The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
By: Mike • Essay • 1,145 Words • December 18, 2009 • 1,447 Views
Essay title: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit By J.R.R. Tolkien, published by Ballantine Books in 1937, 304 pages. The Hobbit is a book that shows that even the most unlikely person, or hobbit can turn out to be a real hero. In the book, Bilbo gets caught up in an adventure that will later change his life. In the beginning Bilbo Baggins ran into an old acquaintance, Gandalf, a wizard, who he had met many years earlier at festivals, in which Gandalf made fireworks with his magic. Bilbo and Gandalf talked for a while and Bilbo being the kind hobbit he was invited him for tea the next day. The next day at about the time Bilbo had expected Gandalf he heard a knock at the door, but when he opened the door it was in fact not Gandalf but a little dwarf the dwarf introduced himself and let himself in. After that many dwarves followed, in fact 9 more had come to the little hobbit's doorstep. Then finally after all the dwarves had made themselves comfortable he heard another wrap at the door, and sure enough it was Gandalf along with 3 other dwarves. That night Gandalf and the dwarves spoke of adventure and of dragon's gold that had once belonged to the leader of the dwarves father. They also spoke of an adventure they were about to embark on, and then they turned to Gandalf and asked what of the 13th member of the party. Gandalf spoke up and said, My, the one I have chosen is the burglar Mr. Baggins. Bilbo did not seem pleased he had no need of adventure, even though he was secretly intrigued, but more so he was very frightened. After a bit of discussion Bilbo agreed to go and they all went to bed. When morning came Bilbo found no one in his hobbit hole, and it is needless to say that he was pleased, yet he was also a bit disappointed. Then he found a note from Gandalf on the Mantle telling him to meet them at the inn. So he did and his adventure had begun. Many conflicts transpired during their trip to the lonely mountain where the dragon lay with their gold. Those involving many fights, traps, dark forests, and having to deal with creatures like trolls, goblins, elves, spiders, and many others. In one such conflict Bilbo found a magic ring that allowed him to become invisible. When they finally reached the lonely mountain they had to find a secret door, which led to a secret entrance into it. Because it wouldn't be very wise to enter through the front door of a cave inhabited by a dragon. When they found it, they had to decide who would sneak in there and see if the dragon was there. And who did they choose but poor Bilbo who had already bailed them out of many bad incidences already. When he went in he noticed that the dragon was nowhere in sight, so he did what any burglar would have done he grabbed the biggest gold thing he could find. He then took it back to the dwarves they were overjoyed. But they forgot one thing that even though the dragon may not be there he was not going to stay gone for long. When the dragon came back he noticed that there was something missing from his beautiful treasure. He was outraged, and with dragons keen sense of smell he knew that the thieves were still there. Later that night Bilbo slipped on his ring and snuck down to where the dragon was and spoke to him and told him who he was in a round about sort of way. By this the dragon sensed where he had come from and he went to where the lake men lived to destroy the village. Days past and the party had not heard nor seen the dragon. So Bilbo again snuck down to the cave and inspected and he did not see the dragon, but he did see something that struck his fancy a very