Arters AP Literature 2016-17 discussion

Having read previously Tolkien’s fantasy masterpiece “The Lord of the Rings”, seen all the films (including the Hobbit trilogy), and even read the more obscure Silmarillion and Narn I Chin Hurin, I knew what to expect from the author commonly touted as the father of high fantasy. The Hobbit serves as a prequel to Frodo’s adventures, and an explanation for the Ring and Smeagol’s history with the Baggins family. In this it serves its purpose and goes far beyond the call of duty.
Bilbo Baggins is the main protagonist of the novel. Uncle to Frodo (his adopted heir), the story takes place during Bilbo’s relative prime in comparison to his old age in “The Lord of the Rings”. This shift in his character is portrayed very well in the obvious naivete of the hobbit at the start of the novel. Bilbo is simply an ordinary hobbit, afraid of the unknown and fond of large breakfasts (of which there are two a day).
This all changes when Gandalf and Thorin’s company arrive however, and Bilbo finds himself unable to resist the lure and excitement of adventure, especially one in which he might steal gold from a dragon. Starting from the peaceful Shire, the company travels to the more dangerous wild lands in the East, meeting a brood of trolls who almost devours them before Gandalf rescues the party.
Through many perils, including goblins in the mountain, elves and spiders in the woods, and the somewhat hostile welcome from the lakemen, the group arrives at their destination of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. Along the way, it is very evident that Bilbo’s cunningness and worldliness has doubled and maybe even thrice increased since he left the Shire; he manipulates the Gollum creature, steals the magic ring of Sauron, and uses said ring to free the dwarves from both the spiders and elves.
Although “The Hobbit” is rather fast in its development and requires some general Tolkien lore to easily understand, Bilbo’s rapid character dynamics are built better than any other Tolkien story, largely due to the brevity with which he explains it, whereas LOTR is a lot more complex.
The subsequent demise of the treasure’s guardian dragon and the following “Battle of the Five Armies” reaches an obvious climax of the story. In this, Bilbo is not a large player and the audience once more is able to see the more vulnerable side of the hobbit. However, his betrayal of Thorin (justified by his desire to avoid conflict) further shows his willingness to sacrifice his self interests, as well as his unique bravery of heart in a story where many are inwardly selfish and cowardly. Thorin’s death and his farewell to Bilbo accentuates this at-times shaky relationship and paints a sombre but beautiful picture.
Upon Bilbo’s final return to the Shire, Tolkien is able to conclude with the same light air through the deployment of a rather funny situation; Bilbo returns to see his property being auctioned off on the presumption that he had died.
I would greatly recommend “The Hobbit” to any person who loves fantasy, for Tolkien being Tolkien lives up to his title as father of that particular genre with this novel.