The Hobbit

THE HOBBIT

BY J.R.R. TOLKIEN

A book report by Kaleb Brooks

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a story of adventure and danger, and it is a prime example of a romantic plot and fantasy genre. What makes this story such a great example of a romantic plot? One, the unlikely hero, Mr. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit that is dragged on an adventure he doesn't wish to take. Second, there is a great quest with a reward at its end. Third the great teacher figure, Gandalf is a wizard that helps Bilbo to become the great hero he is destined to be. And lastly the dragon figure, in this story the dragon figure, happened to be a dragon but there are also many miniature dragon figures through out the tale.

The story begins with our soon to be hero Bilbo Baggins he's smoking his pipe and is quite proud of the smoke rings he is managing to make. As Bilbo smokes his pipe, Gandalf stops by to have a talk with Bilbo. He informs Bilbo that he is looking for someone to go on an adventure with him. Although Bilbo is tempted to accept the offer, he declines. Before Gandalf leaves Bilbo decides to invite him for tea the next morning. Dwarves show up at his door instead, one at a time, inviting themselves in until there's thirteen in all. Bilbo isn't quite sure of what to make of this, but Gandalf shows up and soon it becomes apparent to Bilbo that he has been chosen by Gandalf to be the thief in an adventure to retrieve some stolen dwarf gold from a dragon named Smaug. He was a very weak character at the start of this adventure, however he decided to prove himself very early in the story, he tried to pick pocket from a Troll. He failed but you get a glimpse of the hero he is to become.

The quest begins when the group meets at the Green Dragon Inn. From there they venture into the Lone-lands. As heavy rains begin to fall, Bilbo notices that Gandalf is missing. This is something that is later on considered to be normal because Gandalf comes and goes throughout the duration of the trip. All through the quest Bilbo ends up saving the party from many dangerous situations. This is something that at first Bilbo finds hard to believe because he has very low self-esteem. The group always seems to find themselves in worse, and worse problems, but they always overcome these problems, with the help of Bilbo and some times Gandalf. Some of these problems include: getting caught by trolls, getting captured by goblins, being attacked by large wolves called Wargs, one of the dwarves falls into a coma from touching black water in the Mirkwood Forest, nearly dying of starvation, being captured by large spiders and being captured by wood-elves. Although this is all very good action, the real action begins when the party finally reaches their destination- Lonely Mountain (home of Smaug).

On Lonely Mountain, in order to sneak into Smaug's lair, Bilbo puts on his magic ring, which turns him invisible. He talks to the dragon for a while and gets the dragon to show him the under side of his stomach. Bilbo manages to get close enough to see the dragon's weakness, which is a missing scale in his chest. Smaug gets very angry when Bilbo laughs at him and starts to blow fire. Bilbo then takes off running