Bilbo Baggins - Character Commander (Stephanie)

While The Hobbit is technically an adventure story, the whole book was really about Bilbo, and how he changed. It is a story about a man who found meaning in his life.

To understand how Bilbo has changed throughout the story, lets look at what Bilbo's character was like before the adventure.

• Spoiled
• Prepared
• Didn't like the unexpected
• Proud

At the begining of the book, Bilbo was a very safe Hobbit. He didn't take risks, he didn't try new things. He always wanted to be prepared for something well in advance, and didn't know how to handle unexpected situations. He was also quite proud, but we will get to that later. But even with all this, he still had enough spark in him, enough Took in him, to come along on this crazy journey which led him to become a better person. Even if it took a little push.

By the end of the book, he has gone through many changes.

•  He knows what it means to truly need something 
• Can handle unexpected situations 
• More confident in his abilities
• Humbled

He now knows the meaning of the word 'starving', and knows what it feels like to have little. He would have never experienced that if he had stayed in his well off Hobbit hole. He can improvise, and can make new plans in a moments notice. He has more abilities, and is confident at performing them.

And his pride? I said I'd get to that. He use to think he was very important, very valuable. When he went on the adventure, that kind of shattered his limited world view, and opened his eyes to true importance. Yes, he became more confident in his abilities,  but seeing Gandalf, and Thorin, and even Smaug, he was able to see that he was only a small part of a big picture. It humbled him.

"You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all,"

"'Thank goodness,' Bilbo said laughing, and handed him the tobacco-jar."

Chloë - section 3 - Illustrator

 

    I apologies for the last minute posts. You see, my computer exploded and killed my entire family so I am writing this on a computer I stole from the orphanage I am now staying at. Anyways...
       I drew the brave little barrel rider as the centre of the front of the pictures facing the mighty dragon holding sting tightly in his hand.the gold is glowing and detailed to show how Bilbo is entranced by it. Smaug has sharp pointed scales to show how clever and unforgiving he is. His eye glow gold as the book says he is in fact a gold and red dragon. Also it symbolizes Smaug's love of his gold.








(no computers were stolen and no family was harmed in the making of this blog)

Chloe - Section 4 - Mood Maven

           "He looked up as Bilbo came beside him. Farewell, good thief, he said. I go now to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed. Since I leave now all gold and silver, and go where it is of little worth, I wish to part in friendship from you, and I would take back my words and deeds at the Gate. Bilbo knelt on one knee filled with sorrow. Farewell, King under the Mountain!" 

            I read those horribly bitter sweet word with tears welling up in my eyes and peep half way into my mouth. My dad walking into the room seeing the sniffling, peep-eating, mess of a girl. "farewell" is such a  sweet way of saying goodbye. Perfect for saying goodbye after a long journey. 
"This is a bitter adventure, if it must end so; and not a mountain of gold can amend it. Yet I am glad that I have shared  in your perils—that has been more than any Baggins deserves.” 
         


          Bilbo is really saddened by his friend dying and he even goes on to cry.  Bilbo is usually so light hearten and so when he cries it's just so tragic. He is so tired after a long adventure he really just wants to be a Baggins and the Took side of him is wearing away. And though his is happy to be going home he is sad about saying goodbye to his good dwarf friends.

Section 4 Connector Jaedhen

In section 4, I find myself relating to Bilbo, mainly because in tough situations he can make decisions that is beneficial to the group, even though I may not make decisions nearly on the same scale. I can also relate to Bilbo because he usually has a separate set of morals than the rest of the group, as he thought it was a good idea to bring the Arkenstone to Bard when the dwarfs wanted it for the group.

On the other side of things, I can relate to Thorin as he has some sense of greed, as he was about to kill Bilbo for giving away the Arkenstone. Although, I act on what's morally right, and Thorin acts on his emotions. And like Thorin, I also use my name to justify my actions, even though it may be a joke. One example of this is whenever one of my relatives on my mom's side makes jokes about my actions, such as gaming or the way I joke around with my cousins or friends, I say, "It's just because I'm a Fajardo kid."

The Arkenstone

When I was younger, we used to trade Pokémon cards, and I had a rare card that everyone else wanted. This lead to everyone making offers for my card, doing favours, giving me parts of their lunch that they were willing to give up to me, just for a chance at my card. This is similar Bilbo and the dwarfs having the Arkenstone when everyone else wanted it.

Another situation I can relate to in the story is Bilbo giving bard the Arkenstone. I can relate to this because Bilbo did what he believed was right, and didn't let anybody's opinions stop him. There have been multiple times where I did things the way I thought they should be done, regardless of others opinions, and have lead to horrible situations, but have also lead to great situations,

Section 3 Mood Maven Jaedhen

"The day grew lighter and warmer as they floated along. After a while the river rounded a steep shoulder of land that came down upon their left." -Page 176 These two sentences allows J. R. R. Tolkien to describe the land while the characters aren't doing anything important, in this case, floating down the river. This settles the mood a little because he is describing the scenery and not the plot.

Thorin II Oakenshield

"Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror King under the mountain! said the dwarf in a loud voice" -Page 182 The author uses Thorin's voice as a tone of authority, which allows the reader to see Thorin as confident in the situation. The author also uses  Thorin's ancestry as a way of Thorin asserting dominance, claiming he's an ancestor of someone great which allows for a more, "noble" feeling to the story at this point.

"In two days going they rowed right up the Long Lake and passed out into the River Running, and now they could all see the Lonely Mountain towering grim and tall before them." -Page 188 J. R. R. Tolkien describes the Lonely Mountain as, "towering" which allows contrast between the characters and the setting, as the mountain is large and menacing compared to Bilbo and the dwarfs. When there is a large difference between the characters and the setting, it shows just how large the problem laying ahead is. 

"Well, well! It cannot be helped, and it is difficult not to slip in talking to a dragon, or so I've  always heard. said Balin" -Page 213 This sentence creates a somewhat contradictory mood, as Balin seems to be feeling well, while trying to comfort Bilbo who isn't doing as well. This leaves the mood up to interpretation as it could be looked at as a somewhat happy situation, but also as a gloomy situation. 

"In the meanwhile, the dwarfs sat in darkness, and utter silence fell about them." The author describes the scenery at this point, as well as the dwarfs actions. The darkness is being used to create a negative atmosphere for the reader, and the dwarfs not communicating to emphasize it. 

Section 2 character commander Jaedhen

"In fact, Bilbo began to feel there really was something of a bold adventurer about himself after all, though he would have felt bolder still, if there had been anything to eat" - Page 155 This shows that Bilbo's ego relies a lot on his peers, and how he's feeling physically. Bilbo seems to rely a lot on his peers, and that can lead to easy demoralizing, as if the dwarfs don't feel strong mentally, neither will he. 

"When he heard this, Bilbo was all in a flutter, for he saw that luck was with him and he had a chance at once to try his desperate plan" Contradictory to what has been said in the previous paragraph, even though the dwarfs are locked up, Bilbo feels ecstatic  that he has a chance to prove himself once more. I also believe that Bilbo was not feeling disheartened because he was not around to witness his friends suffering and locked up, or maybe he thought the dwarfs were heavily reliant in Bilbo, and trusted him. 

"Upon my word! said Thorin, when Bilbo whispered to him to come and join his friends, Gandalf spoke true, as usual! A pretty fine burglar you make, it seems," Thorin shows how much trust he puts in Gandalf, and is letting it affect his judgement of Bilbo. This amount of trust that Thorin has put onto Gandalf has transferred slightly to Bilbo. 

"Ugh! Here they are! He said to the horses They don't look dangerous. You can be off! He laughed a great rolling laugh, put down his axe and come forward" This shows that Beorn is friendly towards the animals, and does not look at them as servants. Since Beorn  is friends with the animals, it implies that he has trained the animals themselves and they understand him. 

"Where is Gandalf? Asked Bilbo, moving off to find something to eat as quick as he could. Out and about somewhere. They told him." The dwarfs don't seem to worried about the whereabouts of Gandalf, despite the amount of help he has given them. This could also imply that the dwarfs are well rested in Beorn's house, and is leading to carelessness 

Section 3 Question creator

In this section of the Hobbit there are a few things That are debatable. Here are a few, 1. Raven hill is mentioned way earlier in the the section then when they take refuge in it, what happened to their memory? 2.Why do the lake men have pickaxes when they live on a lake and don't need them? 3. If Dragon scales can deflect swords and break arrows then how come Smaug's belly is jewel encrusted from lying on his horde. 4. If Smaug weak spot on his belly was so easily hit by a single arrow then how come he wasn't killed when he first attached the town of Dale while  men were defending it. 5. Why dose Thorin not agree to help the lake men in some way after their town was destroyed. Well these are just a few debatable topics and I'm sure their are plenty more.