Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Title: The Hobbit
Rating: 4
Reviewer: Neo Grade: 7
Review:
The book I read was titled The Hobbit. J. R. R. Tolkien wrote the book. It was first copyrighted in 1937.The book, The Hobbit is a great book. It made me feel like I was in Middle Earth even though there is no such thing as middle earth. It was published by Ballantine Books. The main character in the book is Bilbo Baggins, who is a hobbit. Hobbits are humans a little smaller than dwarves. There are other main characters in the book, too. Gandalf is a powerful wizard who arranges the adventure the book is about. Thirteen dwarves also take part in the adventure. Thorin is the head dwarf who leads the party when Gandalf is away. The book takes place in a world known as Middle-Earth. Middle-Earth is a fantasy world where hobbits, dwarves, trolls, wizards and many other types of people exist. I think that the theme of the book is "You should always try new things, because you never know what will come of them." I think this is the theme because Bilbo never did anything out of the ordinary, and being pushed into an adventure made him very wealthy, and a great deal wiser. My favorite part of the book was when Bilbo found the ring which made him invisible whenever he put it on. I liked that part of the book because at first Bilbo did not know that the ring made him invisible, and it was interesting to read how he escaped the cave once he figured it out. The adventures are all small parts of one big adventure. Bilbo never did anything unexpected. He was a very respectable person in his community, and came from respectable family. One day the wizard Gandalf arrived at his door one spring morning. Gandalf was searching for someone to share an adventure with, but Bilbo quickly declined, saying, "We don't want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The Hill or across The Water," and with that the hobbit dismissed the wandering wizard, but not before he had given the wizard an invitation for tea the next day, to be polite. However, Gandalf saw something more in Bilbo and would not be discouraged. He left the hobbit, but not before he had scratched a sign on Bilbo's door. The following day, Gandalf showed up for tea, along with thirteen dwarves. This was the beginning of the adventures between the hobbit and the dwarves. The next day, Bilbo somehow found himself leaving his comfortable hobbit-hole, and on what seemed to be an adventure. This was the beginning of not just one, but many adventures for Bilbo. The dwarves were on a quest to find and reclaim their famous treasure from the great dragon Smaug. It would be a long and difficult journey, and they felt it would be made simpler with the help of a burglar. This was what Bilbo was for, even if he didn't know it. Bilbo didn't want to be on the adventure, let alone play a vital role in it, but by the time the story concluded, Bilbo had changed from a well-to-do hobbit into an adventuresome burglar. The first time Bilbo exposed his hidden sense of adventure was early in the trip when he encountered a group of trolls. Bilbo was sent by the dwarves to investigate a strange fire in a forest, and he went reluctantly. When he reached the blaze, he saw it was being attended to by trolls. Bilbo had the option to turn around at that point, but he felt the need to do something. Bilbo's thievish side was already beginning to show itself because Bilbo felt the need to impress the dwarves, his first adventure was not a successful one, and it took Gandalf to save Bilbo and the dwarves from the trolls. Bilbo's first successful adventure came by accident. After Bilbo had been accidentally left behind in the Goblin caves, he ventured into the territory of Gollum. Gollum engaged the hobbit into a game of riddles, with Bilbo's life as the prize. Bilbo won the game, but Gollum would not give up easily. After Bilbo had defeated him, Gollum paddled to his island in search of his ring, which would make him invisible. With this ring he planned to sneak up to Bilbo and kill and eat him. However, Gollum didn't know that Bilbo had had it in his possession until he couldn't find it on his island. Gollum chased after Bilbo, but Bilbo had slipped on the ring, and Gollum could not find him. Bilbo's sense for adventure grew more with this experience. He enjoyed the challenge Gollum had presented him. Of course, Bilbo probably never would have participated in it if his life had not been on the line. Bilbo's sense of adventure reached new heights when he and the dwarves were on the doorstep to the secret entrance of Smaug's (the dragon's) mountain. After the hobbit and the dwarves had finally opened the secret passageway, the dwarves thought Bilbo should be the first to go into the cave and investigate. Although Bilbo did not like being volunteered, he was not unwilling to go. This was a new Bilbo. He even had the nerve to steal a golden cup from the dragon. He was a completely new hobbit. Bilbo Baggins changed a great deal from the beginning of the story to the end of it. He was a simple and reluctant hobbit when he set off with the wizard Gandalf on that spring morning. He was reluctant to leave the comfort of his own home and more reluctant to take part in adventures. But by the end of the story, a new Bilbo Baggins had emerged. He had changed into a courageous and adventuresome burglar. He became well respected by everyone, or at least everyone that had a sense of adventure. It took me about two days to get into the book, because at the beginning of the book, there is a lot of discussion of the adventure, but no adventure.
9/2/03