Novel Insights Guide To

The Hobbit

by J.R.R Tolkien


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TABLE OF CONTENTS


Author Biography ..................................... 1
Chapter 01 ..................................... 3
Chapter 02 ................................... 10
Chapter 03 ................................... 17
Chapter 04 ................................... 22
Chapter 05 ................................... 28
Chapter 06 ................................... 35
Chapter 07 ................................... 40
Chapter 08 ................................... 46
Chapter 09 ................................... 54
Chapter 10 ................................... 60
Chapter 11 ................................... 66
Chapter 12 ................................... 73
Chapter 13 ................................... 81
Chapter 14 ................................... 86
Chapter 15 ................................... 92
Chapter 16 ................................... 97
Chapter 17 ................................. 102
Chapter 18 ................................. 107
Chapter 19 ................................. 112
Vocabulary Tests ................................. 116
Test Questions ................................. 146
Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle ................................. 156
Selected Bibliography ................................. 166


Chapters 01

Chapter one introduces the main character, Bilbo Baggins, who is a hobbit. Tolkien then gives an explanation of what a hobbit is, and a description of his living quarters. Bilbo is visited by Gandalf, a wizard he has not seen since he was a child. Gandalf leaves a mark on his door that Bilbo is unaware of, so that the next day he receives a visit not only from Gandalf, but from thirteen dwarves who are in search of a burglar for an adventure they are undertaking. Gandalf had selected Bilbo for this position, saying that there was more to Bilbo than met the eye. Although hobbits as a rule did not care for adventure, Bilbo is more qualified than most, because his mother is Belladonna Took, and the Tooks were known to be somewhat strange. It was rumored that one of the Took ancestors had married a fairy, and there was definitely something adventurous about the Took clan. From time to time one of them would disappear for a while and have and adventure, although it was generally hushed up. The dwarves who have come to Bilbo's door are led by Thorin Oakenshield, a very important dwarf, whose grandfather had been King under the Mountain in the past. The mountain was the Lonely Mountain in the north, and the dragon Smaug had driven the dwarves out, killing most of them and stealing their treasure. Thorin and those with him have decided to journey to the Mountain and battle the dragon to regain their treasure. Besides needing a burglar, the dwarves need a fourteenth member of their party so they will not have an unlucky number. They are not very impressed with Bilbo, declaring him more of a grocer than a burglar, but Gandalf tells them he has chosen Bilbo himself, and he will prove more useful to them than they know. Gandalf then reveals that he has a map and a key he has acquired from Thorin's father, who was imprisoned at the time by the Necromancer. Thorin is unsure of the value of the map, but Gandalf points out that it shows the location of a secret door which may be of use to them. Thorin asks for Bilbo to give them some suggestions, and Bilbo says if they sit on the doorstep long enough they will think of something. He then suggests getting to bed, saying he will give them breakfast in the morning. After finding sleeping places for all of the dwarves, Bilbo falls into a troubled sleep with uncomfortable dreams, and he awakens late the next morning.


Suggested Activities - Chapter 01

  1. Explain plot structure to the students. The exposition gives the background information, and the inciting incident starts the action of the plot. Discuss how this is handled in the novel.
  2. Throughout the book, Tolkien develops contrasts between good and evil, light and dark. Ask students to develop a chart on which they can record both the settings and the characters of good and evil. The shire would be recorded as a "good setting." Bilbo, the dwarves and Gandalf would all be recorded as "good characters."
  3. Gandalf left a mark on Bilbo's door that he was not able to discern, but the dwarves were. Have students design their own concept of what that mark looked like.

Review Questions - Chapter 01

  1. Describe a hobbit hole.
  2. By having an adventure, what did Bilbo lose?
  3. Describe hobbits.
  4. Who were Bilbo's parents?
  5. What is unusual about his mother's side of the family?
  6. Who is Gandalf?
  7. Why does Bilbo say he doesn't like adventures?
  8. What does Bilbo remember about Gandalf?
  9. How many dwarves come to Bilbo's door? Who is the most important dwarf?
  10. As they clean up, what do the dwarves do to annoy Bilbo?
  11. What time of the year is it?
  12. What happens to Bilbo as the dwarves are singing? What does this say about the heart?
  13. Read Ps. 81:1; Ps. 95:1; Dan. 3:7; I Cor. 14:8; Eph. 5:19; James 5:13. What do these verses say about the effect of music on the human heart and spirit?
  14. What happens when Bilbo hears that they may never return from the journey?
  15. What does Gandalf tell the dwarves?
  16. What relative of Bilbo's was especially large? What had he done?
  17. What metaphor does Gloin use to describe Bilbo?
  18. In putting their doubts to rest, what does Gandalf say about Bilbo?
  19. What does Gandalf have? Who made it?
  20. What have they not noticed?
  21. What else does Gandalf have?
  22. Why did Gandalf say he was not able to get a Warrior or a Hero to help them?
  23. How had Gandalf received the map and key? Why had he not given them to Thorin before?
  24. What suggestion does Bilbo have for them?
  25. At this point, how does Bilbo see their adventure?

Review Question Answers - Chapter 01

  1. The hobbit hole, although it is in the ground, is not dirty or wet, but is comfortable. It has a perfectly round door like a porthole that is painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opens into a tunnel-shaped hall with all of the best rooms opening on the left side. The walls are paneled and the floors tiled and carpeted. There are many pegs for hats and coats, because he was fond of visitors. All of the rooms were on one level; there were many pantries and whole rooms devoted to clothing.
  2. He lost the respect of his neighbors.
  3. Hobbits are about half the height of humans, with curly hair on their heads, as well as on their feet. They are smaller than dwarves, and do not have beards. They are fat in the stomach, and do not wear shoes because their feet have natural leathery soles on the bottom and curly hair on the top to keep them warm. They have long clever brown fingers, good natured faces, and rich laughs. They like bright colors - mainly green and yellow, and are very fond of eating.
  4. Bilbo's parents were Bungo Baggins and Belladonna Took.
  5. His mother's side of the family was named Took, and it was rumored that one of his Took ancestors had married a fairy, because every once in a while one of the Tooks would disappear and go on an adventure.
  6. Gandalf is a wizard.
  7. They are "nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!"
  8. Bilbo remembers Gandalf's fireworks, and he also remembers that Gandalf often inspired people go off on adventures.
  9. 13 dwarves come to his door. Thorin Oakenshield is the most important dwarf.
  10. They sing about chipping the glasses and cracking the plates; blunting the knives and bending the forks, sending Bilbo into such a state that he can only stand in the middle of the kitchen and spin around and around.
  11. April
  12. As Bilbo hears the dwarves singing, he feels the love of beautiful things moving through him, then something Tookish awakens inside him, making him wish to go and see the great mountains, hear the pine trees and waterfalls, explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking stick. This is an indication that music speaks to the heart.
  13. Music is intended to move the heart and soul to worship God. It is also used to signal soldiers they are to move to battle; to cheer those who are depressed; and it has been used to move men to worship that which they should not be worshipped.
  14. He becomes terrified and shrieks. Gandalf uses his staff to give some light, revealing Bilbo kneeling on the rug, shaking. At this point, Bilbo thinks he has been struck by lightning.
  16. Gandalf says he is excitable and gets these little fits, but he is as "fierce as a dragon in a pinch."
  17. Bullroarer Took had been so large he could ride a horse, and he had charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of the Green Fields, knocking off their king's head with a wooden club.
  18. Gloin says Bilbo is more like a grocer than a burglar.
  19. Gandalf says, "There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself. You may (possibly) all live to thank me yet."
  20. Gandalf has a map that was made by Thorin's grandfather Thror.
  21. They have not noticed there is a secret entrance on the West side.
  22. Gandalf also has a key that he was to give to Thorin.
  23. The warriors are busy fighting one another in distant lands, and in this neighborhood heroes are scarce.
  24. Gandalf had received the map and the key from Thorin's father, but at the time Thorin's father was a prisoner in the dungeon of the Necromancer. At the time, Thrain (Thorin's father) was in such bad shape that he had forgotten everything he knew except the map and the key. He could not remember his own name, and did not tell Gandalf Thorin's name, so it had taken him a long time to find him.
  25. Bilbo suggested they sit on the doorstep until they think of something.
  26. Bilbo considers himself a spectator. He is not really thinking of himself as being a part of their adventure.