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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
How fun! Loved reading this especially after diving into the world of DnD. Literally not one female character in it lol but I honestly prefer that to an annoying and/or sexualized depiction. Tolkiens a little gay for that imo
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Very obviously a Children's Book, but still a classic masterpiece ...
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’ve read The Hobbit several times, of course, to myself and to my child when they were in elementary school. But this time I got to read it to my wife, as part of our bedtime reading. The book is of course beautifully written, and Tolkien writes for the ear, which means it is a very easy book to read aloud and to follow when read. The humor, the music, the tale, they are all delightful. You don’t need me to tell you all that, so I’ll just make a couple of comments on what struck me in this reading.
Gollum is, of course, one of the most memorable characters in the book, and his scene with Bilbo is one of the most memorable scenes, but it occurred to me on this read that Gollum is at the center of everything in The Hobbit. It is not a risky proposition to say that The Hobbit is about the corrupting force of greed. Gollum is the living example of what greed taken to its logical conclusion becomes. Gollum lives alone, apart from everyone else, with only himself to talk to, in the dark, buried under miles of mountain in utter seclusion. He has become warped in both body and mind, physically and mentally changed by his greed and the environs that greed has led him to. When Thorin is struck my the greed for his treasures, and especially the Arkenstone, we cannot help but think of Gollum. Thorin picks up Bilbo when he learns that the hobbit has given the Arkenstone to Bard, and threatens to throw him over the wall to his death. That is something Gollum would do out of rage. Smaug is himself a direct parallel to Gollum. He lives in the middle of a mountain (notably a “Lonely” mountain), sleeping on his pile of treasure, in the dark, with no one but himself to speak with. He plays a riddle game with Bilbo, or at least Bilbo plays a riddle game with him. He hasn’t been seen for many years presumably to spend all that time with his treasure, a treasure that he knows so well that when a single goblet goes missing, he knows it.
A foil to Gollum is Beorn. Beorn seems very much akin to Gollum and Smaug, living in isolation, hostile to intruders, but his isolation is not born of greed. Beorn is a protector of wildlife. He doesn’t seem to like people much, but he offers hospitality when Gandalf slyly comes seeking it. Gandalf plays a kind of riddle game with Beorn, teasing him with his story that allows him to introduce the large party slowly and to grasp Beorn’s imagination so much that he wants to hear the end of the tale more than he wants to keep people out of his home. When he realizes he has been beat, in a way, by Gandalf, he doesn’t destroy things, but laughs and welcomes them to eat and stay with him. And Beorn, like Gollum, is changed physically, but that change is one of power, serving his desire to protect the wilderness he holds so dear.
And of course, after his long adventure, when Bilbo returns home, we find the Sackville-Bagginses looting his house and looking to occupy it. This might seem like a bit of humor, but it seems to me to be a way for Tolkien to tell us that no one is immune to greed. Bilbo is the voice of reason and companionship throughout the novel. Even as Thorin turns on him, Bilbo refers to himself as “Thorin’s Companion.” When Thorin is on his deathbed, he says to Bilbo, “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” Bilbo is not nearly as tempted by riches as others. But the Sackville-Bagginses and the hullaballoo surrounding the parceling out of Bilbo’s stuff lets us know that hobbits are not immune to that greed that haunts the rest of the novel. They are as vulnerable to the disease as anyone else.
Gollum stands as the warning sign, the lesson, for us all. The mighty, like Smaug, might do terrible things in their throes of greed, but Gollum is a greater horror, a more personal and terrifying symbol of our corruptibility. Which is why he is also an object of pity and sympathy as well as fear.
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was not prepared for the amount of songs sung in this book.
Reading with toddler, she lost interest
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes