Book Review - "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien

“The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien is a fantasy tale about the adventure of a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. The quest described may not seem unique, but this is due to the fact that it has become a “model”, an “idol” for the most works that fall into its league. As intended for the young readers, the story has been written in simple language, though it is this simplicity of expression that has made it a magnificent beginning to a legendary epic “The Lord of the Rings”.

“The Hobbit” may not be as great as its sequel “The Lord of the Rings”, but nonetheless more efficient and successful in demonstrating every mood, emotion and behavior of all character involved. As inherited from his Took grandfather, Bilbo has a curiosity about maps, treasures ,dragons etc. which itched him throughout life to find an adventure, though could never gather the courage to go on one ( a hobbit’s nature to remain as far from trouble as possible) .Humans itches about the same thing, to be in an adventure, but never finds the courage to be actually be in one. The author takes advantage of this human behavior, displaying Bilbo’s conflicting sides (hobbit and tookish) thus pushing the reader to visualize the story as if they are a part of it.

“If I say he is a burglar, a burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has an idea of himself”

As the adventure starts, the Tookish nature starts overshadowing the hobbit nature and Bilbo begins to learn about himself, something he had never known before. He understands the use of wisdom and discovers his true self in the darkness of Misty mountains. Tolkien skillfully merges the thoughts of the reader and Bibo, as the troubles and the victories brings them together and the reader tries to awaken his tookish side.

The journey of the company moves along different landscapes ranging from dark caves of the misty mountains, to the green wild forests of mirkwood. On there way, they encounter many interesting characters like the elves from Rivendell, the goblins in the mountains, the wargs, the eagles, the trolls, the spiders, the race of men and finally the worm Smaug(the dragon). The interaction with such a wide variety of characters, learning their nature, their powers and their unique behaviors makes the journey all the more interesting and fascinating.

The hobbit can be regarded as a prototype of mythical adventure stories. Starting with a general story scene, with the extraordinary adventures lying throughout the book, climaxing it with the battle of five armies and thus giving an out of the box end which turns to be bigger and happier than anyone expected, truly shows the writer’s expertise in storytelling. The only criticism that one could find out was that in being highly descriptive(generally good) Tolkien sometimes becomes excessively descriptive which slows down the story. Still I can undoubtedly say that it can be regarded as a classic work of literature which will be enjoyed by anyone who reads it.