For Tuesday: Tolkein, The Hobbit, Chapters
I-IV (pp.1-63)
Answer 2 of the following questions (and don’t rely on the movie to
answer them for you—the book is a bit different!)
In what way might we consider The Hobbit and/or the character of
Bilbo Baggins a variation (or revision) on several of Lord Dunsany’s stories of
Fantasy and Reality such as “The Wonderful Window,” etc? Consider that Tolkein definitely knew these
stories in the same way that anyone writing fantasy today would be aware of
J.K. Rowling.
In Chapter One, “An Unexpected Party,” Bilbo asks the dwarfs, “I should
like to know about risks, out-of-pocket expenses, time required and
remuneration, and so forth” (21). Why
does this sound distinctly out of place in a fantasy novel, and where else do
we spy conscious anachronisms in his story?
Though The Hobbit opens with a simple domestic scene (“in a hole
in the ground there lived a hobbit”), how does Tolkein hint that a great
mythology lies behind the prosaic world of the Shire? Why do you think he felt it necessary to let
glimpses of this ancient world shine through his simple tale? How does it affect how we read and understand
the work as a whole?
In Chapter II, “Roast Mutton,” the dwarfs reflect on Gandalf: “So far he
had come all the way with them, never saying if he was in the adventure or
merely keeping them company for a while.
He had eaten most, talked most, and laughed most. But now he simply was not there at all!”
(30). What kind of character/wizard is
Gandalf, and how does he prepare to the other famous wizard in the class,
White’s Merlyn? Are they versions of the
same character?
2. That whole sentence is incredibly modern. In most fantastical adventure novels it doesn't seem like anyone ever even questions a great quest, they just go. The especially wouldn't question the "out of pocket expenses" that concept, especially that phrase, is a relatively modern one that wouldn't sound out of place here, but was absurd in that. Our concept of time is also a lot more instantaneous than it should have been in that time frame. Without a reliable mode of transportation like the cars we have now, asking how long his adventure would take is just ridiculous. There is no good way of knowing other than that travelling halfway across the world and back would take some time. There was the tobacco, as we mentioned in class, but I also questioned some of the instruments the dwarves had. I don't know a whole lot about that supposed time frame, but some of those seemed fairly modern, and then of course the whole story about how one of Bilbo's ancestors invented the game of golf.
ReplyDelete4. Gandalf is the teacher and the protector. He wants to offer his friends and adventure, and help them when they need it, but ultimately let them take care of things on their own. I find Merlyn and Gandalf to be eerily similar. They both seem to always be there to offer advice, support, and help when their charges are put into dangerous situations, but they also both believe that their charges need to do some things by themselves. Gandalf likes to frequently disappear only to rejoin the group when they are in danger. Merlyn liked to turn Wart into different animals and let him wander around on his own. Seems like pretty much the same guy to me.
Yes, it's full of improbable items such as clarinets, coffee, any type of tobacco, and of course the game of golf! Yet these are all staples of middle-class existence and/or the modern world, which Tolkein is at pains to keep in the story. This isn't childish escapism, but a modern-day moral for a modern-day Bilbo, who wants to let the imaginative world remain firmly in books and out of his sensible hobbit hole. Yet everyone hobbit is a "hob," a fairy who is part and parcel of the fantasy world, as are we. We're all made of star stuff, after all, so it's ludicrous to pretend that the universe is not our home! We should explore!
DeleteAimee Elmore
ReplyDelete2. That whole statement just doesn't seem to fit into the world of the Shire. Bilbo was asked to go on an adventure. That is normal but him asking about the risks or expenses. That makes no sense in a fantasy book. You don’t question the quest in fantasy novels. You just go. Also the instruments they used seem very out of place in a fantasy novel. You expect older instruments or instruments that you have never heard of.
4. Gandalf is the character that all the other characters go to for advice or direction. Gandalf and Merlyn are a lot alike. They seem to know everything and be the one that everyone goes to. They are also the ones that a good to have around when things get a little hard to handle.
True, you don't question the quest, but this isn't a normal (or what has come to be normal) fantasy novel: this is a story about real life, disguised cleverly as a work of fantasy. Bilbo wants to make the unknown fit into a contract or something he can control and sign off on, which of course isn't what life is all about. At some point, we have to take the leap into adventure and realize that human laws are simply that--constructions which pretend we control the world. We don't.
Delete3. The entire book (with the exception of the very beginning and end), Bilbo is on an adventure and misses the Shire because it's home. In comparison to modern times, it's no different than going on a vacation for an extended period of time. The entire time you're gone (regardless of adventure), at the back of your mind, you're always going to miss home because it's your comfort zone. So the entire time Bilbo's out on this adventure, nothing can take away the angst that he has for the Shire.
ReplyDelete4. Gandalf is like the almighty, overseeing protector. He is very charismatic. Whenever they encounter challenges/obstacles, Gandalf always knows what to do. He can essentially fix anything. It rubs off on to other characters to where they have what is called "contact charisma." They don't have as much power and conviction as Gandalf, but throughout their interactions with him, they are able to carry on in his absence. Gandalf is definitely a spin off the wizard, Merlyn, from the Sword and the Stone. Because even though he has the power himself to complete the quest with ease, he instead plays the role of a mentor (or parental like figure). He encourages them to take on said task, and motivates them until they are successful.
Yes, Gandalf could do this entire quest himself, we imagine, but that's not the point (as you suggest). Gandalf is a metaphor for the old world, that existed long before Bilbo, and functions much like the "magic mirror" in Lord Dunsany's story. He gives Bilbo a vision of a clearer, more life-affirming world that demands his participation--even at the expense of losing his life. Yet Gandalf believes the old adage, "don't die before you're dead," and in some ways, Bilbo is quietly dying wrapped up in the comfort of food and the lack of ideas. Ironically, the ring ends up giving him almost immortal life--a great metaphor for the power of the imagination. It makes you live forever!
DeleteAshley Bean
ReplyDelete3. He's showing that this story isn't all there is to his world. Like our ancient histories and cultures, the Shire goes far back as well. These characters haven't just sprung up out of nowhere. There have been battles and wars! He constantly mentions the past throughout the story, giving sometimes important details and other times not. He even goes into great detail of the Shire itself and the hobbit holes, as well as Bilbo's family. These things shape the characters, and they would feel empty without that hint of ancient story to them.
4. It is hard to answer these questions because I know some of the lore, but I think, even just from reading this novel alone, that Gandalf is a much more powerful being than Merlyn. They have some similar characteristics, their appearance and their all knowing attitude and how they tend to let the normal folk succeed on their own with a little help, but ultimately I think they are quite different. I can see that he is probably based off of Merlyn, but Tolkien made him something even more. He seems to be an all knowing, almost godly character. He knows more about Bilbo than he himself knows.
Yes, even what Bilbo knows of the shire is limited; he can't see the ancient battles and figures that once populated it, when the hobbits were still "hobs" (fairies). We always try to re-write history and make the world simpler than it is. The truth is that it's a wild, wooly thing that demands to be explored and written about endlessly and we'll never get to the bottom of it. Gandalf represents the raw power of the imagination which defies social constructs and demands to be taken on its own terms.
Delete1. The introduction to the characters in both stories is similar; both authors dote on the fact that the characters are normal for their kind (man and hobbit) and live seemingly uninteresting lives. The main character in “The Wonderful Window” and Bilbo are both longing for something more than their ordinary lives, but they are also afraid to step outside their normal boundaries. This longing is especially evident after the dwarves’ song is finished; Tolkein writes this of Bilbo, “Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pinetrees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick. He looked out of the window . . . and very quickly he was plain Mr. Baggins of Bag-End, Under-Hill again. For both of these characters, the first battle they face is fighting against the status quo and against their inner angst concerning adventure and this unknown land.
ReplyDelete2. Like Sarah mentioned, the expression “out-of-pocket expenses” sounds extremely modern as well as the notion that a being who lives in a hill would be concerned with such detailed things as how much the trip is going to cost him. This line seems especially out of place because fantasy is meant to supersede normal, everyday life where characters dwell on financial burdens and have to take breaks to use the facilities; the fantasy world is thought to be one of dreams and nightmares. Another anachronism which jumped out at me early on in the story comes before the dwarves begin singing their song. Tolkein lists the instruments they produce from their coats or the hall. Some of the instruments seemed they could have belonged in this land, but I was especially confused by the introduction of a clarinet as it seems so modern as it consists not only of a body with finger holes and stopper but also of a reed formed to a particular width and measure. Since we’ve been learning about anachronisms in this class, it has been hard for me to read a work without unconsciously searching for them, and I’ve started taking pride when I find one or two. While it is sometimes hard to believe that an author may have placed an anachronism in a particular story because it just doesn’t fit, it seems that Tolkein was completely aware of what would make it into this world he created and what was too fantastical for the time he created; even then, he meshed the two to create a fantasy land for grand adventures!
Great response: Bilbo has to fight against society before he can fight a single troll or goblin. And that is a mighty war to wage indeed, since without social standing you can lose your job, your position, your very respectability! Yet Gandalf represents that imaginative capability deep within ourselves that cannot be good, be quiet, or be sensible: it simply is. And we cannot suppress it, not entirely, without misery, as the character in "The Wonderful Window" learns. And yes, anachronisms abound, and the tea, coffee, clarinets, and golf are there as a wink at the reader: this is about you and me, he seems to suggest, even though it's in a land of goblins and trolls. Don't forget it!
Delete2. I love that Bilbo asks all of these questions. It is out of place for the fantasy theme, but however, I do not think it is out of place for his character. In the beginning chapters he is such a worry wart! A true adventurer would never ask how much they thought they would spend. It makes it sound like he was begrudgingly going on a vacation. I also found it interesting that the game of golf was apparently invented by Bilbo’s ancestors. That seemed way out place for the fantasy aspect, and the overall time period of the novel. Another thing I noticed was the talk about fireworks.
ReplyDelete4. Gandalf, he is such an interesting character. I can see some similarities between him and Merlyn, especially in appearance. Also, they both have this all-knowing vibe going on. But personally, I think Gandalf is more mischievous than Merlyn. Gandalf also seems to have more flaws, but I think this adds to his personality. It makes me value him more. When he claims to know more about Bilbo than Bilbo knows about himself, I just believe him, most people might question that.
Great responses; and indeed, he does know more about Bilbo than Bilbo does--the history of his people and the history of his name. Bilbo has accepted a dim view of his life from society--that he should merely be respectable and live up to the Baggins name. But Gandalf thinks in entire centuries and sees that no man is merely a title, or a class; every man (or woman) has unlimited potentials within him or her, though society wants us simply to be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, a banker, etc. We are losing our names! :)
Delete2. I think that that sentence sounds out of place because it really doesn't make sense to the story. I mean, a hobbit who doesn't like adventure would definitely ask and require details about the journey that he is about to go on, but not in such a modern way. For example, there is no way that they could possibly know how long that their journey would take. They travel on ponies and they are going to parts of their world that they do not know a lot about. Also, because of this, they would likely not know what out of pocket expenses there would be, if they would even use a term such as that at all. One other anachronism that I noticed was the reference to the game of golf. I think that it is a humorous one because it is only mentioned once, and never again. There wasn't really a reason for it. No characters are ever playing the game and none of them ever talk about it either.
ReplyDelete4. I think that both Gandalf and Merlyn are very interesting characters. Both of them are very intelligent, in fact they both seem to know more than any other character in either story, yet they are both very odd as well. They both serve as the turn to character in their novels. They are the ones with the answers and they are the ones that help the others to avoid danger. They are essentially the same character in different stories.
Cora-lee Snow
Right, many modern connections are thrown in for the reader to give him/her a sense of being at ease in this strange world (golf, coffee, clarinets, tea, etc.). Yet it also reminds us that this IS about our world, and the mirror of fantasy is merely a reflection, after all, not the world itself. Bilbo is still learning to look at himself, and see who he really is (or can be) rather than the dim reflection society offers him.
DeleteMany things said in The Hobbit sound out of place in a fantasy novel. Bilbo isn’t the classic “hero” that comes to mind to take on an adventure. In chapter one, Bilbo is concerned about risks, expenses, and the time that this adventure will take. He wants a contract to be in place before he goes anywhere which is odd for a fantasy “hero”. Like most hobbits, Bilbo does not appreciate adventure; he views them as socially embarrassing. On his mother’s side, the Tooks, there are some of the only hobbits that have gone on adventures, and they are not respected like the Baggins side. Whenever Bilbo starts to become intrigued by talk of an adventure he blames his “Tookish” side for coming out. In addition to being conservative like most hobbits, Bilbo is small, old and more concerned with eating two dinners than going off on adventures. Throughout the first four chapters, and I assume the book, Bilbo says to himself, “’I wish I was at home in my nice hold by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!’ It was not the last time that he wished that.” (Tolkien 32). Some anachronisms in the story were the contract Bilbo wanted to draw up to go the adventure, the formal letter written by Thorin to Bilbo stressing punctuality, and the mention of how the game of golf was invented. The great-grand uncle Billroarer the Hobbit knocked the goblin king’s, Golfinbul, head clean off with a club into a hole.
ReplyDeleteGandalf compares to many other wizard characters before and after The Hobbit. Gandalf, like many of wizard characters, seem finicky, wise, mysterious, and prone to letting heroes figure out things for themselves. Merlyn lived time backwards, so it could be inferred by his actions he knew many events that would take place when Wart grew up. He let Wart struggle to build character, but always saved him before it was too late. Gandalf also shows up in the nick of time to save the adventuring party, and as the journey goes on, it is clear that he knows more about the landscape and different races than any other person on the journey. He is always a step ahead of their attackers and is an excellent source of foreshadowing. Dumbledore seems to be based loosely off Gandalf in many ways. Not only do they look similar, he is also a step ahead of the enemy, and lets the hero stumble through things on his own.
Raegan Sampson
Great responses: as you suggest, Gandalf is the link to the "old world" in this book, and a metaphor for the history that Bilbo has willingly suppressed. He is perhaps also a way of looking at our own world: he is the spirit of adventure that calls us, but that society tells us to ignore, since it makes us late for dinner, or it doesn't pay the bills! In a sense, Gandalf is the "Magic Mirror" from Dunsany's story. Just like he's forgotten the meanings of his own name, so Gandalf reminds him that the world is older and more meaningful than he realizes if he only looks out his own door and sees the road winding on and ever on.
DeleteRocky Moore
ReplyDelete3. I think the simplicity captures the audience. Tolkein uses the Shire to portray a certain people in their environment that entices the reader. I mean Tolkein does talk of the Shire if it had been there before time even started it seems like. I believe Tolkein wanted the Shire to shine through this simple tale because it is where the adventure all begins. He is taking his main character, Bilbo Baggins out of this, what seems like perfect place, into the depths of a world he knows nothing about nor does someone who is reading this for the first time. The contrast from the Shire to every other place they visit is very drastic and not always in a good way and I think this makes the reader want to read more.
I think right from the beginning he sounds like Merlyn with his big, blue, pointy hat. Gandalf seems to have an understanding of the world and all things like Merlyn. I think you could even take the two characters that are being mentored like Wart in Sword in the Stone and Bilbo in The Hobbit and it seems like the two wizards have the same goal in mind, to expand the horizons for the younger apprentice. One could say that they are of the same version but I always think of Gandalf more like Dumbledore from Harry Potter. He seems to have a more mysterious side of him that the reader wants to know more about but doesn't. Merlyn and the other hand appeared to be a little more comical than serious or even mysterious, but still there are various similarities between the two.
Shelby Pletcher
ReplyDelete1) Both characters in Tolkein's and Dunsany's stories depict completely ordinary people who long for a bigger, better world whether they realize it or not. It seems to take each characters ownership of the beyond to realize his great longing for it due to their sheer meekness and inability to view themselves as any form of a hero.
3) The Shire is depicted as a certain stability a midst all of the adventure and dramatic battles Bilbo is facing. However, it was in this stable life that Bilbo found himself far too contented. Ultimately, he was wasting away. I believe this is a metaphor for Tolkein's readers to suggest that there is a world beyond our own, and it's all too danger to the human spirit to keep one's mind from being aware of this vastness. Life begins at the end our comfort zone, as they say.
1. I actually remember passing up reading The Hobbit while browsing the shelves in my school library, but it wasn’t until The Fellowship of the Ring movie came out that I went back to it. I think Bilbo could compare to some of the characters from Dunsany’s tales in that he lives in a very practical, routine oriented world, but there’s a fantasy world within his reach. But unlike Dunsany’s characters who seemed to only have the fantasy world in their own minds, Bilbo is tangible and within reach. Plus, he wants nothing to do with it which is kind of ironic compared to the Dunsany characters who need that escape or are tired of the ordinary. Bilbo is like ‘no thanks. I’m good’ because fellow hobbits would know if he went on adventures whereas Mr. Shap could just hide his secret at home or in his head.
ReplyDelete4. I’ve read The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit before so that kind of colors my view of Gandalf, but the description really foreshadows and fits the way he behaves throughout the stories. Gandalf when he is present kicks ass and saves the day, but he has all of his burners going so to speak so the dwarves quest to Lonely Mountain is only one bit of business that he is participating in and guiding. What the dwarves and Bilbo are doing is important, but it’s not the only important thing going on with him so he can’t fully dedicate himself to it. On the other hand, Merlyn is with Wart pretty constantly and dedicated to his education for several years. Yet he comes and goes a bit out of Arthur’s life too and always acts as a guide. They are pretty similar in that they’re driven with a purpose given to them by a higher power. Merlyn is trying to educate Arthur to become a great king, and Gandalf just has a lot going on in Middle Earth that he’s trying to manage.