quote on loyalty

Bilbo] still wandered on, out of the little high valley, over its bulge, and down the slopes beyond; but all the while a very uncomfortable thought was growing inside him. He wondered whether he ought not, now he had a magic ring, to go back into the horrible, horrible tunnels and look for his friends. He had just made up his mind that it was his duty, and that he must turn back – and very miserable he felt about it – when he heard voices. (6.3)

After Bilbo emerges from the Misty Mountains, he has "a very uncomfortable thought" that he should go back and check on Thorin & Co. to make sure they get away from the goblins OK. Is this the first time we see Bilbo feel a real sense of duty to the dwarves? When do they start to act like a real group with Bilbo included?

Loyalty

Quote #2

Gandalf answered angrily: "I brought him, and I don't bring things that are of no use. Either you help me to look for him, or I go and leave you here to get out of the mess as best you can yourselves. If we can only find him again, you will thank me before all is over." (6.9)

Here, Gandalf's insisting that the dwarves go back into the goblin tunnels to help him find Bilbo. Gandalf is incredibly loyal to Bilbo from the start; in fact, his loyalty to Bilbo is what makes Bilbo decide to join the dwarves in the first place. Do we get any indication about what Gandalf sees in Bilbo that convinces him that the dwarves "will thank [him] before all is over"? What is Gandalf's history with the hobbits and with Bilbo's family in particular?

Loyalty

Quote #3

It is no use arguing. I have, as I told you, some pressing business away south; and I am already late through bothering with you people. We may meet again before all is over, and then again of course we may not. That depends on your luck and on your courage and sense; and I am sending Mr. Baggins with you. I have told you before that he has more about him than you guess, and you will find that out before long. So cheer up Bilbo and don't look so glum. Cheer up Thorin and Company! This is your expedition after all. (7.36)

Gandalf appears to be a guide for Thorin & Co. strictly for his own interest; he certainly hasn't been hired by Thorin, as Bilbo has. So Gandalf can come and go as he pleases. What sense do you get of Gandalf's relationship to Thorin & Co.? What reasons might he have had for joining this quest in the first place? Why might Tolkien be leaving it up to us to imagine how this whole quest got started with Thorin and Gandalf?

Loyalty

quote on cunning and cleverness

Quote #1

A really first-class and legendary burglar would at this point have picked the trolls' pockets – it is nearly always worth while, if you can manage it –, pinched the very mutton off the spits, purloined the beer, and walked off without their noticing him. Others more practical but with less professional pride would perhaps have stuck a dagger into each of them before they observed it. Then the night could have been spent cheerily.

Bilbo knew it. He had read a good many things he had never seen or done. He was very much alarmed, as well as disgusted; he wished himself a hundred miles away, and yet – and yet somehow he could not go straight back to Thorin and Company emptyhanded. (2.42-3)

The thing is, Bilbo has no practical experience of the outside world by the time he finds his first real adventure with the trolls in the forest. But he has read a lot of tales and legends, so he knows how his story is supposed to go. He decides that, as a burglar, he has to pick Bill the Troll's pocket – he can't go back to Thorin "emptyhanded." And, of course, he winds up getting captured. Are there other examples in The Hobbit where Bilbo makes decisions based on his assumptions or other people's expectations? Or does he learn his lesson with this trollish disaster? What can Bilbo's decision in this passage tell us about his character at this point of the novel?

Cunning and Cleverness

Quote #2

[Gollum] was anxious to appear friendly, at any rate for the moment, and until he found out more about the sword and the hobbit, whether he was quite alone really, whether he was good to eat, and whether Gollum was really hungry. Riddles were all he could think of. Asking them, and sometimes guessing them, had been the only game he had every played with other funny creatures sitting in their holes in the long, long ago, before he lost all of his friends and was driven away, alone, and crept down, down, into the dark under the mountains. (5.22)

Gollum is trying to stall while he has Bilbo right in front of him, so he challenges the hobbit to a riddle game. Why do you think Bilbo agrees? What might have happened if Bilbo had refused to riddle with Gollum? What does this passage in the novel show us about Gollum's character?

Cunning and Cleverness

Quote #3

[Bilbo] knew, of course, that the riddle-game was sacred and of immense antiquity, and even wicked creatures were afraid to cheat when they played at it. But he felt he could not trust this slimy thing [Gollum] to keep any promise at a pinch. (5.68)

It strikes us as a little odd that Tolkien spends so much time describing the riddle game when the end result doesn't matter: if Bilbo loses, Gollum will try to eat him. And now that Bilbo has won, Gollum is still going to try and kill him. What's the tone of the riddle chapter in The Hobbit? What does it achieve in the novel's plot and character development?

Cunning and Cleverness

quotes with explanation

[Elrond] took [the map] and gazed long at it, and he shook his head; for if he did not altogether approve of dwarves and their love of gold, he hated dragons and their cruel wickedness, and he grieved to remember the ruin of the town of Dale and its merry bells, and the burned banks of the bright River Running. (3.35)

The purpose of this quest is not a black-and-white case of good vs. evil. Sure, the enemy is an evil, murdering dragon. But what the dwarves are seeking more than anything else is treasure – as Bilbo points out much later in the novel, the dwarves have thought of "no way of getting rid of Smaug" (12.33). In a book where there are good races and bad races – the elves and the goblins, respectively, the dwarves are probably the closest things we have to a moral grey area.

Good vs. Evil

Quote #2

[Bilbo] must stab the foul thing, put its eyes out, kill it. [Gollum] meant to kill him. No, not a fair fight. He was invisible now. Gollum had no sword. Gollum had not actually threatened to kill him, or tried to yet. And he was miserable, alone, lost. A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo's heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering. All these thoughts passed in a flash of a second. he trembled. And then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, he leaped. (5.119)

Bilbo pities Gollum and so, even though Gollum "meant to kill [Bilbo]," he can't just stab Gollum without warning in the dark. Which creatures does Bilbo think it is OK to kill? Does Bilbo make the right ethical decision here?

Good vs. Evil

Quote #3

Then Bilbo fled [with the cup]. But the dragon did not wake – not yet – but shifted into other dreams of greed and violence, lying there in his stolen hall while the little hobbit toiled back up the long tunnel. His heart was beating and a more fevered shaking was in his legs than when he was going down, but still he clutched the cup, and his chief thought was: "I've done it! This will show them. 'More like a grocer than a burglar' indeed! Well, we'll hear no more of that." (12.17)

Bilbo's still trying to prove himself to the dwarves even now that he has gotten them all the way to the Lonely Mountain thanks to his wits and good luck. Obviously, that line in the first chapter that Bilbo looks "More like a grocer than a burglar" really smarts. Like the dwarves, Bilbo doesn't seem to be thinking of his quest in grand moral terms. Given that this quest doesn't seem to be about good vs. evil exactly, why do you think Gandalf has chosen to get involved?

The Hobbit: Top Ten Quotes

1. "I have chosen Mr. Baggins and that ought to be enough for all of you. If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself." Gandalf (Chapter 1)
2. "Even the good plans of wise wizards like Gandalf and of good friends like Elrond go astray sometimes when you are off on dangerous adventures over the Edge of the Wild, and Gandalf was a wise enough wizard to know it."(Chapter 4)
3. "Now goblins are cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted. They make no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones. It is not unlikely that they invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world, especially the ingenious devices for killing large numbers of people at once, for wheels and engines and explosions always delighted them, and also not working with their own hands more than they could help; but in those days and those wild parts they had not advanced (as it is called) so far." (Chapter 4)
4. "A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo's heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering. (Chapter 5)
5. "Do we really have to go through [Mirkwod]?" groaned the hobbit. "Yes, you do!" said the wizard, "if you want to get to the other side. You must either go through or give up your quest. There are no safe paths in this part of the world." (Chapter 7)
6. "Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach." (Chapter 8)
7. "[S]ome of the younger people in the town openly doubted the existence of any dragon in the mountain, and laughed at the greybeards and gammers who said that they had seen him flying in the sky in their young days."(Chapter 10)
8. "Never laugh at live dragons." (Chapter 11)
9. "The mere fleeting glimpses of treasure which [the dwarves] had caught as they went along had rekindled all the fire of their dwarvish hearts; and when the heart of a dwarf, even the most respectable, is wakened by gold and by jewels, he grows suddenly bold, and he may become fierce."(Chapter 13)
10. "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold [as the hobbits do], it would be a merrier world." (Chapter 18)

a new character sketch of Bilbo Baggins

Bilbo Baggins
The hobbit mentioned in the title is also the protagonist of the tale, and as such his character is the one given the most detailed treatment. Bilbo Baggins is introduced at the beginning of the book as an ordinary hobbit. He is fond of a comfortable life with lots of meals and snacks. He is not given to going off on adventures or seeking any excitement whatsoever. His nervous and fearful state is made abundantly clear when he screams in fright at hearing the dwarves discussing their upcoming adventure. Initially, he is preoccupied with neatness and attention to such finicky details as the proper time to eat. By the end of the book, he has become a stouthearted and wise man of action that is able to lead his companions out of danger and plan their activities.

Bilbo, as the central character, is a part of each episode and theme of the novel. The quest of the dwarves becomes his quest as well. In fact, the quest for Bilbo is not only a search for the treasure but also for the hidden aspects of his character. In the theme of good versus evil, Bilbo is an unswerving part of the "good" forces. In his character there is no blurring of lines as occurs in the dwarves. He remains an honest hobbit to the end, untainted by an excessive lust for gold or by the need to prove his worth and power. Unlike the dwarves, who are so intent on the treasure that they are carried away by greed and forget ordinary decencies such as gratitude and helping those in dire need, Bilbo constantly remains a decent fellow. Although Bilbo likes food and comfort, he never permits these concerns to take over his life or to influence his behavior, especially in relation to others.

Bilbo's growth comes in small increments, with each adventure giving him more courage for the next. He swallows his fear of the trolls to attempt a burglary, and though he is caught and nearly eaten, the process of his transformation begins. The encounter with the spiders gives him his first taste of victory and prepares him for his encounter with Gollum. In his adventure with Gollum, he shows cool-headedness, courage, and wit, and, with the aid of the ring, begins to develop into a heroic figure. He single-handedly orchestrates the rescue of the dwarves from the Wood-elves, and, by the time the company reaches the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves have become dependent on him for guidance. His "bravest" act, of course, is his decision in the tunnel to overcome his fear and face Smaug, regardless of the consequences. Bilbo also shows that he is willing to stand by the choices he makes.

He deliberately tries to use the Arkenstone to buy peace, even though he knows that Thorin's displeasure will be extreme. Of course, Bilbo's growth is not without its setbacks. Often, after performing a brave act, he will soon begin worrying and start longing for the comforts of home. But it is clear by the end of the novel that, as Gandalf says, he is no longer the hobbit he once was.
Although Tolkien develops Bilbo Baggins into a hero, he also leaves in him such characteristics as to endear him to readers. He remains a simple and affectionate soul until the end, one who stands by his word. Even though he sometimes descends into despair, he also climbs out of it through his own efforts. Tolkien does not make of Bilbo a heroic figure with whom identification and sympathy are impossible. Instead, he makes Bilbo into a very "human" hero, who, in spite of his frailties, rises to heroic stature.

character sketch of Bard

Bilbo, we mentioned that he is our hero but not a hero. In other words, he's our main character, even though he's not a traditional leading man. Bard is the reverse: he is a hero, but definitely not ours. He seems like a good guy, but he has no major character traits beyond Tough, Decent Person. He comes into the story because someone needs to kill Smaug, but once he's achieved that and done some threatening of Thorin, he pretty much disappears from the narrative again. He's not part of The Hobbit's emotional core at all.

Bard is a proud, grim man descended from Girion, Lord of Dale. (Dale was a wealthy city in the old days, before Smaug came and destroyed it.) He's the one who first realizes that Smaug has come to attack Lake-town, and is the guy who speaks to the thrush about the weak point in Smaug's underbelly that Bilbo discovered. Bard is also the man who takes his bow and arrow and shoots Smaug in the correct place, thus killing the terrible dragon.

While Bard doesn't rise up against the Master of Lake-town, he becomes the real commander of Lake-town's army. He marches them up to the Lonely Mountain to claim their rightful share of the treasure to rebuild Lake-town and Bard's own city of Dale. And after the Battle of Five Armies, Bard receives one-fourteenth of Thorin's treasure in recognition of the deal Bard made with Thorin before his death. Bard uses this money to rebuild Dale and Lake-town, and to restore Dale to its former glory. So by the time Balin comes to visit Bilbo, he bears the news that Bard "had rebuilt the town in Dale and men had gathered to him from the Lake and from South and West, and all the valley had become tilled again and rich" (19.32). Thus, Bard does pretty nicely for himself.

character map

character sketch

Gollum is a fascinating character. Like Smaug, his solitary life is a clue to his wicked nature; all other characters in the book, even the evil Goblins and Wargs, are members of communities. Gollum is so alone that he speaks only to himself, even on the rare occasions when he finds himself with someone else, as he does with Bilbo in Chapter 5. He speaks to others in the third person, apparently unable to say "you," and he calls himself "my precious" out of a perverted kind of self-love. He is clever, as seen when he engages Bilbo in the exchange of riddles, but his cleverness is only a means of entrapping his victims. He is the owner of the ring of invisibility, and he flies into a murderous rage when he realizes that Bilbo has found it.

character sketch Smaug

Smaug is a dragon whose evil, like Gollum's, is indicated by his isolation. He lives alone in the Lonely Mountain, his only purpose to guard the treasure he stole from the dwarves during the reign of Thorin's grandfather. Smaug rarely leaves his lair, and he sleeps on top of the accumulated ornaments, utensils, and weapons that constitute the treasure. He represents the wrongful impulse to hoard, to accumulate beyond what one can use and to refuse to share with others. In revenge for the theft of the Arkenstone, he destroys the town of Lake-town (Esgaroth). The complete destruction of the town and the displacement of men, women, and children is depicted as characteristic of Smaug's irrationality and evil. There is nothing sympathetic about Smaug, and Bard's slaying of him is a relief to all. The evil of his hoarding continues, however, when Goblins, elves, Wargs, men, and dwarves converge on the Lonely Mountain in a battle over possession of the treasure.

Thorin Oakenshield

Thorin is the leader of the dwarves, and he takes himself very seriously. He is conscious of his position as son of Thrain and grandson of Thror, King under the Mountain, and mindful of his birthright to the treasure trove guarded by Smaug. He retains this sense of self throughout the journey until, in Chapter 8, he is captured by elves and imprisoned in the palace of the Elvenking. At this point, Bilbo assumes the role of leader, freeing Thorin and the other dwarves when they could do nothing to effect their own release.

Thorin is brave and intelligent and his leadership of the dwarves is unchallenged; Kili and Fili are especially loyal to him and eventually die with him in the Battle of Five Armies. He makes a mistake, however, when he refuses to parley with Bard on the eve of the battle. His intense desire for the treasure, typical of the dwarf love of beautiful material things, and his refusal to reconcile with the elves are contributing factors to that war. When he dies of wounds suffered in the Battle of Five Armies, he is buried with the Arkenstone, a gesture of love but also of the futility of battling for property.

character sketch of Bilbo Baggins

Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of The Hobbit, is one of a race of creatures about half the size of humans, beardless and with hairy feet. He lives in an unspecified time that is at once ancient and also very like the Victorian age, with its cozy domestic routines. Like most hobbits, Bilbo is fond of the comforts of home and hearth: He loves good, simple food in abundance, and he loves his pipe and well-furnished hobbit-hole. The book opens, in fact, with Bilbo's smoking a pipe one morning just outside his home; shortly afterward, he finds himself serving high tea — including coffee, cakes, scones, jam, tart, and pies — to thirteen dwarves. Memories of this kind of plain English food follow Bilbo throughout his hardships on his journey, when he is often hungry, and represent what home means to him. Bilbo is also fastidious: He does not like the mess the dwarves create in his home and, although he has been invited by Gandalf to join a dramatic adventure, in Chapter 2 he almost returns home because he has forgotten his handkerchiefs and his pipe.

Bilbo is called upon to do more than he imagines himself capable of. He does not like to travel, preferring the safety of his hobbit-hole, but he has inherited a streak of adventurousness from his mother's side, the Tooks. His adventurous Took side and his comfort-loving Baggins side are in conflict throughout much of the story. For the first half of the book, he is often hapless and rather cowardly. He begins by falling into a fit when he feels prevailed upon to join Gandalf and the dwarves, and later he must be carried by Dori when they are escaping the Goblins. In the face of difficulties, he is often afraid and constantly daydreams of bacon and eggs and wishes himself back home. In Chapter 2, he is caught trying to pickpocket the trolls.

And yet Bilbo soon shows signs of ingenuity. He picks up the key to the trolls' secret cave, thereby providing himself with a sword from the cache inside the cave. Although Gandalf must rescue him and the dwarves from the Goblins in Chapter 4, in the very next chapter, Bilbo finds the ring of invisibility and proves the equal of Gollum in the exchange of riddles. It is important to note that Bilbo resists the impulse to kill Gollum in Chapter 5 because he thinks it would be unfair: Gollum is unarmed, while Bilbo is invisible and armed. Bilbo is thus depicted as not only clever, but ethical. This is reflected in the dwarves' growing respect for him in Chapter 6.

In Chapter 8, when Bilbo uses his sword to free himself from the spider web, he is described as feeling differently about himself, an indication that he is growing in self-awareness. At this point, he names his sword, as many legendary heroes have done, and it is clear that he is developing qualities of heroism and leadership. In Chapter 9, he displays both bravery and intelligence in devising a plan for the escape of the dwarves to Esgaroth; Gandalf has departed and their fate is in Bilbo's hands. Finally, in Chapter 12, it is Bilbo alone who descends into Smaug the dragon's lair — having first been the one to discover how to use Thorin's key to open the door to the Lonely Mountain — and steals a cup and the Arkenstone from the hoard. He exhibits extreme bravery because he really does not want to confront Smaug, but he goes anyway. He also discerns Smaug's vulnerable spot, where he will eventually be shot by Bard's arrow.

After the Battle of Five Armies, however, Bilbo returns to his hobbit hole and to a life very much like the one he left — with some important differences. He has more money, having been given a share of Smaug's hoard, and his life after he returns home is rather more eccentric than before, a much more Tookish life.