11/09-12/09: The Hobbit/ Writing out of the Real

[Maria]

The story of how Tolkien came to begin The Hobbit is well known; a few scrawled words on a piece of paper, “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit”, giving rise to an adventure tale for his children (and the invention of a new term in the English lexicon: hobbit!). But as writers are zeitgeists who write out of the experiences of their time, I wonder how much of Tolkien’s life experience found its way into the narrative. There are subtle references to his childhood with Gandalf mentioning ‘the unexpected luck of widow’s sons’ (p.17) – Tolkien was raised by a Catholic priest following the death of his father and, eight years later, his mother – and to the horror of WWI in the reference to Beorn’s roaring voice being like ‘drums and guns’ (p.271). Do you know of others?

I wonder too, if the desolation surrounding Smaug (a play on the word ‘smug’??) represents the material and economic desolation that came with WWI and the Great Depression – is Smaug, sleeping on his mountain of gems and gold, a representation of the human greed that lead to these events?

[Jim]

I always thought of Smaug as a wordplay on 'smog', the cloud of pollution that hung over London & other major cities.

[Matthew]

I'm not quite as familiar with the events of this time as I am with the second World War and the parallels between that and LOTR are fairly undeniable. I will say this however, The Battle of Five Armies sounds like a world war to me. Think of the tale itself as a young man drafted off to fight in a war. A war which he barely understands. All he wants to do is hide, survive, and make his way home.

[[deleted user]]

Tolkien was a scholar of the English language’s Anglo-Saxon roots. So it seems he used 'Smaug' for the dragons name, which is derived from the Common Germanic verb 'smeugan' meaning 'to creep into a hole or to slip through'. The word 'smuggling' later derived from this same verb. I suspect this is in reference to the hidden passageway that the dwarves wondered how the dragon had fitted through to smuggle his treasures into the cave.

To me the dragon was hoarding great treasures that were really of little use to him. Each item was greatly cherished and he knew quickly when the cup was stolen, 'The dragon did not wake, not yet, but shifted into other dreams of greed and violence'. It seems like a tale of greed, that someone has stored great treasures and has became very proud and arrogant due to this wealth.

Could this be a good example of Matthew 6:19 'Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal' and Matthew 6:21 'For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.' As Tolkien was raised by a priest I am sure he would have heard of these passages from the Sermon on the Mount often and then was able to relate it within his story as an example of the evil nature of greed.

This short video clip is very interesting of J.R.R Tolkien explaining how he happened on writing 'In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.'
John Tolkien on "The Hobbit"

[Fox]

Very interesting reflections on The Hobbit. Very thought-provoking. I will need to think on this... Thank you for bringing it up Maria! :)

[Fox]

Matthew wrote: " I will say this however, The Battle of Five ..."

The Battle of the Five Armies. Yes, this does sound like a world war. I can agree with that. However...

JJ wrote: "As Tolkien was raised by a priest I am sure he would have heard of these passages from the Sermon on the Mount often and then was able to relate it within his story as an example of the evil nature of greed."

I can see a lot of relations here as well. Add in the discussion on the importance of the number 13. Throw in the fact that Bilbo is an unlikely/accidental/reluctant hobbit hero (who would have thought a carpenter would save us all??). And I can definitely see a Christian myth growing out of this tale.

[Kathy]

But Tolkien doesn't have the blatant Christian overtones when compared to CS Lewis, his good friend. Tolkien's tale is of good and evil, and as so well put, a reluctant, unexpected hero that shows that even one person (or hobbit) can make a difference in the world. I disagree with the overtly Christian myth here, as Lewis and Tolkien had some very famous disagreements on the influence of religion in writing. Tolkien's personal beliefs were very devout Christian, but he did not feel that his books were an appropriate avenue to express his religious convictions.

Considering Maria's opening questions for this thread, I wonder if The Hobbit shows Tolkien's own resilience in that he is making a small difference in the world himself, even if it was only for his children (in the beginning, anyway).

[[deleted user]]

Some trivia I found of interest. Pauline Baynes (Illustrator) who did the artwork for the Maps of Middle Earth, was surprised when Edith Tolkien looked at the Map and said "Ooo, look at that horrid spider!" when pointing to Shelob. From this remark Pauline wondered if Tolkien's wife had read his novels.