About Me

My photo
I am looking to share my love of cooking, tips, recipes and remixes with others.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

In Review

It has become the inspiration and template for the modern fantasy genre. And it is an adventure that is filled with wonder, magic, action and vividly memorable characters. These are impressive accomplishments for any story. But considering the fact that The Hobbit was originally intended to be a simple children’s tale, the success of the book is all the more pronounced.

Bilbo Baggins who professes to dislike adventures, but who secretly harbors a love for things like maps and stories of princesses and dragons. He’s a wonderfully simple, even innocent character. Bilbo’s love for simple things evokes a similar pull in many of us – that longing for a simpler time, when there wasn’t a care in our personal world. But of course, that’s not the way things are in the real world and it’s not the way things are even in Bilbo’s world.

Bilbo’s call to adventure comes from another classic; that of the wise old man, in the form of the wizard, Gandalf. The beginning of Bilbo’s quest with the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain, and guides the troop about halfway to their destination. But more important than the geographical journey across Middle Earth, Gandalf’s guidance brings Bilbo closer to reaching his full potential.

The quest itself is fairly straightforward. Bilbo will accompany thirteen Dwarves from his home in The Shire, through Rivendell, across the Misty Mountains, and through Mirkwood to the Lonely Mountain. There, Bilbo’s job, as burglar, will be to gain entrance to the mountain so that they may defeat the might dragon Smaug and reclaim the Dwarven treasure which Smaug stole many years before. The quest may sound unremarkable in today’s age, but that is simply because it has been replicated so many times since The Hobbit was first published. But even if you think you’ve heard this story before, Tolkien’s version is worth reading.

The further into Middle Earth he travels, the difficulty, and risk, of the challenges Bilbo faces increase. He begins with an abortive attempt to pickpocket a group of Trolls and eventually discovers the courage and strength to confront the great dragon Smaug, all alone, deep in Smaug’s lair. Of course, Bilbo’s journey has been guided by Gandalf, aided by the Dwarves, the Elves of Rivendell, the Eagles and a fateful encounter near the dark roots of the Misty Mountains.

First, the journey under the mountain symbolizes the descent into hell,the darkest places of our personal selves. Without confronting that, we will be unable to discover our true selves, and our quest would fail. Within the darkness of the mountain, Bilbo bravely presses on. He is rewarded for doing so by way of his discovery of a mysterious ring. But before he can claim this treasure as his own, he has one more archetype to confront: a dark shadow of himself. This shadow is represented by the miserable, pitiful creature Gollum.

Bilbo’s confrontation with Gollum is important because of its implications for the quest – as well as its implications for the Lord of the Rings saga that will soon follow. More importantly for Bilbo is the necessity that he must confront what he could become, if he were to be consumed by evil. Indeed, immediately after acquiring the ring, Bilbo’s innocence is lost. He bends the rules in a game of riddles against Gollum and later, he flat out lies to Gandalf. These are minor occurrences, but they would be harbingers of a great danger had Bilbo not defeated his shadow. The defeat itself doesn’t come during the riddle game, but rather a few moments later when Bilbo, made invisible by the ring, has an opportunity to murder Gollum. He doesn’t, however, and so he defeats the darkness within and his quest can continue.

In the end, the confluence of events, including his daring rescue of the Dwarves, from a horde of larger-than-life spiders in Mirkwood, teaches Bilbo that he does indeed have strength within himself. Quite literally, Bilbo begins to know himself. And that confidence helps him in the final transformation which he must undergo – from a timid, simple, innocent person into a crafty, intuitive and brave adventurer. Bilbo finally faces the worst of his fears, conquers them, and confronts the deadly dragon Smaug, deep in the bowels of the Lonely Mountain. The moment when Bilbo overcomes his fear is the moment in which he, finally and completely, transforms from who he was into who he was always meant to be. Bilbo achieves his full potential and, as a result, gains treasures far greater than the gold he carries away from the Lonely Mountain.

Bilbo must make his return journey, back to his home where is transformation can provide benefits to himself and those around him. As he and Gandalf finally take their final steps toward The Shire, Gandalf says, quiet profoundly, “My dear Bilbo! Something has happened to you. You are not the Hobbit you once were.” even Gandalf has noticed the transformation

The classic adventure tales of creatures, and fantastical beings have survived the hands of time. Very much the premiss I believe for the spin off or trilogy or extensions of the version. I believe that everyone at heart truely wants to be able to transform themselves into a character and live vicarously through a writters expression and tale. The phenomenon of this tale and the following of the Lord of the Rings has allowed those of all ages to relate to the alternate world of fantasy, allowing an escape from the world of turmoil that we call ours to one of fantasy knowing when one closes the book so closes the adversity. However it also provides what I call " the light at the end" for if the hobbit a simple creature can have such an adventureous and cautic life and survive so can we.

It is my opinion that if one is looking for a good read, The Hobbit, I highly reccomend. It is a book that has survived the times as a true classic and basis, example for authors that have contined to create tales in the classic contents.  If there is any doubt that this would be a book to remember, just browse the first chapter and I feel you would be hooked. Tranporting yourself from the current life into the past of the hobbit you can experience a life of adventure.

1 comment:

  1. Reviews are usually going to work on several levels: description, analysis, recommendation.

    I think this is over-heavy on description and light on analysis--the description is clear and forceful, but it needs to be 'collected' at the end with analysis explaining the point of the description.

    You give us one level of analysis: Bilbo's transformation and hint at another: the mythic quality of the quest, any quest. What I miss is the further perspective explaining why these books have become the phenomenon they have.

    There are plenty of good reads, plenty of sword and sorcery lookalikes, copycats, and wannabes--but there is only the one Tolkien.

    ReplyDelete