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.            

Fear, Greed, and Doubt - Quoter (Stephanie)

"It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay  in wait."

This is a very important point in Bilbo`s character development. Bilbo could have gone back, he could have quit the job and tried again the next day. The dwarves wouldn't have blamed him. He was at a point where he could have turned back, but he didn't. He continued forward, no matter how scared he was. I also like what the author is saying in this quote. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is confronting your fear, not the actual thing you fear.

"To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all. There are no words left to express his staggerment , since Men changed the language that they learned of elves in days when all the world was wonderful. Bilbo heard tell and sing of dragon-hoards before, but the splendor, the lust, the glory of such treasure had never yet come to him. His heart was filled and pierced with enchantment and with the desire of dwarves; and he gazed motionless, almost forgetting the frightful guardian, at the gold beyond price and count."

This quote shows that Bilbo is just as susceptible to greed as the dwarves. It shows that anyone can become a victim of greed, and that you can forget about important things when it comes to money. Even Bilbo, who never really cared for wealth was corrupted by the dragon`s hoard, and forgot all about the danger of the dragon.

"'I suppose you got a fair price for the cup last night?' He went on. 'Come now, did you? Nothing at all! Well, that's just like them. And I suppose they are sulking outside, and your job is to do all the dangerous work and get what you can when I'm not looking-for them? And you will get a fair share? Don't you believe it! If you get off alive, you will be lucky.'"

This is where we get to see the first glimpse of Smaug`s personality. He is manipulative, and knows how to bring out peoples weaknesses. He new where the vice was coming from, he could have breathed fire and killed him right then. But he enjoys to toy with his enemies. Smaug doesn't just hurt people because it is convenient, he enjoys hurting people.

"Now a nasty suspicion began to grow in his mind-had the dwarves forgotten this important point too, or were they laughing in their sleeves at him all the time? That is the effect dragon-talk has on the inexperienced. Bilbo of course ought to have been on his guard; but Smaug had rather an overwhelming personality."

This shows the effect of Smaug's manipulation on people. Bilbo had journeyed with the dwarves for a long time. He completely trusted them. Still, Smaug was able to plant that seed of doubt into Bilbo's mind. Of course, Bilbo was inexperienced in talking to dragons, but still.

"'Yes, it is rare and wonderful, indeed.' said Smaug absurdly pleased. he did not know that the hobbit had already caught a glimpse of  his peculiar under-covering on his previous visit, and was itching for a closer view for reasons of his own. the dragon rolled over. 'Look! What do you say to that?' 'Dazzlingly marvelous! Perfect! Flawless! Staggering!' exclaimed Bilbo aloud, but what he thought inside was: 'Old fool! Why, there is a large patch In the hollow of his left breast as bare as a snail out of it's shell!'"

But this quote shows that Smaug has flaws too. He is extremely vain. His pride and confidence would be his undoing. Also, Bilbo has become quite manipulative himself. I don't think at the beginning of the adventure Bilbo would have thought of this.

Expectations - Connections (Stephanie)

Thanks to the style of writing, the old language, and the size of the book, The Hobbit isn't always the most enjoyable book to read, never mind connect to. But as I was reading, I started getting more and more into the book, and surprisingly, I found myself relating to the main character quite a bit.

I am suppose to only be talking about the second section of the book, but lets go back to the beginning for a second.

In the beginning of the book, the dwarves had very low expectations for Bilbo. And I think that Bilbo had low expectations for himself too.

It is like when you start something that you have never done before. It is fun, and exciting, and you enjoy it. But you are surrounded by people who are experienced in that activity. All of the people around you are always having to help you, and they seem to look down on you. You feel inferior, like you will never get any better.

So Bilbo keeps trying and trying, and he isn't doing so well. He is a bit of a burden to the other dwarves, and they have very low expectations of him, therefore he also has low expectations for himself.

But after many failed attempts at being a burglar, He has finally succeeded. When he was able to save himself from the goblin caves, and all of the dwarves praised him for it, his self esteem went up. He was more confident, and things didn't seem so impossible anymore.

So lets go back to the second section of the book. Now he is more confident with every victory, but the dwarves' expectations are also being raised.

So now imagine you have suddenly gotten pretty good at that activity you started. You are rather proud of your achievements, and can do said activity pretty confidently. But all of a sudden, something happens and you are expected to deal with it. People have just come to expect you will be good at it, and all of the stress is on you.

That is how I think Bilbo felt when the dwarves were imprisoned by the Elven King. The dwarves now just assume that Bilbo can help them, but Bilbo has no idea what to do.

I can personally relate to Bilbo during this, mainly in art and school. Not exactly slaying dragons or fighting giant spiders, but pretty stressful all the same.

Section 2 Mood Maven

The Hobbit is interesting in that it has a tendency to carry a mood and suddenly change. Here are some examples.

1. snuffling about till they had smelt out every tree that had anyone in it. 

From escaping the goblins to being surrounded by worgs (an evil kind of wolf that's large in size and appetite). Suspense mixed with a feeling of pity for the banned that seems to never get a break. This mood is created by seer idea of being trapped waiting for salvation or death. You can see this when the author tells what being said among the worgs as the dwarves and hobbit pry for a miracle. As things escalate You can finally get some relief as giant eagles save the poor dwarves and hobbit from a treadle fate. Witch brings the story to a new setting with a new mood 

2. "They have gone to tell him him of the arrival of strangers" said Gandalf.

Soon after the "incident" with the worgs Gandalf  brings the party to the house of a skin changer by the name of Beorn. A giant of a man with the ability to change into a giant bear. With his more relaxed attitude he creates a (needed) cam mood. Shone in how he gives the party a safe place to sleep and food to eat, But soon after the party is on there way with fresh supplies. Only to have there adventure changed again, not by wolves or goblins but rather spiders and elves.

3. The entrance to the path was like a sort of arch leading into a gloomy tunnel made by two great trees that leant together,

Soon after leaving Beorns house the party finds them selves on a long and degrading walk though a dark forest, where a dark, sinister mood is created and well deserved because this forest is filled with giant spiders. That soon trap the dwarves leaving the hobbit to save them and he does. No sooner than a day latter they are captured by elves who think they are there to cause trouble.

4. the great gates of the king closed behind them with a clang. 

Much like the text above a sense of being shut in is created when the dwarves  are again taken prisoner by elves. Poor Bilbo is trapped wondering about the halls trying desperately to find away to free his friends. When finally the dwarves are freed from there cells only to be placed in barrels to ride down a river in (it is just as bad as it sounds). Finally after a long ride the party has made it to a lake town not far from the lonely mountain.

5. The Long Lake! Bilbo /had never imagined that any water that was not the sea could look so big.  

This statement begins to set the mood for the next part of the story where the party pays a visit to the men of the lake. Where they are treated as guests. Witch in turn creates a cam yet happy feel reflected by the villagers as they sing and celebrate at the return of the dwarves. Who according to the tales told are supposed to kill the dragon and bring life back to the town as gold and jewels are sent to the town to be traded. This tale of dragon slaying and what not is a tale for another time.            

Question Creator -Chloe

A nerds most common pass time is probably squabbling with his friends about unanswered questions in various movies, tv shows and books. No book is without unanswered questions and potential arguments. So I made a list of the questions I've been asking myself;
 1. Where on earth did golllum get that boat??

 2. With the amount of that enchanted water Bombur was exposed to, shouldn't he have been asleep for longer?

3. Why would the death of the goblin king make the goblins late? Wouldn't they be faster as they were trying to catch the dwarves, hobbit and wizard?

 4. Why did the guard elf drink wine meant for the king? I feel like he would be arrested or something for that...

 5. Why weren't the all elves suspicious of the really heavy barrels? And why did the raftman stop them from checking?  What was the rush?

 Right there is a day's worth of conversation between questioning lord of the rings/hobbit fans.

Section 1 Quoter Jaedhen

"What is a hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People" -Page 6

This quote is significant because the narrator introduces hobbits as if we should know about them, or at least used to know about them. It also implies that the story has happened in our universe. I enjoy this quote because the narrator acts as if hobbits are a race lost in history. 

"Indeed he was really relieved after all to think that they had all gone without him, and without bothering to wake him up" -Page 28 Bilbo shows immediate change in only a night's sleep as, the night before Bilbo seemed willing to go on an adventure. It is stated earlier that Bilbo enjoys maps and the map of the mountain being presented to Bilbo made him excited.

"Thorin and Company to Burglar Bilbo greeting! For your hospitality our sincerest thanks, and for your offer of professional assistance our grateful acceptance" -Page 29 This statement alone contradicts a large portion of what was said previously. One example of this is Bilbo believing the dwarfs were ungrateful and rude, never saying, "Thank you" or "Please" Also, Bilbo did not offer his skills, but was chosen by Gandalf, he is also not a professional burglar.

"but still he began to feel that adventures were not so bad after all" -Page 30  The adventure has just started, but. Bilbo
has already started to change his mind about adventuring, even though nothing has happened yet. This quote shows how easily Bilbo will change his mind, as he went from hating the idea of adventuring, to liking it, back to hating it, and back to liking it as soon as the adventure started.

"Also he would have liked to have a few private words with these people that seemed to know his names and all about him, although he had never seen them before" -Page 48 It is odd that the people of Rivendell know about Bilbo yet none has ever met him, this means that Bilbo has some type of significance that not even he knows about

Connections - Chloe

Relating to this book is not an easy thing to do. After all how do you relate to a short, big footed and hairy toed person... maybe it isn't as hard as I thought.

while reading this book, I was very surprised to be relating to the main character, Bilbo. In the beginning of this section of the book, Bilbo is torn between leaving his comfortable hobbit hole for an adventure and staying home and relaxing. I relate to this because I am also often conflicted between going out with friends and having fun or staying home and watching anime. Although, unlike Bilbo I often choose the less interesting path. 

Another (slightly unfortunate) connection I have with Bilbo is our feet. My feet have always been big and generally hobbit-like. I take pride in my large feet. Like my mother once said, "It simply means it is very difficult to fill your shoes."



When the dwarves leave Bilbo's home, they leave the kitchen a fearful mess. Unfortunate as it is a relate to this strongly. But instead of thirteen dwarves I have to deal with one little sister. Sometimes I think she eats as much as thirteen dwarves and makes a mess much bigger. Which is strange because she still manages to be a reasonable weight for the amount of food she eats. My father used to tell me she has a hollow leg and thats where all of the food goes.

Riddles in the Dark - Illustration (Stephanie)

For this section of the book, I chose to draw the scene where Bilbo and Gollum are exchanging riddles. Here is what I drew.

In this drawing I chose to emphasis shadow, and drew it entirely in cold colors to portray the fear and discomfort that Bilbo is feeling. I tried to make Gollum look creepy, but I think it came off as cheerful and cute. Oops. I made the sword glow more than it probably would in the book, just so that I would have a source of light in the picture. I made the background simple because I am a lazy artist who hates drawing backgrounds so that the characters would pop, and kept the characters simple and cartoony so that I could focus on the colors and how they effect the mood. I also chose not to show an exit, so that it would seem like he was trapped with Gollum.

Overall I am pretty satisfied with the drawing. I could have done better if I hadn't procrastinated if I had more time, but for the time that I had, I think it is okay.
 ~Stephanie

section 1 Character Commander

Gollum

Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum a small slimy creature.

In the Hobbit one of the most interesting characters is Gollum he lives deep in the mountains beneath Goblin caves in the center of a deep dark under ground lake, eating fish and the occasional goblin. He's always on the lookout for a free meal, but finds himself intrigued when Bilbo stumbles upon his lake.  

He was watching Bilbo now from the distance with pale eyes like telescope.

From the safety of the lake Gollum curiously watched Bilbo as he felt his way around the lake in the pitch black. When Gollum approached him Bilbo was terrified of the creature in front of him. Gollum for what ever reason gave Bilbo a chance to defended himself by challenging him to a game of riddles.

"Sssss"said Gollum, and became quite polite. "Praps ye sits here and chats with a bitsy, my preciouss. It like riddles ,praps it does, does it"

After seeing that the hobbit had a sword in his hands Gollum was quick to avoid conflict, but gave Bilbo the chance of escape by making a deal to show the hobbit the way out if he can win a game of riddles.

Gollum was disappointed once more; and now he was getting angry, and also tired of the game.

After many riddles Gollum is being left hungry, and both are running out of riddles. In many attempts to confuse the other they are becoming slower with both their riddles and their answers but who will run out first the hobbit or the creature who lives in the lake.

"What have I got in my pocket?" he said aloud. he was talking to himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle, and he was frightfully upset.

When Bilbo realized that Gollum thought this was a riddle he was quick to enforces it. Gollum made him give him three guesses and they were the following his hands, knife, and lastly nothing. All answers are wrong. Now I'm not going to tell you whats in Bilbo's pockets or what happens next if you want to know that than go read the book.