Chapters 1 and 2 and Into

I have already read The Hobbit, and my first reading was dull, because I had to read on a schedule imposed by my grandmother. However, since I now have the opportunity to read it at my own pace, and to blog about it, I am excited to re-read it. I am now expecting to find more details and to better understand the story. I am also excited because of the various activities tied into this assignment, which will help make my understanding of the book more complete.

The Hobbit starts with Bilbo Baggins, a 50-year old hobbit, enjoying a bit of smoking one morning. The wizard Gandalf soon arrives, and after some time, Bilbo invites him to tea. The next day, 13 dwarves arrive throughout the day, with Gandalf accompanying the last four dwarves. As it turns out, the dwarves think that Bilbo is a burglar (in the story, burglar means "treasure hunter").

The significance of the chapter is that it helps set up the "world" in which The Hobbit takes place. It describes the hobbits, the dwarves, and their respective cultures. Bilbo is very relatable. He's scared, but he has to face his "demons" sooner or later. I sympathize with him: He's going into a world that is much bigger than he is! We all face a world that is bigger than us (literally and/or figuratively) and we all have to face our "demons" sooner or later.

Bilbo's stage on the Hero's Journey is the "Call to Adventure". The call is when the dwarves invite him to go hunting for the treasure held by the dragon. Bilbo's "Refusal of the Call" is when he refuses to go out on the adventure. The poor hobbit is about to go out on an expedition that could get lost, starve and die, be killed by hostile creatures, or the dwarves and Gandalf might make it back, but poor Bilbo would be 6 feet underground somewhere away from home sweet home!

Chapter 2 has a memorable scene involving trolls. The dwarves send Bilbo to find supplies after their reserves of food and the like are lost. Bilbo runs into a trio of trolls, steals a key, gets caught, and the dwarves come to see what's wrong. The trolls abduct the dwarves.  After catching the dwarves, the trolls debate on how to cook the dwarves when Gandalf uses ventriloquism to keep them debating so long that they're still out at dawn, at which point they turn to stone. They also manage to get some of the trolls' supplies. If you have read Lord of the Rings, you know that Gandalf could have launched a fireball at one of the trolls, cause the other to be struck by lightning, and dropped a ballet on the last of them.

Bilbo's current stage on the Hero's Journey is "Crossing the First Threshold". He decides to be a burglar and steal a troll's coin purse (it doesn't go well for him). Gandalf is the "Mentor" and teaches him tactics that will help him in being a burglar, and that will work because he's too short to fight directly.

So far, re-reading The Hobbit has been pleasurable, and I look forward to continue reading it a second time. The scene with the trolls was memorable, because it is very humorous and Bilbo learns a lesson from it. I was struck by the fact that such a powerful wizard such as Gandalf used the simple trick of ventriloquism to defeat a powerful obstacle (in this case, a trio of angry trolls). Bilbo learns that you don't need to be powerful to be a good burglar.