Natural vs. Unnatural: Goblins and Wargs

In the discussion about what makes something natural or unnatural, I was particularly interested in the creatures or things that fell into the in-between category.  In class, we had the "both" category where we could not agree on which side something should fall, and it included goblins, wargs, eagles, Gandalf's magic, and a few others that I cannot remember.  In my opinion, these things are seen as natural or unnatural depending on your perspective.  As a reader from planet Earth, the concept of hobbits and dragons and orcs are unnatural to us, but if one puts themselves in the place of a Middle-Earth dweller, they become quite natural.  And there are some things, such as goblins, that are seen as natural to someone who has fought them before, but seen as unnatural or creatures of myth by someone like Bilbo. 

A large facet of the story is all the wonders of the world seen through Bilbo's eyes once he leaves his hobbit-hole, and so it is obvious that Tolkien intended for many things in Middle-Earth to seem unnatural.  I think that the goblins and wargs fall into the category of natural things in the world, but their wild unfamiliarity to Bilbo makes them seem more unnatural.  Tolkien masterfully created a fantasy world where many things that are unnatural to our world are easily believable. 

The Hobbit, Chs 1-5, “Playing by the Rules”

One idea about fairness I found quite intriguing was the interaction between Bilbo and Gollum in the Riddles in the Dark scene. Once Bilbo broke the rules and was unfair, of which Gollum calls him out for, Gollum no longer has any need to follow the rules, and doesn’t, planning to kill Bilbo despite having “technically” lost.  

This is especially interesting in comparison with a text that might have inspired this scene, “Vafthrudnir’s Sayings,” in the Poetic Edda. In this battle of wits, the giant, Vafthrudnir, simply accepts his defeat, despite Odin clearly, shamelessly cheating. Additionally, no knowledge is gained, or sought to be gained, by either Vafthrudnir or Odin, whereas both Gollum and Bilbo have something they certainly wish to know. For Gollum, creepily, it’s if Hobbit tastes good, while for Bilbo, it’s the way out of the Goblin caves.   

Another idea I found particularly interesting was how Sauron, in creating the One Ring, breaks all the rules of fairness and everything falls into utter and complete chaos. The pieces of the world then must be picked up and put back together by those who do follow the rules, despite the cost to themselves.  

It’s fascinating, this idea Tolkien promotes through his books, that everything falls to pieces when the rules aren’t adhered to. I’m sure his time as a soldier, and the trauma he probably endured from that, had something to do with the world he created needing to have rules followed for there to be any sort of peace.  

Natural vs. Unnatural - Butterflies in Mirkwood

As it was discovered during our discussion in class, it is very difficult to distinguish between what we can categorize as natural and unnatural.  The reasons being a conflict of perspective, what we can imagine vs. what we cannot, creatures that are mostly normal but not quite, and ones that are still somehow recognizable despite not being like anything else we've ever seen.   I believe that this is exactly what Tolkien wants the reader to question.  This helps to not only solidify some visuals of this other world by giving us something to picture, but it keeps it interesting  by making the lines we draw between imagination and reality a bit blurred.  The effect Tolkien achieves by doing this is making the reader experience the same emotions as the character who also experience and interact with these creatures.

A specific instance of this that I found was with the butterflies that Bilbo sees as he climbs to the top of the trees in Mirkwood.  after hearing about all the dark and disturbing creatures of Mirkwood, it is a relief to hear of something that is well known to us and is not a threat - the butterfly.  This helps us to feel sort of like  Bilbo, although I'm sure he felt an even greater sense of relief in that moment.  But, in true Tolkien fashion, something here is still off with these butterflies. Bilbo remarks that the butterflies should be a kind of 'purple emperor' but they "were not purple at all, they were a dark dark velvety black without any markings to be seen"(162).  So although there is a relief due to familiarity, the fact that these butterflies are all black makes them unusual in middle-earth, and to the reader.  Also, the fact that there are hundreds of them means that even above the forest, Bilbo, and us, can't completely escape the darkness of Mirkwood.  So we are then able to feel trapped along with him.  This is an extremely well executed writing strategy to make this secondary world much more visible and believable, as well as the emotions experienced within this strange place.  

Natural vs. Unnatural: Horses

The creatures I listed as being written as having "natural" behaviors in Chap. 6-9 of The Hobbit were the horses/ponies. I was thinking specifically of Beorn's horses/ponies since they are mentioned quite a few times when the company is interacting with Beorn. These horses display affection and loyalty to their master (or would it be more appropriate for Beorn to be their friend?) and know how to find their way home and thus behave. Granted, when the company initially came upon Beorn's horses, they acted sort of like guard dogs and ran to tell him that Gandalf and the dwarves and Bilbo had arrived. As far as I know, this isn't usual horse behavior. But for the most part, they behave as horses in our reality would behave.

That being said, horses/ponies remain essential creatures for the characters in The Hobbit, as their presence (or lack thereof) indicates the ease of the company's journey. They also are essential creatures in The Lord of the Rings series as we will later learn about Shadowfax (whose supernatural capabilities may be an exception to the natural rule) and the horses of Rohan and of course Bill the Pony. After thinking about how Tolkien uses horses within Middle Earth,I appreciate how he manages to make them important creatures that have subtle, but definite effects on the state of the characters without adding too many fantastical or unusual elements to them.

Free Write

I didn't get to share my free write in class so I wanted to share some of my favorite points from it here.

The topic I wrote on was the first one in which we talked about why Tolkien made Bilbo initially timid.

Often throughout The Hobbit, we are reminded of the two heritages of which Bilbo is a part, his Took side, and his Baggins side. To me this indicates an internal conflict between his desire to see new places and his need, as a Baggins, to stay at home where it is safe. This makes Bilbo more relatable because I have had that same internal conflict. I want to travel and explore, be the hero but when I think about the logistics of such an adventure I pale at the idea of the danger that inevitably comes along with the adventure.

I think Tolkien himself was a hobbit type of person but he also likes to imagine far off lands where dragons and magic are real things and where good always wins against evil. I can imagine him being very similar to Bilbo. Maybe Bilbo acts as his doorway into this fantastical land, into an adventure, while he can sit safely at home.

I also wanted to talk about how the dwarves song on page 16 of The Hobbit seemed to awaken the Tookish side of Bilbo. The music seemed to carry him off over hills and mountains while he remained sitting in his parlor in Hobbiton. Music seems to have a magical quality in this book as it rouses an unsuspecting Bilbo to the dwarves' cause, distracts spiders, and creates a beat to efficiently clean up the dishes in Bilbo's home.

- Celeborn

Thoughts on the Hobbit freewrite

Here I will post my freewrite, as well as some thoughts I have on it that I have since developed.

Freewrite:

Bilbo Baggins was designed to be a relatable character. Only through him are we able to  truly place ourselves within the realm of Middle-earth at the time of the setting of this story. He is a man who is comfortable with where he is in his life, and he more or less fears change, much like all hobbits. Tolkien foreshadows that he is different then some hobbits, however, based upon his relation to the Tooks, who are notorious for their adventures and misadventures, a fact which will continue to play itself out in the Lord of the Rings with Pippin. This is a character who is definitely full of adventures (particularly misadventures) and resembles a problematic child in many ways.

Bilbo however takes this Tookishness inside of him and lets it take him on  a glorious adventure to places far away. Most people would not just invite a bunch of strangers into their homes to make a mess of the place, and eat all their food. The politeness within Bilbo is the reason why he does this, instead of some deep and hidden desire for adventure. But as the dwarves tell them their story, he becomes intrigued. This intrigue ebbs and flows throughout the course of the book, but it is enough to get him out of the door, which is arguably one of the hardest steps of the entire journey, despite the peril which lay ahead of him. This is a very difficult step for most things that I do as well. Once on the journey, it is incredible, but the actual breaking of inertia, aka getting up, putting your shoes on, and going out the door to see whatever the world has in store, is the hardest part.

Bilbo is relatable in this regard that he just wants to stay home, read, and drink tea. He continuously thinks about the comfort of his own home while he is away on his magnificent adventure. I do much of the same. Like when I go backpacking, and my legs are sore, I am exhausted, my bed is uncomfortable, and I am cold. I question my sanity about why I left in  the first place, just to put myself in a situation of discomfort. But when I remember those trips, I don't remember the achy limbs, but instead the magnificent setting in which I can be a part of. I feel that Bilbo looks back on his journey in much of the same way. He recalls the discomfort he was in, but that isn't the lasting influence that the trip has set.

In  regards to the question of Bilbo being socially conservative, I feel that that is a pretty obvious yes. He does have that inner liberal  inside of him egging him on, that his mind has to keep in check so he doesn't find himself in to much trouble. But ultimately that voice prevailed, and he started on the journey. It probably helps that when he woke up that first morning, he was running late. This helped him make the decision, because he made it before he had any time to stop and think about it. He didn't even have time to grab a hat or a pocket handkerchief. This is probably why Gandalf was there in the first place, because he knew that if Bilbo wasn't in a rush, the sedentary hobbit within him probably never would have left. He would have stayed in his hole to whine and mumble as he cleans up the mess that the dwarves had left him after breakfast. It is because he didn't have time to  think that he abandoned his hole and started off down the road, not knowing when or if he would ever return.

I do also feel that Bilbo did not comprehend the true danger of the trip that lie ahead. This is evident in the fact that he thought the adventure would start at the shores of Long Lake, and there would be no danger  up until that point. But how wrong he was. If he fully understood the stakes of his actions, he almost certainly would have pulled his covers up over his head that morning, instead of rushing out the door to join the curious company of dwarves that he had met only the night before, and under much unpreferable circumstances to a hobbit.

Discussion:

Since I wrote this, I was reminded of another instance in the book that I feel perfectly exemplifies the changes that Bilbo undergoes throughout the course of this book. I believe that Tolkien documents two main turning points for Bilbo, which changed the course of his life forever. The first one, him leaving his door to go on the adventure, I talk about above. The second instance occurs in Chapter 12, as Bilbo is walking down the hallway of the secret entrance into the mountain. At one point, he stops and has a tremendously difficult time continuing. Tolkien explains how the act of bravery that it to take the next step was the most courageous thing that Bilbo has ever, or would ever do. 

I think it is notable that neither of these events occurred directly in the face of danger. That one step that he took out his door, or down the hallway, was not immediately consequential to life or death, but it was simply starting on a path that he had never been down before. Both steps were taken with uncertainty about what lay immediately ahead, and Bilbo's capability to face that uncertainty shows the growth that he experiences. 

-Haleth

Hobbit Free Write

I didn't share my free write in class so I suppose I will use it as my blogging entry for this week.

I enjoy free writes and always imagine myself eventually using them to start a paper. each free write is a great way to get thoughts and ideas into words on a page. from this point forward, it's much easier to manipulate and mold these words into a presentable paper or article.

My topic was Topic 1 – Why does Tolkien insist on making Bilbo's character initially timid, unwilling to go adventuring, or reluctant to take risks? Many see him as socially conservative and rigid in his ways. Would you agree or disagree? Tolkien could just as easily have written him to be brave and fierce. So, why doesn't he? What is Tolkien’s purpose in constructing Bilbo’s character as he does?

Hobbit free write:
How much more interesting is a book about an unlikely hero. How many tales are there about a brave, powerful, and courageous hero that comes to save the day with little effort to himself. In the hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien makes Bilbo the main character originally timid, however he also writes about the “Took “ side of Bilbo that craves for adventure and ultimately gets the better of him. However, for the most part, Bilbo is a timid creature who doesn't take risks and is stuck in his delightful ways. I think it's much more relate able to the reader. Those who really crave adventure and danger will go out into the world and find it. However, those who want to be entertained without the risks will maybe choose to sit down and read a book. This is now always true, sometimes brave souls will choose to relax and enjoy a book or movie, and sometimes a timid creature will be encouraged outside of their comfort zone to experience something thrilling. However I think Tolkien was trying to appeal to his major audience. Fantasy books can sometimes be over the top and way too crazy to believe with sci-fi adventures where entire worlds live on spaceships and have super powers. However I think Tolkien makes his stories more immersive by making the main character, common place and maybe even more wimpy than any human being. In the case of the Lord of the Rings, The hobbits are “Little people” smaller and weaker than humans. However this little hobbit, and his merry band of dwarfs go on an amazing journey full of dangers. This goes to show that now matter how scared, weak, timid you may be, you can always go on an adventure. Don't let your timidness decide whether or not you can do something. J.R.R. Tolkien writes later in the hobbit about how Bilbo overcomes his fear, and becomes one of the ring leaders of the group. Eventually all the dwarfs look up to him as a leader of the group. Leader and timid do not go hand in hand. They are not synonyms, Bilbo was able to overcome his fear and become a leader. I believe Tolkien's purpose of constructing Bilbo the way that he did was to show that you don't have to be born extraordinary to do extraordinary things.

The Rooftop of Mirkwood--Natural vs. Unnatural

In considering J.R.R. Tolkien's utilization of both the natural and the unnatural in Chapters 6-9 of The Hobbit, I thought of the moment when the Company is traveling through Mirkwood and Bilbo climbs up one of the trees to see how far they were within the forest. Previously, they had encountered the strange magic of the woods.  Bombur, the dwarf, had fallen in a deep trance after falling into the enchanted stream, and the air was heavy and still as if frozen in a terrible gloom.  Yet, once Bilbo had poked his head above the treetops, the magic of the forest was lost for natural beauty.  Bilbo felt the wind on his face and the warm sunlight on his skin.  Butterflies fluttered around him, and for a moment, he had escaped the dark boughs of Mirkwood.

Furthermore, in a moment of foreshadowing, Bilbo considered whether there were any spiders as he climbed up the great oak.  Above the treeline, naturally sized spiders crawled around while below the treeline great, monstrous eight-legged beasts claimed the forest as their home and were wholly and undeniably unnatural.  The clear and cool sky contrasted with the unnaturally stuffy air on the forest ground, stuffy not because of the density of the woods but because of some strange magic on the land.  While all Bilbo could see was the forest, he was removed from it and once again a part of the natural world.

I think this scene is supposed to demonstrate the contrast between the natural and the unnatural worlds.  Mirkwood is an otherworldly place in a land so full of wild and mystical countries, yet it is of a different variety.  It is darker than many of the other lands.  It is not as lovely as Lothlorien or as ancient and wise as Fangorn.  I believe Mirkwood is a forest meant to symbolize fear and confusion.  Not everything makes sense within it, and even that which would seem harmless in the natural world--the squirrels, streams, etc.--are suspiciously ominous.  However, outside of Mirkwood, challenges still await, but these challenges are more natural and less shrouded in mystery and magic.  Bilbo's excursion to the roof of Mirkwood shows just how different the worlds are though separated only by some tree branches.

Role of Music

What is the role of music or songs in The Hobbit? Does music play a different role in this work than in Tolkien's other works? Why does Tolkien include so many songs in the works? What does the music or the songs add to the story for readers?

Wealth in The Hobbit

What is the literary purpose of gold, treasure or wealth in The Hobbit? How does this text, or other texts by Tolkien, view the possession of wealth? Give examples from the text to support your readings.

Tolkien's Middle-name Reuel

Recently, this was posted on another blog explaining a possible history for Tolkien's middle-name Reuel: http://tolkniety.blogspot.com/2018/01/concerning-reuel.html. The link is to Part 1, but there is also a part 2 of this work. If you are interested in history or wonder how modern scholars figure out about such matters, this will give you much to consider. The author is from Poland, so you may have to translate other parts of this blog even though the post is in English.

Hobbit Free-Write Discussion

One of the most interesting things that someone talked about during the free-write was that, at least for Tolkien, breaking the rules of the world usually results in evil and chaos. I find this to be both true and problematic at the same time. It is true that breaking the rules has consequences. Whether this is in our society or in Middle Earth, there are always consequences to your actions. For our world, if you break a law, there is a good chance you will go to jail. The severity of the punishment, depends on the extent of the violation. This is extremely evident for both Sauron and Sarumon. However, the real world is not quite so simple. The laws of this world are neither good nor bad. They are a set of rules that society has decided that we must follow. However, just because it is a rule/law, does not necessarily mean that it is the right thing to do. For example, think about Germany during World War II. Helping Jewish people was strictly outlawed and punished. However, imprisoning people for their religion goes greatly against what modern society believes. So therefore, what should people do, follow the rules of their own country or follow the rules of the rest of the world?

Rules in our society are constantly changing. There is no definite right or wrong way to do things. Just because it is a law according to our country/society does not mean it is the right thing to do. Therefore, saying that breaking the rules of the land leads to evil and chaos is infinitely problematic. I think that the best that we can do, is to figure out what we see as right or wrong in that situation. Our only guides are our own hearts and while we may not always end up doing exactly what we should, at least then we know we are doing our best. We have to decide what we see as right and wrong on our own before we can come to any sort of conclusion on whether our laws are just.

I am Goldberry, daughter of the River

Hello! I am Goldberry, daughter of the River. I am the wife of Tom Bombadil, the Master, and live with him at the edge of the Old Forest. Very few people know very much about either me or my husband. Many suspect that I am a river spirit of the Withywindle. Every year Tom Bombadil goes and gathers the last water-lilies of the summer, so that I might bathe my feet among them, at the pool where he found me. He found me sitting there in the rushes singing. And sing I still do.

This is how my husband and I became briefly involved in the adventures of Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and the Ring. While he was on this annual errand, he came across the poor hobbits in a bit of trouble with Old Man Willow. He soon put everyone in their right place and brought the hobbits and their ponies to our house, where I greeted them with song. We spent many a day singing and eating and being merry before we sent them along their way.

I am Frodo

Hello there!

My name is Frodo Baggins and I am a hobbit from the Shire. I have a cousin named Bilbo Baggins but he is more of an uncle to me and he took me in after my parents died. Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took are also cousins of mine and one of my great friends is a hobbit named Samwise Gamgee.

I inherited Bilbo's ring on his 111th birthday and this ring is a ver powerful ring known as the One Ring. I later found out through a wizard named Gandalf that this ring is the ring of the Dark Lord Sauron who is planning on using it to conquer Middle earth. I then went on this long adventure in order to figure out what to do with this ring because I realized how much danger it put me in by keeping it in the Shire. When I met with the elves of Rivendell a group of us decided it would be smart to destroy it and to do so a fellowship of nine was created to protect me on my journey to destroy the ring. Eventually after many hard tasks and perils I reached Mount Doom where we planned to destroy the ring, before I can destroy it however its power consumed me and I claimed it for my own when we reached the volcano where it was created. Gollum, a creature who is somewhat human like, bit off my finger and claimed it for his own but as he celebrated he fell in the volcano which ended up destroying the ring. After all this I then went back to the shire to try and live a life of peace. Eventually I was granted access to Valinor, a place where elves travelled t after their time on Middle Earth, where I hoped to live the rest of my life in peace.

Hope you have a lovely day!

-Frodo Baggins

"The Hobbit", Ch. 1-5 Freewrite Exercise

             Tolkien emphasizes the importance of fairness or appropriateness as well as "playing by the rules" because it's something that is crucial to both the development of his stories and the connection we as readers have to the characters. Being able to identify this duty and honor within the characters, good, bad, or somewhere in between, allows us to either fall in love with them, sympathize, or hate them. Plus, this idea of fairness only further magnified the feats that Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, and other characters accomplished. Being of the character that, in times of extreme stress or crisis, to move forward with what you feel or know to be the right thing, the fair thing, is amazing. In fact, this whole idea reminds me of the moment where Gandalf told Bilbo that courage or something, I don't remember exactly what he said, is not killing someone but knowing when to spare them. Even when discussing the treatment of their enemies, Gandalf too recognized right, wrong, and acted honorably. This also brings me to the Code of Chivalry. The code of chivalry serves as a guideline as to how to behave and treat others. While it was originally intended or used by knights, the code of chivalry can be applied to everyone. I feel as though you could apply this concept to the characters of both The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings. It seems, to me at least, that Tolkien emphasized this idea because he believed in good, in doing what is right and/or fair no matter the circumstances, something that could have been influenced by his experience in WWI.