The Hobbit

I. Setting: The whole story takes place in the Land of Middle Earth, in a time not specified because it's a fantasy setting, but compared to human time it must have been the Middle Ages.

Influence of the setting on the story: The setting plays a major role in the development of the story. If if wasn't for the setting, the story would have been way too short. It was the setting that set the mood and the tone for the actions that took place in the story. J.R.R. Tolken's descriptions of each place helps the reader understand the history of the area and what the main character, Bilbo Baggins, thought and felt throughout the story. These places were the most important in the development of the story:

a) The Hobbit Hole - The Hobbit Hole was placed in the Hills. The beggining of the story took place here. This is also where all the main characters meet up and a type of outline of the journey is presented. Although the incident of the trolls didn't took place in the Hobbit Hole, it occured nearby. This is important because afterwards, Gandalf obtains the sword that killed the Goblin King. These weapons are the ticket for freedom in many perilous situations presented in the story. Finally, this is also where the story ends.

b) The Valley of the Elves - although in this place, their main reason for staying was to resupply on provitions, they also obtained information that helped them later on their journey.

c) Misty Mountains - the Misty Mountains is where the action really begins. The first obstacle of the journey is expossed here being it one of the most difficult ones.

Two important events take place here: 1) The death of the goblin king. 2) The encounter of Bilbo with Gollum.

d) The Moon Patch Clearing - in this place, a clearing in the forest lit by the light of the moon, the adventurers encounter the wargs, a pack of intelligent wolves who were going to join with the Goblins to rid the woods of humans who were venturing to deep into their woods. Having just escaped the goblins, the adventurers had to run from them, since they were allies with the Goblins, and in the process, they were aided by the Eagles, who later in the story help them.

e) Beorn's Clearing - tired and without food, the adventurers go to Beorn, a "friend" of Gandalf's that will help them on their journey. Here, they acquire the necessary provitions for their journey, not to mention another friend, and important information regarding their journey through Mirkwood.

f) Mirkwood Forest - in these woods, the adventurers encounter many problems: Gandalf leaves them to take care of other bussiness, hunger, they were weary, they lost their way, got captured by Giant Spiders, and after they escape, they are captured by the wood elves. After they finally escape, thanks to the help of Bilbo, they make their way to Lakeland, where their journey is almost over.

g) Lakeland - in this human town, the adventurers obtain the last provitions they ever used on their journey. Also, this is where Smaug is slain, which causes destruction of this place, causing the Battle of the 5 Armies to begin.

h) Lonely Mountain - this is where the adventurer's journey ends. It is also the place where the last event of uttermost importance takes place: the Battle of the 5 Armies.

II. Characters

Bilbo Baggins - he was a hobbit, a race of small people (no bigger than 4 or 5 feet), with lots of hair on the upper part of their feet, they enjoyed calm sorroundings and to live a quiet life. However, Bilbo was not the ordinary hobbit, because one part of his family was not very respectful, due to the fact that they were known to go on adventures. He played a very important role in the story, because he helped the dwarves escape many dangerous situations and ultimately, reach their goal. At the beginning of the story, he suffered an internal conflict, due to the fact that one part of himself wanted to stay in the Hobbit Hole, while the other wanted adventure, but later, as the story develops, he beggins to discover many talents that he was not aware of, and he became more confident in himself. Since a very early age, Bilbo's family was a friend to Gandalf, so in a way, Bilbo knew him. Later, they became great friends, due to the fact that Gandalf showed great trust and confidence in Bilbo throughout the adventure.

Thorin Oakenshield - he was short, very old, had a long beard, white beard, and he wore a blue hood during most of the story. He was the grandson of the King of the Under the Mountain. Most of the time he was serious, but, because he was a dwarf, he always enjoyed song and drink. At first, he didn't think Bilbo would be of any help, and to be precise, he thought he was nothing more than an obstacle in his journey. However, at the end of the story, he considered him a great friend, who without his help, wouldn't have fulfilled his mission in life: to restore the kingdom of the dwarves.

The Dwarves - they were all a bunch of jolly fellows, who enjoyed song and drink whenever the had the chance, and they were also great craftsmen. At first, they just considered Bilbo the burglar, but, as Bilbo saved them time after time, they began to respect and admire him, and ironically, abuse his contract with them.

Gandalf the Wizard - he was a very old, very wise, person, who helped the adventurers with his wisdom and his magic in many situations in the story. His greatest feat during the story was when he slayed the Goblin King, not because he helped the dwarves escape, but because when he slayed him, he unleashed the wrath of the goblins, which in turn caused the other races to join forces to rid the land of the menace of the Goblins. From the begginning, he displayed great confidence in Bilbo, and because of this they became great friends, and he helped Bilbo grow as a person.

Elrond, the Lord of The Elves - he was the leader of the elves, so old and wise, that his knolegde spanned the centuries, yet kind and friendly. He always welcomed strangers, as long as they weren't evil. He played an important part in the story, because he gived the adventurers information on how to enter the castle without going through the main gate and the names of the swords they obtained from the Trolls.

Gollum - he was a dark-dwelling creature, forced to live in the bottom of the Goblin's lair. He had lived there from who knows when, and from such solitude, he found that the only person he could talk to was himself, therefore refering to himself as "My Precious" or We, when he was in a conversation. He knew many riddles, and enjoyed to use them whenever he could or to be riddled, if the situation would turn up. When he was but just a youngster, he was given a magic ring, one that made him invisible, and allowed him to feed from the Goblins that lived just above his lair.

Bard - he was a normal human, but he was a very special one due to the fact that he was a descendant of the leader of Dane, a town that was located at the foot of Lonely Mountain, that suffered the wrath of Smaug, when he arrived at Lonely Mountain.

Smaug - a very old, greedy, and evil dragon. He was known as feared for his size and physical prowess. Like an old dragon he was, he was among the most powerful creatures in the world, hungered to hoard wealth, collecting mounds of coins and gathering as many gems, jewels, and items as possible. Therefore he attacked the Lonely Mountain and claimed the dwarven treasure for himself. He lived for protecting his treasure, and would protect it at all costs.

Themes

1) Confidence: The assurance, trust, and faith that Gandalf displayed for Bilbo, states this theme clearly. Also we find this theme in the dependence and trust that the dwarves showed toward Gandalf.

2) Friendship: This theme is presented in many relationships for example: Bilbo & Gandalf, Gandalf & Thorin, between the dwarves, Gandalf & Elrond, Gandalf & Beorn, The lake town and the dwarves.

3) Greed: The dwarves had a major role in this theme. Why? Because after the dwarves recovered their treasure, they turned blind with the green eyed monster of greed and didin't want to share it. This was another cause for the battle.

4) Valor: This was shown in Bilbo as his pushed himself through situations in wich he discovered his true potential.

5) Wisdom: This was shown because every clue, every perilious situation, and every choice was led by wisdom to a beneficial path. This was presented with the map, the swords, the riddles, the uncovering of the dragon's weak spot, ect...

Chronological Order of Events

1) Bilbo is peaceful in his little nice hobbit hole.

2) Gandalf arrives and tells Bilbo of his mission.

3) The Dwarves arrive to Bilbo's home and they inform him on his purpose on their journey.

4) Gandalf gives Thorin the map that leads to Lonely Mountain and a special key.

4) Bilbo leaves his home without handkerchief.

5) The adventurers begin their journey into the Misty Mountains.

6) Gandalf leaves to take care of some bussiness.

7) While trying to find shelter, the dwarves encounter a group of trolls feasting.

8) As he attempts to steal the pocket of one of the trolls, Bilbo is captured, followed by all the dwarves.

9) Bilbo is thrown into thorn bushes and cannot get down.

10) As the trolls decide how to eat the dwarves, Gandalf fools the trolls and he gets them to turn to stone when the sun comes up.

11) Gandalf helps Bilbo get down from the bushes.

12) After everybody is freed, they discover the troll's treasure hoard, and find the Orcist, Thornhammer and a dagger Bilbo takes with him.

13) The dwarves hide the rest of the treasure and continue on their journey.

14) Without food and tired, they arrived to the Hidden Valley of the Elves and stay to rest.

15) On their stay, they are greeted by Elrond, who discovers "Moon letters" on their map, which in turn describe how to get into Lonely Mountain from a secret passage.

16) Everybody continues their journey through the Misty Mountains.

17) Seeking shelter from rain, wind and Hill Giants that were hurtling rocks from the mountains, the party hides in a cave.

18) In the cave, they make camp.

19) Bilbo has a dream, where he sees a crack forming in the wall.

20) Bilbo wakes up, and discovers the crack is real and begins to yell.

21) Suddenly, everybody (except Gandalf) is grabbed an tied down by Goblins.

22) The Goblins take everybody to their leader, the Goblin King.

23) The Goblin King discovers that Thorin has the Orcist and is angered greatly.

24) In a flash of light, the Gandalf appears, and while the Goblins are distracted by the bright lights, he slays the Goblin King.

25) After slaying the King, Gandalf frees the dwarves (Bilbo, being the last one freed) and they attempt to find the exit.

26) On their way out, Bilbo is pushed into a crevice and dissappears.

27) The dwarves, don't find him, and they continue..

28) Bilbo wakes up somewhere dark, he's lost, has no sense of direction and is hurt badly.

29) As he stumbles, he finds a ring and puts it in his pocket.

30) Bilbo encounter Gollum, who begins a riddle competition in exchange for his freedom.

31) Bilbo fools Gollum with a false riddle, and Gollum decides to go look for his birthday present. When he discovers it's not in his hoard, he thinks Bilbo has it and proceeds to eat him.

32) As Bilbo was about to be eaten, he finds that the ring made him invisible and follows Gollum to the way out.

33) With a big leap, he escapes and Gollum screams "Baggins, thief!"

34) After escaping, not unnoticed, from the Goblin Cave, he rejoins the Dwarves.

35) That night, the party encounters both the Goblins and the wargs, forced to climb the trees, that are later lit by the goblins.

36) The party is rescued by the Eagles, and taken nearby Beorn's clearing.

37) The party is given food, information and transportation to the entrance to Mirkwood.

38) Once on the entrance of Mirkwood, Gandalf leaves to return his horse to Beorn.

39) As they venture into Mirkwood, the party lose their food, have to carry Bombur (because he fell into the enchanted stream, causing him to fall asleep)

40) They lose their way while trying to eat with the Wood Elves.

41) Bilbo discovers a spider was trying to capture him while he was sleeping and slays it. Since it glowed, Bilbo discovered it was an elvish blade and named it "Sting".

42) Bilbo finds that the dwarves (except Thorin) have been captured and where about to be eaten, and with the help of his magic ring, he frees them and they manage to escape.

43) As he finds the dwarves, he finds they have been captured by the Wood Elves, and taken to their home, where they are kept prisoners for not stating the purpose of their visit to the woods.

44) After some weeks, Bilbo finds a way to escape, and after they do, they arrive at Lake town, where they are greeted and given provitions. Then they continue their journey to Lonely Mountain.

45) After lots of searching, they finally find the secret entrance and Bilbo is sent inside. There he meets Smaug, and after he steals a golden cup, Smaug gets mad and he goes to Lake town to get revenge on the humans for daring to steal some of his treasure.

46) After a messenger bird tells Bard, he slays Smaug with a black arrow. When they join forces with the Wood Elves and attempt to get some of the treasure from the dwarves, they refuse to give them their share and so was to begin, but when the Goblins and wargs, they join forces against their common foe. Later, the eagles join them, and they win.

47) The war ends, and Thorin dies. Everybody gets their share of the treasure and Bilbo and Gandalf return to Bilbo's home.

48) When they arrive, Bilbo finds that his house was auctioned by the other hobbits and spends most of his fortune recovering most of his belongings. Then he places his ring in a glass jar, to keep it as a souvenier.

Would you change the ending?

No, I wouldn't change the story because the whole book was so good, profund and full of meaning that no other ending would fit on the story.

Besides the ending what else would you change?

Personally I would have like to see a female character. Besides that like I expressed before J.R.R Tolkien was a literary genious and made a perfect story.

Relationship beteween the title and the story.

The only Hobbit in the story was Bilbo, but what a hobbit he was. Bilbo is constantly having internal conflicts because of his hobbit nature. As a fact the whole plot surrounded the figure of the hobbit. That's why the story was named "The Hobbit" and that's why is the perfect title.