Literary Criticism In The Hobbit By J. R. Tolkien

The Hobbit written by J.R.R.Tolkien has been facing criticism since its inception in the year 1937 regarding whether the book is a fantasy, a fairy tale, a fable, romance, an epic or novel. The book can’t be considered as a novel since it doesn’t fall under that category, instead it is more of a romantic genre that contains supernatural elements and is also improbable in some way or the other. The Hobbit includes a lot of magical power but there isn’t anything such as divine power. There is also no mention about the religious worship in The Hobbit although the writer was a catholic and his religious views were very important for him. The writer has made great efforts by integrating thoughts of two different literary interests such as mythology …show more content…
The backdrop of the story is placed in rural nature setting unlike cities and industry. Bilbo Baggin, is the hero of the story and he is the hobbit too who are like human person but shorter in height. Bilbo had been living his life with great ease and content in his small comfortable hole when suddenly one day an old wizard named Gandalf persuades him to move out on an adventure with a group of thirteen militant dwarves. The main motive of the quest is to embark onto the marauding dragon Smaug so that the dwarves can reclaim their treasure from him. During the quest, Bilbo meets a lot of other characters such as dwarf lord Thorin, elf lord Elrond, Gollum a hissing whining creature who lives in a pool in the caverns and hunts for fish and goblins, it was then that Bilbo also finds a strange looking golden ring on the ground which he keeps it carefully in his pocket. The story further moves in a way that Bilbo moves ahead in the Mirkwood forest with his company of dwarves and this time they meet giant spiders and Bilbo kills them with his sword thereby naming his sword as Sting. The battle between army of goblins and wargs on one side and the humans, elves and dwarves on the other side is won after lot of efforts and pain. Bilbo and Gandalf then return back to Hobitton where Bilbo continues to live but he is no longer accepted by that society. So he now lives his life and …show more content…
I don’t want any adventure, thank you. Not today. Good morning! But please come to tea-any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Come tomorrow! Good-bye!” (Tolkien 10-100). These were Bilbo’s words and this can be critically acclaimed since Bilbo has shown two behaviours as a character. Initially he wasn’t interested in going out for adventures and by the time the story ends he is already a warrior who has fought with the dwarves against goblins and won the former’s trust and popularity. Therefore, two extreme ends of Bilbo’s nature can be seen in the entire story as it develops ahead in the story. The other great point in the story comes when Gandalf manages to convince Bilbo to go on their journey to win back the treasure from the dragon Smaug. “We are met to discuss our plans, our ways, means, policy and devices. We shall soon before the break of day start on our long journey, a journey from which some of us, or perhaps all of us may never return” (Tolkien 10-100). These words are very inspiring and they worked well for Bilbo as he agrees to come out of his comfort zone, thereby moving out of his house just to help out the dwarves to gain back the treasure. I believe this to be the most important and interesting turning point in the story because had Bilbo not agreed to be a part of the journey then the entire plot of the story would not have received a real hero in the form of Bilbo. He fought the enemies fiercely and the entire scenario