The Hobbit Novel Review

I enjoyed the novel The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. I believe that this novel presents important themes that are relevant in today’s society, just as much as they make up an entertaining plot. Themes such as Heroism, Race and Lineage, Good vs. Evil, Loyalty and Home are discussed in novels written in recent times. They give the reader a strong sense of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in the plot. This allows the audience to distinguish between good and evil. Tolkien uses an enormous vocabulary of words that are not commonly used in more recent novels. His use of vocabulary dates the novel, introducing an other worldly tone to the novel. Although the novel is set in present tense, there is a feeling of recounting. The omniscient narrator is sophisticated but subtle. The unknown narrator is not immediately obvious to the reader but it becomes clear that the narrator is Bilbo in a future time. Instilling hope into the reader as Bilbo must have survived his quest in order to be narrating the story.
The setting of The Hobbit is in Middle Earth; a setting created by Tolkien. Middle Earth is home to many different races of creatures: Hobbits, Dwarves, Men, Orcs, Uruk-Hai, Wizards, Goblins and many more. The novel begins with a tranquil feeling and transcends to a feeling of lurking danger. There is no ‘safe’ place in Middle Earth, not even the Shire. The tone of the novel gives the sense of unknown danger and suspense which captures the reader and encourages them to continue reading for the next plot twist may be on the next page.
The Hobbit’s plot leaves no stone unturned and leaves nothing to be desired. Tolkien explores all possible aspects of the story that he has created. He has created a whole background to every character and there are definite links between the character’s background and the character’s personality. Every piece of writing has a purpose and there is no confusion as to the topic of the chapter. Every chapter has a new problem to be solved and there is never a dull moment or a weakness in the plot.
Tolkien’s writing style is extremely unique. Tolkien portrayed his imaginations of the settings and situations in the novel with extreme detail, using a large vocabulary. A major part of his writing style includes poetry. Tolkien introduces poetry into the novel and it is a major part of the plot. Tolkien wrote songs and poems that many have marvelled at and enjoyed within and outside of The Hobbit. These traits of Tolkien’s writing techniques have separated him from other authors and their novels.
J.R.R Tolkien has created an excellent novel whose themes have been repeated in many books and novels after the creation of The Hobbit. It is a classic tale of Good vs. Evil with a new twist. This book is a successful prequel to Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings and it will continue to prosper and inspire others for many years into the future.

Theme: The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien features a number of implicit and explicit themes throughout the novel. For example, the theme of Race, Heredity and Moral Fibre is one of the main explicit themes in this novel. This is based on the idea that Elves, Dwarves, Men, Trolls and Goblins all have defining physical characteristics as well as personality traits and moral grounding and that they all fight for what they want. Each race of character has a moral distinction and it is easy to ascertain which character is on the protagonist’s ‘side’ or the antagonist’s ‘side’. Certain ideas run alongside the thought process of one character being evil and another being good, such as Goblins are disharmonious with nature and Elves are harmonious with nature. Heredity is also an important theme to be recognised as it is the basis for much of the story involving all the characters. Bilbo Baggins is half Took and half Baggins. The Took family were known for being more adventurous than other hobbits and for unusual behaviour. And the other half of Bilbo was Baggins, who were ordinary and respectful; two opposites. Without the knowledge of the Took family being adventurous, Bilbo would never had been convinced to leave the Shire with the Dwarves, as he would have left his comfort zone completely. The Dwarves’ Heredity and Ancestry are a major factor in The Hobbit. Because the Dwarves were attacked by Smaug the Dragon and because the Elves did not help the Dwarves when they were in need, they lived their lives in contempt. This meant that when Gandalf led the Dwarves to the Elves of Rivendell, there was an outcry. The happenings and history between the Smaug and the Dwarves also fired their motivation to continue down the hard path to reach the dragon and to stop at nothing until they were reimbursed for what they had lost. Race, Heredity and Moral Fibre is an explicit theme; this is obvious due to the lack of confusion between the ‘races’ of each character and the unmistakable ‘side’ that they are on and whether it is Hobbits, Wizards, Goblins or Elves.
Character Analysis: Thorin son of Thrain is the leader of the Dwarves that embark on the treasure quest; the main plotline of the novel. Thorin is brave, stubborn and proud. After Gandalf leaves the fellowship in Thorin’s responsibility it becomes clear the Thorin is not the most effective leader. Thorin makes poor decisions under pressure and relies on Bilbo to ‘save the day’. In addition, when the Dwarves finally receive Smaug’s gold, Thorin is willing to go back on his oath to reward each Dwarf with their share of gold and keep it for himself. When Thorin had access to the gold he became extremely greedy and obsessed with it. Despite his dishonesty and greediness, Thorin is still brave and proud Dwarf with many good qualities among bad ones.
Bilbo Baggins of Bag-End is the protagonist of The Hobbit. Bilbo is small in size, respectable and not-at-all adventurous. Bilbo has a strong sense of home and family, honesty, generosity and modesty. Bilbo is the hero of the novel, although he is small in stature, anxious and not very intimidating, Bilbo turns out to be the most heroic, clever and fast-thinking member of the company. Bilbo also possesses more leader-like qualities than that of Thorin – the appointed leader of the company. Bilbo saved the Dwarves a countless amount of times in the novel and his achievements did not change him – he still remained as humble of a character as he was in the start of the novel.