The Hobbit

The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolken
published: 1937


“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”
Backstory:
The hole in the quote above, belongs Bilbo Baggins. He is an upstanding member of the Shire. Bilbo is, like most of his kind, well off, well fed, and the happiest, sitting by his own fire, smoking his pipe. A hobbit is a funny creature, they detest adventure but love to hear the stories. Hobbits are never late for dinner or any meal. The last person one would expect to see set off on a hazardous journey would be Bilbo Baggins.When Gandalf the Grey stops by one morning, “looking for someone to share in an adventure,” Bilbo bids the wizard to go away though he says no such thing. Hobbits are not rude or they try not to be at any cost. No such luck, however; soon 13 fortune-seeking dwarves arrive on the hobbit’s doorstep in search of a great burglar to help them on their quest. (Gandolf tells them bliblo is the greatest burglar of all times) Before Bilbo could protest, he is swept out his door and into a dangerous adventure.
Review:
The Hobbit is the beginning to the epic The Lord of the Rings, but it still stands quite well on its own. This epic begins with trouble with Smaug, the dragon, causing trouble for the dwarves. Along the way Bilbo encouters trouble with the Ring of Power. The ring at the times it seemed a mere piece of luck, it comes in quite handy for Bilbo during his adventure. More important to this story is the journey of Bilbo and the dwarves toward their ancient home, the Lonely Mountain. The dwarves and Bilbo go to the Lonely mountain to reclaim their home and treasure from Smaug,the dragon. The Hobbit is a perfect adventure story, ideal for reading to children or for anyone of any age. Bilbo, a seemingly insignificant person of a"lesser" race of people, becomes a wonderful hero. Also as Bilbo contiues on his journey he finds that he has more courage than he ever imagined.

The main theme of the novel was very hard to find and is not clearly shown because there are quite a few themes in this book. The main point is, if you over come your fears, you can achieve almost anything. Bilbo is the perfect example of this. In a sense we are all Bilbo and we need to overcome our fears and we will acomplish great things.. After Bilbo overcomes his main fears of adventure, danger and failure, he is able to complete the mission successfully.

I highly recommend this book for children of all ages as well as adults. Why? Not only does is it relevent to the Middle Earth saga but it has a certain appeal that makes the reader want to continue reading the book all day. I have read the next three books on Hobbits’ adventures written by J.R.R. Tolken and they are just as amazing.