11/09-12/09: The Hobbit/ An Opening Gambit

[Maria]

When thinking about The Hobbit numerous ideas for discussion come to mind, but the overarching question for me is: why has a children’s story, peopled with short rounded middle-aged creatures, elves, dwarves, dragons and wizards, become a literary classic beloved by millions of adults? This is a question you can respond to now or you may want to mull over for a while. Either way, it is one I will revisit at the end of our discussions :)

[Cecile]

I would say it's because there's a child inside most adults, and this story reaches right to that part of us that can still dream and believe stories. The narrator probably plays a great part in that magic (see this other topic).

[Matthew]

Much has I hate (love) to answer a question with a question; what story is really written just for children? I can count innumerable other tales for the young which are beloved by the less young. The Princess Bride and Watership Down are two that come readily to mind. I think it's Tolkien's prose, world-building, and (perhaps most importantly) storytelling that draw us in. The man just knew how to weave a good tale. Young or old, when it comes to The Hobbit we're all just Samwise sitting at Bilbo's enraptured by tales as we drift off to sleep to slay dragons of our own.

[Maria]

Matthew wrote: "Much has I hate (love) to answer a question with a question; what story is really written just for children? I can count innumerable other tales for the young which are beloved by the less young. ..."

I agree there are numerous children's novels that adults have appropriated because of their excellent narrative qualities - The Secret Garden, for example. But there are many other stories written for children around this time that contemporary adults would find torturously didactic or preachy. An old favourite that comes to mind is Arthur Ransom's book 'Swallows and Amazons',which is an adventure story about four children, an island and some pirates (sounds good so far) that is so moralistic it becomes difficult to finish. What Tolkien has achieved, as you noted Matthew, is the perfect balance between 'loveable' characters and adventure, danger and action, with some serious thematic issues embedded in the narrative to teach the young through example and for adults to ponder without being beaten around the head with the moral lesson - all of which is delivered in elegant prose. Ahhh a master work indeed :D

[Elena]

Cecile wrote: "I would say it's because there's a child inside most adults, and this story reaches right to that part of us that can still dream and believe stories. The narrator probably plays a great part in th..."

It is true. There is a child still in all of us. But reading this as an adult, I found the overall story to be similar to what we all deal with in life: the fear of changing, and dealing with the unknown, pushing your limits, and learning not only to be responsible for yourself but for others. Even though Bilbo and the drawves were in their adulthood, it seemed to me that they acted like children the majority of the time, while exploring a world filled with strange and exotic beings. And isn't that the beauty of life, discovering what this immense world has to offer? This was a beautiful story of Bilbo's "coming-of-age". I'm so glad I finally read it.

[Elise]

That is a good question. There have been stories before The Hobbit about fantasy creatures and mythology, but Tolkien made them more mainstream and have reached a wide audience now. Why is it loved by adults? I think simply put, it's because it is a good story. If the story is good, the age of the person reading it won't matter. Also I think Bilbo is a pretty relatable character. He's the anti-hero. He's not the adventuring type. He's ordinary. But it's still fun to follow along with him, imagine yourself being taken out of your home like he was, and try to figure out how to face certain dangers. He was eager to get back home in the end, but he learned a lot from the experience and ended up writing a book about it. So, I guess it could be seen as stepping outside your own boundaries and exploring. It's much more than just a children's tale.

[Amelia]

I also wonder if this would have been classified as a children's story if it had been written after LOTR. All fantasy after LOTR has been influenced by that series. Certainly LOTR is much more serious. Perhaps the Hobbit would be YA instead. The Hobbit was the forerunner of that great series. Fantasy before this was mostly myths and legends. People at that time may have thought that a story with fantastical elements, mythological creatures, wizards, dwarves, etc. was a story meant for children. I definitely agree that this story teaches timeless lessons, has a sense of adventure that we all want in our own lives, and we can imagine ourself in Bilbo's places as he meets new friends, and conquers his own fears.