but Bilbo and Thorin reconcile as well. Bilbo is also named "elf-friend," establishing a link between the hobbits and the elves that has not heretofore existed. The chapter contains the promise that Esgaroth will be renewed. This chapter, then, serves not merely as part of the denouement of the book, but also as part of the "happy ending" that Tolkien insisted carried the consoling power of the fairy-tale genre.
Chapter 19
Summary and Analysis
This brief chapter brings the book to its close. After another stay in Rivendell, Bilbo and Gandalf return to the Shire. To Bilbo's surprise, his home and goods are being auctioned off-his neighbors have presumed him dead! And, in fact, the old Bilbo has "died," and a new one has taken his place. As Gandalf tells him, "My dear Bilbo!. You are not the hobbit that you were." Although the hobbit is glad to be home, he also experiences restlessness, now that he has seen the wider and larger world of which he-and all of us-are a part. As the heroes of all mythic quests do, Bilbo returns from his journey with a truer knowledge of himself.