The Hobbit

Nick Arnold

October 4, 2006

Period 4

Summary of The Hobbit

Bilbo, a simple hobbit, is smoking his pipe one day when the wizard Gandalf appears and asks him to go on an adventure. He is confused and tells the wizard to come back the next day. The wizard does show up the next day, but only after thirteen dwarves have knocked at his door first. Bilbo is very frustrated by this, but he acts the part of the gracious host. The dwarves eat, speaking of their imminent journey to an old home beneath Lonely Mountain. Long ago, a dragon named Smaug chased their forefathers from the mountain and stole their treasure. The group now wants Bilbo to come along as their thief.

Bilbo wakes late the next morning, and is hurried along by Gandalf to join his fellow travelers. They begin their journey. Before long, they have gone further from Hobbiton than Bilbo ever has before. One night, Gandalf disappears and they cannot make a fire because it is too wet and cold. However, they see a fire in the distance. Thorin, the leader of the dwarves, sends Bilbo ahead to investigate. There are three trolls eating mutton around a fire. Bilbo tries to pick a pocket but is captured. Soon, all of the dwarves are captured. Gandalf returns and causes trouble between the trolls, until the suns rises and the trolls turn to stone.

The party travels for a while and arrives at a magical place called Rivendell. They stay here for a while and get fresh supplies. They leave and enter the mountains. Their path is dangerous and it begins to rain very hard. They take shelter in a cave and fall asleep. Bilbo wakes to see the ponies being stolen. They are all grabbed by goblins, except for Gandalf, who makes himself disappear. In the great hall of the goblins, Gandalf reappears and kills the chief goblin right before the dwarves are to be killed. The party flees into the tunnels. Bilbo is dropped and is knocked out in the darkness. When he wakes, he finds a ring and wanders until he runs into a creature named Gollum. Gollum challenges him to a riddle contest, and Bilbo wins. Bilbo realizes that the ring is Gollum's lost ring, and it makes him invisible.

Gollum thinks Bilbo stole his ring, so he runs out of the cave to find Bilbo, while the invisible Bilbo actually follows Gollum out of the caves. Bilbo is reunited with his friends on the outside, but he doesn’t tell them about the ring.

The party travels further, until they are forced to climb up trees to escape giant wolves. They cannot fight them off and are in more danger when goblins arrive. Giant eagles notice the scene, and rescue the travelers. They take them near a dark forest called Mirkwood. Here, they stay with a man named Beorn who helps them by providing them with food and ponies. When they get to the edge of the forest, however, they must send the ponies back. Gandalf does not enter the forest with them.

The forest is dark and terrible. One of the dwarves falls into a stream that makes him fall asleep. They have to carry him. After many days, they are near the end of their food and they leave the path, against Gandalf's advice, when they see lights in the trees. Giant spiders capture them but Bilbo escapes and helps his friends escape. He reveals to them the secret of the ring