Tolkien, J.R.R. (2002). The Hobbit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 320pp.

Grade Range: 6-12

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Supernatural

Summary and Critique

Bilbo Baggins, a simple hobbit living a peaceful life in Middle Earth, could have never expected the adventure that was about to befall him on that fateful day when dwarfs began knocking at his door. The dwarfs and Gandalf the wizard convince Bilbo to join them on a quest to take back their mountain kingdom and all its treasures from the dragon, Smaug. Reluctantly Bilbo ventures forth from the comfort of his hobbit hole into the unknown. Along the way challenges must be overcome and around ever corner a surprise awaits the gang of travelers. Bilbo learns and grows as the quest continues towards the mountain. Ultimately, he begins to understand that one small hobbit can initiate change.

The Hobbit is an underdog story that warms the heart and lifts the spirit. Written with such eloquence, the story is captivating and enchanting, which allows the reader to quickly become lost in the world of Middle Earth. Although at times the complexity of the adventures can be daunting, the repeated use of interjected narration by the author helps clarify much of what might be construed as confusing.

Themes/Topics

Friends and Enemies

Families

Generations

Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

Challenges and Triumphs

War and Peace

The Individual vs. Society

Adventure

Author Information

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien lived from 1892 to 1973. During his life he worked as a professor of literature and English. After serving in WWI, Tolkien studied and wrote about English folklore and mythology, which inspired him to create the world of Middle Earth. He created The Hobbit in 1937 as a gift to his children. Tolkien also formed The Inklings around that time, which consisted of a group of colleagues such as C.S. Lewis and Chrales Williams who met frequently to discuss their writing. With input from The Inklings and the immediate success of The Hobbit, Tolkien went on to write the three books of The Lord of the Rings series.

For more information on J.R.R. Tolkien:

http://www.tolkiensociety.org This web site offers extensive information on J.R.R. Tolkien's life and works. It also provides additional information on teaching resources, study packs, society meetings, book reviews, and a picture gallery.

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/tolkien.htm This site offers biographical information as well as a list of his major works.

Media Connections

Movies

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings (2001) This film begins where the story of The Hobbit left off. Bilbo's nephew Frodo now possesses the ring and sets out with a group of friends on an epic journey to destroy the ring forever.

Labyrinth (1986) After Sara accidentally utters a curse for her brother to be turned into a goblin, she undertakes an epic quest through the Goblin Kings'labyrinth to save her sibling.

A Bug's Life (1998) Flick, the ant, ruins his colony's harvest, thereby putting the whole colony in danger of destruction from a band of rebel grasshoppers. In order to save his colony, Flick leaves home on an adventure to find help from other bugs.

Seven Samurai (1954) This is the epic story of a Samurai master, Kambei, who is commissioned to defend a village from bandits. As the bandits gather closer and closer, Kambei organizes a militia of Samurai and villagers to engage the bandits in a battle.

Do the Right Thing (1989) On the hottest day of the year, sparks fly as the tensions among the racial groups in the Bed-Stuy district of Brooklyn reach a riot level. This film depicts the tragedy of racial tension in our American neighborhoods.

Last of the Mohicans (1992) The battles for the American colonies are underway. In an effort to defeat the common enemy, the French, a group of Mohicans join with British soldiers to fight, just as the dwarfs and men joined forces in The Hobbit to fight against the goblins.

Television

Star Trek: The Next Generation – any episode (Challenges and triumphs on a quest to reach home)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – any episode (Challenges and triumphs on a quest to rid the world of vampires)

Music

"The Long and Winding Road." Lyrics and music by Paul McCartney. The Long and Winding Road. London: Apple Records. 1969. A man keeps finding himself following the same road back to the same woman as he searches for love and happiness.

Online Resources

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/ This fascinating site explores the folklore of many diverse countries and origins, including English folklore.

http://elt.britcoun.org.pl/elt/ This is the British Studies Web site dedicated to the areas of myths, legends, and fantasy. It offers a wealth of information that would be particularly useful to teachers—e.g., stories for the classroom, book and film reviews, articles, and tons of background information on the areas of myths, legends, and fantasy.

http://www.mi.uib.no/~respl/tolkien/ A great site with information on Tolkien, as well as a fascinating section on the hobbit race and the lore surrounding hobbits.

http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/redmond/23/dragon.html A kooky little site all about dragons. It gives some interesting information on the mythical creatures.

http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/unit/hobbit/hindex2.html An amusing site with Hobbit-themed activities such as quizzes, mazes, and even games.

http://www.stateoftheart.nl/phenomenon/index2.html What a great site for the curious reader—complete with all sorts of information on the mysteries of unexplained phenomenon, civilizations, and creatures.

http://www.floridasmart.com/subjects/langarts_lit_genres.htm This site provides some useful links to information on the genres of myth and fantasy.

Related Texts

Tolkien, J.R.R. (2002). The Lord of the Rings [Box Set]. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1216pp. The whole collection of the epic tale is included in this boxed set. If children enjoy The Hobbit, this is a great way to let them read more about the hobbit's adventures to destroy the ring.

Brown, Sarah. (1992). Focus on European Fairy Tales. New York: Prentice Hall. The foci of this book are modern and traditional fairy tales from Europe. The text also contains many activities for students which could be used in the classroom.

Rowling, J.K. (1998). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic. 309pp. This is the story of a wizard in the making, Harry Potter, at his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry must figure out where the sorcerer's stone is in order to keep it out of the clutches of his arch enemy, Voldemort.

Garner, James Finn. (1994). Politically Correct Bedtime Stories. John Wiley & Sons Inc. 90pp. This book features updated versions of popular bedtime stories told in condensed and humorous ways.

Lurie, Alison. (2003). The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales. Oxford University Press. 480pp. This anthology features a collection of stories by authors such as Charles Dickens, H.G. Wells, Philip K. Dick, Bernard Malamud, and Ursula Le Guin. The stories are very accessible to younger readers and feature a fascinating assortment of topics.

Lewis, C.S. (2000). The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: Harper Trophy, 208pp. Four children enter the world of Narnia through a wardrobe in a spare bedroom of their uncle's house to try and save the people of Narnia from the evil White Witch. This is the first in the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis.

Phillip, Ed Niel. (1992). The Penguin Book of English Folktales. Penguin. 464pp. This book provides an informative introduction to English story telling and its history. In addition, the text contains over one hundred and forty English folktales.

Nye, Robert. (1982). Beowulf: A New Telling. New York: Laurel Leaf Books. 112pp. As a new telling, this book is a very accessible way for children to read about the legend of Beowulf. The complete story is told of Beowulf, a brave man, who is willing to stand up to the monster, Grendel, to save the Danes from his wrath when all others before him have died at Grendel's hand.

Yolen, Jane. (1988). Favorite Folktales from Around the World. New York: Pantheon. 512pp. Folktales from cultures such as the Eskimo, Irish, American Indian, African American, and Chinese are compiled in this compilation. The stories are grouped by theme, which is a great way to illustrate to readers the similarities among lore from different cultures.

Erdoes, Richard and Ortiz, Alfonso. (1985). American Indian Myths and Legends. New York: Pantheon. 544pp. The American Indian tales in this book range from stories about human creation to monsters and ghosts. The editors tried to keep tales as unaltered as possible from their original forms.

Birch, Cyril and Fowler, Rosamund. (2000). Tales from China. New York: Oxford Press. 195pp. Chinese stories are translated into English for this anthology. Ancient tales from Chinese history about magicians, marriages, and rainmakers are brought to life through the text of this b4teens_book.

Abrahams, Roger. (1983). African Folktales: Traditional Stories of the Black World. New York: Pantheon. 354pp. The 95 stories in this collection are meant to be told aloud. The subject of these tales ranges from cleaver animals to mischief makers.

Teaching Ideas

(1)"An Ideal Society" Have students work independently or in small groups to conceptualize their own ideal society. Students can be given a prompt that they are leaving on a spaceship to travel to a new land to establish their society. Then the students can think about and/or discuss different aspects of their society like: the system of government, religion, educational system, family structure, etc. The final phase of this discussion can be an eloquently written constitution for their new society that contains a preamble, as well as an explanation of the society's goals. This constitution can then be presented to the class orally.

[Adapted from "Create Your Own Utopia" by Alice Lora in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. April 1989, p. 10.]

(2) "Dreams" Ask students to think about their dreams. Then discuss with the students how dreams can have different structures than"normal" stories. Talk about how the unique structure of dreams can enhance their meaning, just as writing with a different structure can enhance the meaning of the content of a written work. Next, ask the students to write their own short dream sequence based on a real dream or an imaginary dream. Let the students experiment with the structure of this writing. Finally, have students share the dream sequences out loud and discuss as a class how the structure of their writing has helped to convey meaning. (Reading sections from William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury may be a good tool to get reluctant students thinking about alternative structures)

[Adapted from "Dream Weaver" by Marti Singer in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. September 1989, p. 9-10.]

(3) "Secret Agent Student" Have students go to a public place such as a park, school, library, or a mall; pick out one person from the crowd to watch; and make some notes about the person they spy. Have them observe and note the person's appearance, actions, and other traits. Next, ask students to use the information they collected to create a character sketch of the person they"spied on." Later the students can use this character sketch in other narrative writing exercises.

[Adapted from "The Student as Sleuth" by Rich Swanson in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. December 1991, p. 12.]

(Review written by Kelly Hutchings and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)