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.