Narrative Suture and Reader Engagement in The Hobbit Reader engagement is critical for the success of a novel. If a reader is not interested in the novel, it is unlikely for them to finish it or recommend it to others. Therefore, an author will use various narrative strategies to promote reader engagement, and this is something that J. R. R. Tolkien does extremely well. The Hobbit has received wide critical acclaim and has become one of the most famous novels of our time, due in part to the reader engagement it produces. In The Hobbit, the narrative strategies such as the use of a third-person omniscient narrator with subjective first-person insight, a temporal perspective and spatial perspective work effectively to engage the reader with
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In the case of The Hobbit, this perspective becomes beneficial to the reader’s engagement with the novel. Since the narrator is omniscient, he is able to get inside of character’s minds and describe their thoughts to the readers, further enhancing the reader’s immersion and knowledge of the story. While the narrator mainly speaks from Bilbo’s feelings and point-of-view, there are other times when he knows the same of others characters as well. Specifically, in chapter 12, when Bilbo first talks with Smaug, the narrator goes between the thoughts of feelings of the two characters on the same page. He first starts with Smaug: “And Smaug laughed aloud. He had a wicked and wily heart, and he knew his guesses were not far out…” (Tolkien 281). The reader now is able to know what Smaug is feeling in this moment, giving more insight to this encounter. The narrator later on follows with Bilbo’s reaction: “You will hardly believe it, but poor Bilbo was really very taken aback. So far all his thoughts and energies had been concentrated on getting to the Mountain and finding the …show more content…
During Bilbo’s encounter with Gollum, the narrator remarks, “I don’t know where he came from, or who he was,” (Tolkien 118). This means that while the narrator is all-knowing for the most part, there are still aspects he does not know. While this does not mean he is an unreliable narrator, it helps the reader to feel as if it is a personal story and the narrator is speaking directly to them, as he admits he does not know everything about Gollum, throwing his own personal opinion into the story. Consequently, the idea of the intrusion of a first-person perspective comes into effect. There are other times the narrator’s opinion is shown, including the nicknames he gives Bilbo. While the narrator is telling the story in a descriptive and factual way, he inserts his own opinions on Bilbo, such as calling him “Mr. Invisible Baggins” (Tolkien 227) or “poor little Bilbo” (Tolkien 153). The narrator also adds his own asides throughout the story with the first-person pronouns. For example, he says, “I suppose Hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us,” (Tolkien 30). While the story is quite serious, especially for Bilbo, frequent asides like this one made by the narrator help to keep a light, casual tone in The Hobbit. It creates a feeling of warmth for
In the case of The Hobbit, this perspective becomes beneficial to the reader’s engagement with the novel. Since the narrator is omniscient, he is able to get inside of character’s minds and describe their thoughts to the readers, further enhancing the reader’s immersion and knowledge of the story. While the narrator mainly speaks from Bilbo’s feelings and point-of-view, there are other times when he knows the same of others characters as well. Specifically, in chapter 12, when Bilbo first talks with Smaug, the narrator goes between the thoughts of feelings of the two characters on the same page. He first starts with Smaug: “And Smaug laughed aloud. He had a wicked and wily heart, and he knew his guesses were not far out…” (Tolkien 281). The reader now is able to know what Smaug is feeling in this moment, giving more insight to this encounter. The narrator later on follows with Bilbo’s reaction: “You will hardly believe it, but poor Bilbo was really very taken aback. So far all his thoughts and energies had been concentrated on getting to the Mountain and finding the …show more content…
During Bilbo’s encounter with Gollum, the narrator remarks, “I don’t know where he came from, or who he was,” (Tolkien 118). This means that while the narrator is all-knowing for the most part, there are still aspects he does not know. While this does not mean he is an unreliable narrator, it helps the reader to feel as if it is a personal story and the narrator is speaking directly to them, as he admits he does not know everything about Gollum, throwing his own personal opinion into the story. Consequently, the idea of the intrusion of a first-person perspective comes into effect. There are other times the narrator’s opinion is shown, including the nicknames he gives Bilbo. While the narrator is telling the story in a descriptive and factual way, he inserts his own opinions on Bilbo, such as calling him “Mr. Invisible Baggins” (Tolkien 227) or “poor little Bilbo” (Tolkien 153). The narrator also adds his own asides throughout the story with the first-person pronouns. For example, he says, “I suppose Hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us,” (Tolkien 30). While the story is quite serious, especially for Bilbo, frequent asides like this one made by the narrator help to keep a light, casual tone in The Hobbit. It creates a feeling of warmth for