The Hobbit: There and Back Again Test
Answer five of the following long-answer questions.Your answers should be at least a page in response per question.
Your response must be well-argued with evidence from the text. Type and submit to turnitin.com by 11:59PM on December 18, 2014. This counts as part of your 1st semester final exam, but will be the first grade of the 2nd semester.
- Treasure and Money: Treasure provides the reason for Bilbo's quest with the dwarves. But Bilbo doesn't seem to have any real interest in money even at the beginning of their adventure. Why does Bilbo choose to go along with Thorin & Co.? What are the particular goals of Bilbo's quest? While Thorin's concept of wealth is pretty easy to define (gold, silver, jewels, the Arkenstone), Gandalf's or Bilbo's ideas of treasure seem a little bit more obscure. What do the different characters in this novel treasure? How do these treasures compare with the material things Thorin wants to collect?
- Morality: How does Bilbo's moral code emerge over the course of The Hobbit? Which key episodes in the novel give us insight into Bilbo's particular definition of right and wrong? What are some of the moral problems that Tolkien identifies with the dwarves, their quest, and their treatment of Bilbo? Do the dwarves overcome these moral challenges? At the end of the novel, what moral assessment can we make of Thorin, Gandalf, Gollum and Bilbo?
- Loyalty: Which groups in The Hobbit seem to feel the most loyalty to one another? Can we find a difference between loyalty out of duty and loyalty out of friendship? Which races are loyal to a cause more than to a person? How loyal do the dwarves seem to be to Bilbo? And how loyal is Bilbo to the dwarves? Is there any reason given for why Gandalf is so loyal to Bilbo? Do you find Gandalf's relations to the different characters of The Hobbit well-developed? Finally, revisit Thorin and the kind of loyalty that he is looking for in his Company. How does he command this loyalty throughout the text? What lines support this? Finally, at the end of the novel, how has his loyalty to the Company been questioned? Who does this and why? Who would you say is the most loyal at the end of the text?
- Good versus Evil:The line between good and evil is pretty well-maintained in The Hobbit. Men, elves, and dwarves = good (mostly). And goblins and Wargs = bad. What are the different characteristics of good and bad races? Which of The Hobbit's races seem to fall into a morally grey area? Do we see any loyalty among the "bad" peoples – the goblins, for example? Is loyalty a trait that solely belongs to the "good" folks? Does The Hobbit give us any insight into Gandalf's sense of good and evil? If so, which episodes in the novel illustrate Gandalf's moral judgment? If not, why might Tolkien withhold Gandalf's perspective on the events of The Hobbit? What role does Gandalf play in the novel? Finally, where do the Men of Dale fall into the judgement of good or evil? Why?
- House and Home:Bilbo's hobbit-hole is only one of many important refuges in The Hobbit. There's also Elrond's Last Homely House in Rivendell, and Beorn's giant home just beyond the Misty Mountains. How do these homes compare to Bilbo's? What do they have in common? Which of the characters in The Hobbit appear to be homeless? How does their loss of home change or harm them? In what ways is the dwarves' quest for treasure also a quest for home? Why is this novel called “There and Back Again?” To what kind of home does Bilbo return? Has the home changed or has Bilbo changed?
- Courage:Which moments in The Hobbit seem to require the most courage from Bilbo Baggins? How does Bilbo prove his courage to other characters such as the dwarves or Bard?Are there virtues that Bilbo has that are more important than courage? If so, what are they? How does Bilbo show these traits?Who's the bravest character in this novel? Why? What does this person's bravery tell you about his overall character? What lines in the novel support the idea that courage is more important than tasks and achievement of them?
- Race: Name the different races in the novel. How does race determine custom and tradition? What are the traditions and practices of the different races? And how do members of one race tend to respond to the traditions of another? How does race become a motivator for warfare in The Hobbit? How does it create alliances between individuals? Is there any indication that a character can act against the preferences of his or her race?
- Adventures:What might hobbits find so threatening about adventures and exploration? How does adventure conflict with hobbit values?What does Bilbo take away from his explorations? What kinds of knowledge does Bilbo's adventure bring him? How do Bilbo's explorations change him as a hobbit?What are the different attitudes of Bilbo and the various dwarves toward exploration? Do the dwarves share a general approach to exploration, or are there differences within Thorin's company? At the end of the novel, does Bilbo belong in Hobbiton?
- Double-Search: In many quest stories, the protagonist undertakes a double search. Even as he labors to complete his mission, he seeks some possibility buried deep within himself. Discuss Bilbo's struggle to keep his timid Baggins side from overcoming "the Tookish part." Explain the difference between Bilbo’s Tookish side and his Baggins side. How does the Bilbo of Chapter XIX differ from the hobbit who hosted "An Unexpected Party"? Is our hero's inner quest complete when he enters the Lonely Mountain? Tolkien writes, "Already he was a very different hobbit from the one that had run out without a pocket-handkerchief from Bag-End long ago." Or does he still need to grow in curiosity, courage, or compassion?
- Quest:W. H. Auden's six basic elements of a quest adventure are: 1) precious object, 2) heroic seeker, 3) long journey, 4) fierce guardians, 5) tests that screen out the unfit, and 6) supernatural helpers. Add to this Joseph Campbell’s Quest that includes: 1) the known world, 2) the helper/shaman, 3) the threshold & guardian, 4) the trials/tests, 5)belly of whale & grand test, 6) loss of helper, 7) return through threshold, and 8) boon. Discuss these as pertains to their appearance in the novel. Choose one of the schemes to analyze: Auden’s or Campbell’s. Diagrams and descriptions are available online. Be sure to include evidence for a minimum of the five traits.