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Distilled Page This distilled page shows a sword going across the page diagonally on a white canvas. Also, it shows five splatters/gashes. They are painted in green, blue, brown, yellow/gold, and red. On the sword is some blood from the red gash. Painted in red, rounded letters and outlined in black is the title of the book, The Hobbit. The name of the author (J.R.R Tolkien) is in all black, in the same style as the name of the book. On this piece of art, there are many different parts that have meaning and connect with the book. The sword is the same sword that Bilbo Baggins used for nearly the whole story. It is also supposed to stand out the most on the page. Where the blood from the red gash is, that represents all the bloodshed in the book, in and out of battle. The title of the book being in red also represents bloodshed and battle in the book. However the title being in bubble-type lettering shows the more soft side of the main character, Bilbo. The green and blue gashes represent the travels the dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo made. I always imagined the ground around them to be very green because of the seasons they were traveling in and how much it rained! The brown gash represents two things. One thing it represents is where Bilbo came from, since he lives in a hill in a hobbit-hole. The second thing it represents is all the trouble they had with the goblins and in Smaug s mountain. The yellow/gold gash represents two things as well. It symbolizes the dwarves gold and treasure that Smaug had captured for hundreds of years. It also symbolizes what will be a very big part of the Lord of the Rings series, the ring Bilbo stole from Gollum. 2
Theme Satements MAIN Changes in your life will turn you into who you least expect. SUBTHEMES Going away from what s comfortable can be a good thing. To overcome your fear, you have to show courage and step out of your shell. Sometimes you have to step up and be a leader for the good of others. 3
Table of Contents Author Biography Connector/Investigator Plot Setting Symbol 4
Author s Biography J.R.R Tolkien s life is an inspirational one. He had to fight for what he loves, suffer from losses, and succeed in reaching his dreams. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3 rd 1892 in Bloemfontein (South Africa). When he was a child, he was in the garden and was bit by a baboon spider. Baboon spiders have very strong venom and bites are very painful, but not dangerous to man. People think that this event had something to do with his stories, for he writes a lot about spiders. But he claims to have no memory of this event. When Tolkien hit age three, his family went to England for a family trip. Tolkien, his little brother, Hilary (yes brother), and his mother went and his father would come later. As Tolkiens family settled in England, they heard the news that their father had died of rheumatic fever. Later on when Tolkien was 12, his mother died from acute diabetes. So as you can see, very early on in Tolkiens life, he had to overcome a lot of adversity. When Tolkien was 16, he met Edith Mary Bratt. They quickly grew a relationship with one another, but this wasn t an easy love story. Tolkiens guardian at the time, Father Francis Morgan, viewed her as a distraction to Tolkien s schoolwork. He prohibited Tolkien from speaking with Edith until he turned 21. So on the night of Tolkien s 21 st birthday, he sent Edith a letter and asked her to marry him. Edith was already engaged, but she called it off and married Tolkien. 5
Author s Biography Continued World War I hit England and a lot of men were volunteering into the army, Tolkien waited until he completed his degree. He was then enlisted and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. After about a year of service, Tolkien came home due to trench fever. Trench fever was transmitted by lice, which was said to be common in the dugouts. In WWII, Tolkien served, but he wasn t put into as big of a role. He was a codbreaker, who just studied methods for obtaining secret information. Tolkien s first job after WWI was at the Oxford English Dictionary, where he mainly worked on the history of words that begin with W with a Germanic origin. In 1920, he became a post reader in the English language at the University of Leeds. While he had this job, he produced a Middle English Vocabulary. His next job brought him back to Oxford as Rawlison and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon. Also having a fellowship at Pembroke College. While at Pembroke, he wrote The Hobbit, LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring, and LOTR: The Two Towers. The Hobbit, which is one of the most popular books of the 20 th century, wasn t even supposed to be publicized. A woman named Susan Dagnall, who worked at the London publishing firm, had to persuade Tolkien to publicize it. One of the themes we chose from The Hobbit was working hard pays off. Not only does this apply to Bilbo Baggins, but this also applies to J.R.R Tolkien. Tolkien had to overcome a lot of adversity throughout his life, but that didn t stop him from reaching his goals. Whether it was deaths in the family, not being able to communicate with his true love, or going to war, that didn t stop him from doing what he truly loved: writing. 6
Connector/Investigator Tolkien loved mythology of all kinds, especially Norse. The Hobbit is highly influenced by Icelandic mythology, and not so much by Norse. The Hobbit is the exception of Tolkien s works. He published the Hobbit in 1836, at the urging of his family and friends. The Elder Edda Tolkien s greatest influence was retranslated and republished in 1836 as well. The Elder Edda is a collection of poems from many different authors. The language suggests it was first written down in 1000-1300 C.E. Tolkien really loved these stories. He even borrowed names from the Edda. He took Durin (2 nd mightest in the dwarves), Bifur and Bofur, Bombur and Nori, Fili and Kili, and Thorin, Dori. In the very first poem, Voluspo the Wise-Women s Prophesy, it speaks of the dwarves being raised up, and names many of them. It speaks of how the dwarves must leave what they find comfortable, and trust the gods to be raised up. That fits with one of the Hobbit s themes, Going away from what s comfortable can be a good thing. The second poem tells of a man who comes down from the mountains and is welcomed extravagantly. Again, he stepped out of his comfort zone and into something good. Bilbo has to step out of his hobbit hole which he completely comfortable in and into an adventure, which leaves him rich. 7
Plot The Hobbit has set the standard for mainstream novelists, with its classic adventure atmosphere and heroic characters. It has all of the basic ingredients for an epic story, a likeable hero, an omnipotent enemy, and of course, lots of treasure. But there is something that sets this one apart. It s the way Tolkein artfully weaves his own beliefs into all aspects of the book, chiefly among them being the plot. This story is all about the most unlikely of people can overcome the hardest of obstacles. Bilbo is a Hobbit, a creature roughly half the size of a man. His race is all about comfortable, secure, and uneventful lives. Respectable Hobbits stay at home their entire lives, and do nothing out of the ordinary. What Bilbo does would make him the worst Hobbit in history. A wizard shows up at his door with thirteen dwarves asking him to quest for dragon-guarded gold with them. Bilbo s wilder side finally gets the better of him, and he agrees. Throughout the hard journey, he experiences challenges he would have never dreamed of. These obstacles change him in small and great ways; forging him into a courageous, daring person. These events all lead up to a final, perilous confrontation that tests Bilbo with his newfound courage. Bilbo emerges victorious; coming into his new self, becoming the epic hero in the quest. But he didn t have to do it alone. He had the help of his companions, and most of all, Gandalf the wizard. All though Gandalf was not actively part of the journey, he was there at key parts to assist and provide support for Bilbo. Gandalf was there to encourage and push Bilbo to become the best he could be. 8
Plot Continued Tolkein s plot shows that anybody can be the hero, they just have to be able to take the first step. But it doesn t have to be a lonely journey. Bilbo took the first step, leaving his comfortable Hobbit-hole, into the harsh unknown. Sure there was problems. Sure things were hard. But because Bilbo had all of his help, he could complete his transformation. Tolkein was a Christian and I believe that Bilbo s entire journey alludes to it. Gandalf kind of represented God, who was there to help and encourage in times of great need, but wanted Bilbo to be able to figure things out for himself and achieve his full potential. In the plot alone, the author was able to convey multiple life lessons to be taken to heart by his readers, Christian or not. 9
Setting What is setting? Setting creates a sense of reality, reveals character, makes atmosphere and conflict for the characters. J.R.R Tolkien writes clear, vivid, precise, detailed descriptions in his book The Hobbit. He creates a vivid landscape that affects the characters and the plot itself. Like a painting, the settings are the background that helps show the themes of loyalty, courage and perseverance. The settings are key factors in making Bilbo Baggins change his life and become what he did not expect. Although Bilbo visits many places, Bag-Ends, Mirkwood and the Lonely Mountain show how much he changes to survive. And Bilbo is forever different because of the setting. In The Hobbit setting plays a massive part in the plot and how the characters develop. Bag-End, Bilbo s home, is a nice place with slow-placed, warm fellow hobbits that do nothing that is not expected. No conflict, no nothing. Until the day thirteen dwarves march through his front door. To say the least, all those people in his home flustered Bilbo. It was not a normal occurrence in the Shire. So poor Bilbo did not know how to respond to the catastrophe or to the invitation to go with what seemed to be unreasonable folks to get treasure from a dragon. Yet, in Mirkwood, gloomy, threatening Mirkwood, Bilbo does what the thirteen dwarves could not do for themselves. Taunting and slaying the spiders. And outwitting the elves. That was the harder to do, getting his friends away with none the wiser. Both events called for this formerly plump, silly hobbit to act against creatures that he would have once quailed standing up against. No longer! Bilbo uses his wits and sword to keep the group from being destroyed by various forces. And this little warrior does it all. 10
Setting Continued The Lonely Mountain is similar to the situations faced in Mirkwood, with one large difference. Smoag, the dragon, is now their opponent and they were startled by how unreal he was. In both size and greed, not to mention wits. So Bilbo talked to Smoag the only way he could without dying: in riddles. Though inexperienced, Bilbo survived the encounter with valuable information. And a more worldly understanding of life and adventures than he had had back in the Shire. Many people do not really notice setting. In The Hobbit the setting and plot intertwine. You cannot have The Hobbit without its setting. The settings, Bag-End, Mirkwood, or the Lonely Mountain, do reveal character, create atmosphere, and conflict. Tolkien creates such a real place, that normal people regard it as reachable. The story could not have been told at all. Setting is as important as every other element in fiction; in fact, it is one of the most important. 11
Symbol Throughout The Hobbit, Bilbo experiences a change that redefines him as a person and also how he thinks about the world around him. Ordinary objects symbolize this metamorphosis of Bilbo. As the journey goes on, smoke rings, thrushes, and the Arkenstone change along with Bilbo. By the end of the book, they have become far different than Bilbo originally thought, much like Bilbo himself. At the beginning of the book, Bilbo has a hobby of blowing smoke in the air from his pipe. Before the interruption of Gandalf and the dwarves, Bilbo would just blow columns of smoke into the air, thinking that it was too stressful to do any sort of trick. Once Bilbo is inadvertently thrown onto the journey, he begins to see and adapt to the smoke ring trick the dwarves do. He stares in awe at the skill they have to blow such large rings and laments over the fact that he will never be able to it. Once he returns to his home, however, he finds himself blowing great rings of smoke into the air, proving that the journey changed his confidence into something much greater than he ever expected. 12
Symbol Continued Lastly, the Arkenstone proves as symbol for a sudden and unexpected change. Originally, Bilbo embarked on the journey in hopes of unimaginable riches. He found all he ever wanted in the jewel Arkenstone. As battle with the humans became more apparent, he had to decide which was better: the Arkenstone or the safety of his new dwarf friends. He chose the latter and in a sudden change of intentions used the Arkenstone as a bartering tool. Bilbo never thought he could protect the dwarves that so rudely defiled his house, but the Arkenstone changed him and his mindset to something he would have never expected. Bilbo always admired the thrushes and birds that snag outside of his Hobbit hole. He never suspected that there was more to them than just a beautiful song. At the climax of the journey, Bilbo discovers that thrushes are intelligent as they provide him and Bard with vital information. Normally these birds don t talk to anyone, but seeing that the circumstances could very well change the world, the changed themselves and began to speak freely to the people. They serve as a symbol that in dire times, people can change for the better, despite whatever ancient code holds them back. 13