Bilbo "No Fear" Baggins...
Posted on 04/14/2003 1:02:34 AM PDT by JameRetief
A Tolkien Virgin: The Hobbit - Chapter 8
by Mark-Edmond
The Journey Continues
| Bilbo "No Fear" Baggins... |
Chapter 8 - Flies and Spiders
Don't stray from the path!!
Ack!
Well, I guess I did expect it, but it didn't keep me from wanting to reach into the pages and shake some sense into Bilbo and the Dwarves. And yet, I couldn't exactly blame them...it's hard enough driving up the 5 through California's San Joaquin Valley, or out the 15 past Las Vegas toward Colorado--hours along straight stretches of nothingness--days of that wicked forest would've made me snap, too. And then there were spiders! Big ghastly spiders! and, Bilbo saves the day? He really isn't the same hobbit, now is he? I was amazed that he was hardly shaken by the spiders, that he took charge with his newly-named Sting and facilitated the rescue. And with Thorin taken prisoner by the Nandorin (right?) elves, it's becoming a down-right colorful story. But, as good as the Hobbit is, glancing through the Silmarillion again, I'm reminded how different the two books are--the Hobbit lacks a lot of the nobility and grandness of the Silmarillion, for certain. While the Hobbit, on the other hand, is a friendlier story and an easier read. I could point to the philosophical implications of "not straying from the path," but that would be making the story say too much, I think.
It was particularly interesting to me that Valinor is refered to as Faerie in this chapter. If I knew more about the historical use of "Faerie-land" in fantasy literature and faerie-tales, maybe it would mean more to me.
Author: Mark-Edmond
Published on: May 25, 2000
The next Tolkien Virgin article continues with The Hobbit - Chapters 9 and 10
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The Daily Tolkien articles |
The Tolkien Virgin articles |
| ARTICLES 01-10 | ARTICLES 01-10 |
| ARTICLES 11-20 | ARTICLES 11-20 |
| ARTICLES 21-30 | 21) Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad |
| ARTICLES 31-40 | 22) Of Turin Turambar |
| ARTICLES 41-50 | 23) Of the Ruin of Doriath |
| ARTICLES 51-60 | 24) Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin |
| 61) Gil-galad was an Elven-king... | 25) Of the Voyage of Earendil and the War of Wrath |
| 62) The Folk of Angmar | 26) Summary Of The Silmarillion, Akallabeth and Epilogue |
| 63) Is Your Canon On The Loose? | 27) The Hobbit - Chapter 1: An Unexpected Party |
| 64) Razing Arnor: How real were the Dunadan conspiracies? | 28) The Hobbit - Chapters 2, 3, & 4 |
| 65) The Great Worms | 29) The Hobbit - Chapter 5 |
| 66) The magic of the minstrels | 30) The Hobbit - Chapter 6 and 7 |
| 67) Seeking the wayward children of Numenor | 31) The Hobbit - Chapter 8 |
| 68) Tolkien’s Magic | |
| 69) Before the Numenoreans came |
Your Tolkien Virgin Ping! Read along with a Tolkien Virgin as he discovers and comments on the history of Middle Earth as he reads it for the first time. These articles started with The Silmarillion, is now journeying through The Hobbit, and will finish with the epic Lord Of The Rings. At the pace of 2 articles per week (Mondays and Fridays) the articles will wrap up about the same time that the final movie of the Lord Of The Rings story is released.
If anyone would like for me to ping them directly when I post the Tolkien Virgin articles or my Daily Tolkien articles let me know. I hope that you enjoy them!
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Hi ksen,
No, I hardly think so. Hobbits always seem homey and concerned mainly with the more prosaic aspects of life, eating, drinking, etc. But when necessary, they are able to rise to the occasion and show steel. Gandalf mentions this to Frodo in the beginning of the "movie," though I forget his exact words. Something about knowing hobbits for 100 years, and yet they can still surprise you.
I always thought this theme was important to Tolkien.
How cool to think about hobbits again, Kevin!
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