[ Daily Tolkien ] A Tolkien Virgin: The Hobbit

Oh. My. Gosh. Smaug is going to Lake-town and he doesn't know that Bilbo and the rest are safe inside the mountain! Talk about excitement!

So, I actually got giddy for a moment with that Inside Information. Dread followed by giddiness. I mean, how dreadful a line, "Then Smaug spoke." I forgot about that...Glaurung spoke in the Silmarillion, right? Heck, I can't remember, but I wasn't expecting Smaug to talk to Bilbo. Though, I really enjoyed the conversation that followed between Bilbo and Smaug. I mean, Bilbo can be so clever when he needs to be. I probably would've turned and run at the sound of Smaug's voice! Speaking of which, what do you think he sounds like? That was something I spent a little time thinking about while I was reading...is it a hissing voice, or a loud booming voice, like Claw from Inspector Gadget, maybe? How did you hear it (in your mind) when you read it? Okay, back to the giddy part, I actually giggled when Smaug couldn't figure out what kind of creature Bilbo was by his smell...that's right I giggled, and I'm not ashamed to say it. Bilbo was being so clever outsmarting Smaug with all his titles, and to top it off, Smaug can't figure out what he is...a priceless moment! Moreover, it's funny reading through all of Bilbo's titles for himself, cause he sounds like a real hero! And I guess he is, to a certain extent, considering all he's accomplished to this point (not the least of which was facing Smaug!), but given his size and his ho hum attitude half the time I wouldn't have described him as such. A lucky hobbit more than a hero, I'd say.

On the Doorstep (if you'll forgive my going backwards) was pretty boring, actually. It had to be, I suppose. But, I mean, please, how stupid do the dwarves have to be! Bilbo too for that matter. It's amazing that Bilbo found the key hole practically by accident, especially given the fact that they had the instructions the whole time on the map and didn't think to refer to it! That was a little frustrating. And how much you wanna bet that thrush is listening in on them for Gandalf. Something tells me that Gandalf is going to arrive in the nick of time to save the bunch when Smaug returns unexpectedly...but I can't say for sure--Bilbo's supposed to be the hero, so maybe he'll even slay the dragon. I just feel bad for the Lake-town inhabitants, and wonder if the towns old name, "Esgaroth," will have significance later. Certainly "Esgaroth" is more of a Tolkien name than "Lake-town."

One last thing. You can be sure that my attention sparked at the description of the Arkenstone. They found it digging deep underneath the mountain...okay so it's almost certainly not a Silmaril, but in a pinch it's not impossible for it to be the one Maedhros took with him as he jumped into a firey chasm in the earth. I'm just saying one is in the sea, one in the earth, and one in the sky. But, as marvelous as the Arkenstone may be, it really didn't sound as good as a Silmaril...even though it radiates with light and they found it deep in the earth.

Okay, well, I'm gonna find out what happens next, so till next time, keep thinking.

The next Tolkien Virgin article continues with The Hobbit - Chapters 13 and 14

The Daily Tolkien articles by various authors	The Tolkien Virgin articles by Mark-Edmond
ARTICLES 01-10	ARTICLES 01-10
ARTICLES 11-20	ARTICLES 11-20
ARTICLES 21-30	ARTICLES 21-30
ARTICLES 31-40	31) The Hobbit - Chapter 8
ARTICLES 41-50	32) The Hobbit - Chapters 9 and 10
ARTICLES 51-60	32) The Hobbit - Chapters 11 and 12
ARTICLES 61-70
71) The Division of Arnor
72) Have you been to Valinor lately?

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.

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