June 23, 2013
I was in sixth grade when I first got into the Harry Potter series. My grandparents had sent me the third one, The Prisoner of Azkaban, was my 12th birthday (to this day, it's still my favorite of the ones I've read), and I was hooked from there. The 4th one came out that summer, and the 5th one wasn't until until 4 years later. And in that one, they killed off Sirius Black, my favorite character in the series. After that, I was kind of over Harry Potter, and I never did read the last two books. So weird...I'd been really into it, and just like that, my interests completely changed. Of course, the last two books are on my "to read" list at this point, so I will get around to them, and I'll probably fall in love with the series all over again.
Anyway, I'd never read any Tolkien before, though I have seen all three of the Lord of the Rings movies (I have not seen The Hobbit). But I figured if I was going to read Tolkien, I'd start at the beginning. And not only did I absolutely adore this book, but I can clearly see how it has influenced fantasy literature since it was published in 1938...especially the Harry Potter series.
I was struck, as I began reading, at how simple the language is. I found myself thinking several times that The Hobbit would be a really fun book to read aloud, either to students or to my own children (if I ever have any). Like J.K. Rowling, Tolkien creates a vibrant magical world full of fascinating imaginary creatures, most of them familiar in some form or another to the reader: elves, dwarves, goblins, wizards. Gandolf is, of course, a prominent character in the text, as he tricks the hobbit Bilbo Baggins into going on a journey with a band of dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, to recover the treasure and their old kingdom that was taken from them long ago.
It is explained in the text that hobbits are homebodies by nature, but Bilbo has a history of adventurers on his mother's side, the Took side of the family, and so that part of him wins out and he goes along on the long adventure. Though he is timid at the start, he soon proves himself to be brave and clever. The turning point would be when he finds the ring (yes, the same ring from the Lord of the Rings trilogy), which allows him to disappear whenever he puts it on. The ring's dark magic is only hinted at with Bilbo's run-in with Gollum, who, in my opinion, is one of the most tragic characters in literature. I read that Tolkien actually rewrote the scene with Gollum for later editions, more strongly establishing the connection between Bilbo's adventure, and the magic ring, and Frodo's adventures in the trilogy. I could tell a difference between the writing style in that scene, particularly with the descriptions of pathetic Gollum, and the more simplistic writing style of the earlier chapters. That chapter is when I really started getting into the book.
Bilbo's story is well known, so here's just a brief run-through of the rest. He and the dwarves encounter many dangers as they journey to the mountains, and make enemies of goblins, wolves, giant spiders (another parallel to Harry Potter!), elves, and men. Thorin, though a brave leader of the dwarves, is very prideful, and often it is his pride and greed that gets him and his crew into trouble (as was the case with the elves). When they finally reach the Lonely Mountain, where the dwarves had once made their home and where their treasure is still hid, they must find a way to battle the evil dragon Smaug, who guards the hoard. Bilbo, with his ring, teases and enrages the dragon, who sets out for vengeance against the town of men nearby. A brave man named Bard kills the dragon, but pride Thorin refuses to share his treasure with the people. Bilbo, who had cleverly gotten hold of the Arkenstone, Thorin's most prized possession among the hoard, gives it to the men and elves, who are holding the mountain under siege until Thorin agrees to negotiate. In the end, the enemies must all band together when the goblins and wolves invade, and in the end they are victorious. Though Thorin and a couple of other dwarves from the original journey die in battle, there is peace in the land, and Bilbo and Gandolf make their way home again. Bilbo has riches of his own from the journey, and the magic ring...which, as well all know, comes into significance again the trilogy.
This is just a charming, well-written, solid fantasy adventure, and it is no wonder that it is a classic and sighted as an influence for so many great stories today. Not only that, but as I read, I found myself marveling at the connections between Tolkien's work and songs by the band Led Zeppelin, which was a favorite of mine in high school (I was embarrassingly dorky). I already got the references in the song "Ramble On," with the lines about Mordor and Gollum, but the song title "Misty Mountain Hop" is a direct reference to the Misty Mountains in the book. Crazy! I read up that other rock bands in the '70s, like Black Sabbath and Rush, produced songs that were inspired by Tolkien's work. You know that something is really influential when it transcends genres and artistic mediums.
I don't know why I don't read more fantasy work. I always get into it and enjoy it. The last of the Harry Potter series has been moved up on my list, for sure, and at some point, I think I'll tick off the entire trilogy for Lord of the Rings all at once. For now, I'm going to keep as much variety in my selections as possible. As far as that goes, I don't think I could be doing a better job!
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| Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. These two nerds were apparently the ones who were influenced by Tolkien. Check out the dragon embroidered on Page's jacket...is it any surprise? |
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| Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf. He is really great in those movies. Like in the trilogy, Gandalf sort of flints in and out of the action in The Hobbit, though he instigated much of the action. He is certainly wiser than he lets on, and there are snatches of this in the story. |
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