Responses from Emma for today's exercise -- Chapter 19
A. List specific examples (with page numbers) from your section of the text that seem to you to highlight or even hint at any (or all) of the following themes. Since all these themes will not appear clearly in each chapter, work on the themes that do occur in your assigned chapter.
-- Relationships between Individuals and Communities
pg. 274: when Bilbo arrives home and sees his belongings at Bag-End, being auctioned off to the hobbits of Hobbiton and his relatives, the Sackville-Bagginses, claiming his property as he is “presumed dead”; Bilbo the individual and his community.
-- Personal Transformation/Growth
pg. 273-74: “The Road Goes Ever On” song that Bilbo sings evokes a reaction from Gandalf who remarks that “You are not the hobbit that you were”; pg. 275, he loses his reputation in Hobbiton and is no longer a respectable hobbit but he doesn’t mind and is content with being home again and embraces his newfound friendship with the elves and hangs his sword and other artifacts from his journey around his house.
-- Honor/Dishonor
pg. 275: in the minds of the other hobbits, Bilbo has lost his respectable reputation and is considered “queer” for his stories and changed behavior, despite him having gained honor amongst the dwarves, elves, and even men in other places outside his home.
-- Significance of the Seemingly Insignificant
pg. 276: Gandalf reminds Bilbo that despite his importance in fulfilling the prophecy and being the unexpected hero during many points of the journey, his ability to escape danger/have adventures were not based in mere luck. He really is “only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!”
B. Select 2 different themes above to develop in more detail. Write a few sentences for each explaining how the examples you chose advance Tolkien’s development of the theme in his text and also why the theme is important in the story. One way to approach this might be to ask yourself what would be lost from the story or how would it be different without the theme represented by your examples.
On Transformation/Growth: In terms of Bilbo’s transformation in the eyes of the hobbits of Hobbiton, he has changed from a respectable, decent hobbit who lived at Bag-End to a “queer” fellow who tells strange stories and has odd company (dwarves, elves, Gandalf). However, Bilbo has had an immense internal transformation because 1) he embraced his Took-ish behavior and enjoyed his adventures (after a warming up to them), 2) despite enjoying the fact that he was home again in his cozy hobbit-hole, he didn’t care about the mutterings and judgements of his neighbors. He didn’t mind being perceived as odd and was content.
On Honor/Dishonor: despite having lost his honorable reputation in Hobbiton, Bilbo gained the respect and honor of dwarves, elves, wizards and even the men of Lake-Town.
On Significance of the Seemingly Insignificant: Bilbo’s contributions to the journey of the Company were incredibly important and helpful, but they were not completely random/unexpected because as Gandalf says, he was not solely responsible for his actions, nor were his actions performed only for his benefit. They had a ripple effect of sorts, by fulfilling the prophecies of the old tales, but he is reminded that results of his actions were bigger than him.
A. List specific examples (with page numbers) from your section of the text that seem to you to highlight or even hint at any (or all) of the following themes. Since all these themes will not appear clearly in each chapter, work on the themes that do occur in your assigned chapter.
-- Relationships between Individuals and Communities
pg. 274: when Bilbo arrives home and sees his belongings at Bag-End, being auctioned off to the hobbits of Hobbiton and his relatives, the Sackville-Bagginses, claiming his property as he is “presumed dead”; Bilbo the individual and his community.
-- Personal Transformation/Growth
pg. 273-74: “The Road Goes Ever On” song that Bilbo sings evokes a reaction from Gandalf who remarks that “You are not the hobbit that you were”; pg. 275, he loses his reputation in Hobbiton and is no longer a respectable hobbit but he doesn’t mind and is content with being home again and embraces his newfound friendship with the elves and hangs his sword and other artifacts from his journey around his house.
-- Honor/Dishonor
pg. 275: in the minds of the other hobbits, Bilbo has lost his respectable reputation and is considered “queer” for his stories and changed behavior, despite him having gained honor amongst the dwarves, elves, and even men in other places outside his home.
-- Significance of the Seemingly Insignificant
pg. 276: Gandalf reminds Bilbo that despite his importance in fulfilling the prophecy and being the unexpected hero during many points of the journey, his ability to escape danger/have adventures were not based in mere luck. He really is “only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!”
B. Select 2 different themes above to develop in more detail. Write a few sentences for each explaining how the examples you chose advance Tolkien’s development of the theme in his text and also why the theme is important in the story. One way to approach this might be to ask yourself what would be lost from the story or how would it be different without the theme represented by your examples.
On Transformation/Growth: In terms of Bilbo’s transformation in the eyes of the hobbits of Hobbiton, he has changed from a respectable, decent hobbit who lived at Bag-End to a “queer” fellow who tells strange stories and has odd company (dwarves, elves, Gandalf). However, Bilbo has had an immense internal transformation because 1) he embraced his Took-ish behavior and enjoyed his adventures (after a warming up to them), 2) despite enjoying the fact that he was home again in his cozy hobbit-hole, he didn’t care about the mutterings and judgements of his neighbors. He didn’t mind being perceived as odd and was content.
On Honor/Dishonor: despite having lost his honorable reputation in Hobbiton, Bilbo gained the respect and honor of dwarves, elves, wizards and even the men of Lake-Town.
On Significance of the Seemingly Insignificant: Bilbo’s contributions to the journey of the Company were incredibly important and helpful, but they were not completely random/unexpected because as Gandalf says, he was not solely responsible for his actions, nor were his actions performed only for his benefit. They had a ripple effect of sorts, by fulfilling the prophecies of the old tales, but he is reminded that results of his actions were bigger than him.
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