Encounter With Smaug

"Now you are in for it at last, Bilbo Baggins, you went and put your foot right in it that night of the party, and now you have got to pull it out and pay for it! Dear me, what a fool I am! I have absolutely no use for dragon-guarded treasures, and the whole lot could stay here for ever, if only I  could wake up and find this beastly tunnel was my own front hall at home!"

Upon entering the Lonely Mountain, and being sent alone by the dwarves to investigate for the dragon, Bilbo goes deep into the tunnels of the cave and finds Smaug, fast asleep and curled up in a great mound of treasure. Bilbo steals a golden cup, an act signifying that Bilbo has in fact become a bold and Tookish burglar, and he fleeds. After telling the dwarves about what he saw however, the dragon is heard in the distance and roars angered by the discovery of theft, and soon goes of and discovers the ponies and devours them.

Then as is the nature of folk that are thoroughly perplexed, they began to grumble at the hobbit, blaming him for what had at first pleased them: for bringing away a cup and stirring up Smaug's wrath so soon."What else is a burglar to do?"asked Bilbo angrily. "I was not engaged to kill dragons, that is warrior's work, but to steal treasure. I made the best beginning I could."

This shows the dwarves very selfish and unappreciative attitude towards Bilbo. At this point they had been rescued by him so often that they were starting to feel too comfortable with their adventure and take situations for granted, relying much concern, burden and reliability on Bilbo. Regardless this argument, he offers the dwarves that since he has his invisibility ring, he "will creep down this very noon - and see what (Smaug) is up to. Perhaps something will turn up."

" 'Every worm has it's weak spot,' as my father used to say, though I am sure it was not from personal experience."

And so Bilbo returns to Smaug's lair. He opens the door, peers in invisible, and sees that he is sleeping. Or rather, faking a slumber, because as soon as Bilbo steps in, the dragon catches his scent.

"Well, thief! I smell you and feel your air. I hear your breath. Come along! Help yourself again, there is plenty to spare!"

The dragon asks for Bilbo's name, but he only replies a series of riddle-like identities.

"I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number. I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me. I am the friend of bears and eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider."

There conversation continues, and throughout it, Smaug confronts him about the dwarves wanting to steal his treasure. The beast begins to talk of the dwarves then.

"I suppose they are skulking outside, and your job is to do all the dangerous work and get what you can when I'm not looking - for them? And you will get a fair share? Don't you believe it! If you get off alive, you will be lucky."

The dragon even goes so as to tell Bilbo what mere method of transportation has been planned for his fourteenth share of the treasure. And all of this greatly influences Bilbo, and he begins then to doubt his friends. This represent the immense amount of corruption that evil always attempts to do on the innocent or guilty, it always tries to mold itself onto us to grant its own bidding to be done. 

That is the effect that dragon-talk has on the inexperienced. Bilbo of course ought to have been on his guard; but Smaug had rather an overwhelming personality.

After that Bilbo dismisses the talk and questions the dragon about any weak spots. To this Smaug doesn't leak any information, but when he rolls about, even Bilbo sees a patch of skin on his chest that is unprotected by any scales or armour. And pleased with the information he acquired, he flees from the cave.

"Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!" he said to himself, and it became a favourite saying of his later, and passed into a proverb. "You aren't nearly through this adventure yet," he added, and that was pretty true as well.

Gollum

Out of all characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings saga, Gollum is considered the greatest legendarium character. While the creature holds a lot of mystery in The Hobbit, Gollum's history and real purpose in the story is revealed in The Lord of the Rings, and although much of his dialogue and actions portray him to be very static, indifferent, and one-dimensional in this book, there is a certain aura of intriguing attention that he naturally possesses, and so many of the audience members become so drawn into his being and struggle to interpret the character.

This is because Gollum is indeed more than just a slimy, wretched, lonely, crazy creature living in a cave under the Misty Mountains. A very important fact to consider is that objects and beings always end up somewhere for a reason. There is an intent and purpose to the dialogue, description, actions, and settings to scene. Everything is motivated by either the author's or character's goal (sometimes both). Therefore, despite the lack of explanation towards Gollum in The Hobbit, he is in fact, an extremely dynamic character. 

In The Lord of the Rings, Gollum's past is revealed. It is no coincidence, but rather a very well planned out story, that Gollum was once a hobbit. He was first known as Smeagol, a member of the Stoorish Hobbits, or the River Folk. One one of his birthdays, he was taken fishing with his cousing Deagol to the river. Deagol finds the ring after falling into the water, and after emerging, Smeagol spots the ring and demands that his cousin gives it to him as a birthday present. But after Deagol, captivated by the power of the ring refuses, Smeagol strangles him and takes the ring for himself. 

Smeagol in banished and runs away to the Misty Mountains, where he finds shelter in a cavern. There his mind, body and soul are corrupted, twisted and maliciously influenced by the power of the ring. His physical appearance and personal characteristics change from a hobbit to a slimy, bony, pale, dark being. He adapts the name Gollum from the coughing, swallowing and choking sounds he often made.

"Bless us and splash us my precioussss! I guess it's a choice feast; at least; at least a tsty morsel it'd make us, gollum!"

Gollum often taked to himself, something that is considered a psychological dis-function or fracture in his personality. After much years of being alone in solitude, he begins to discuss with himself his plans, his intentions, and his thoughts, which state the fact that he holds a dissociative identity disorder. Later in the saga, he is shown mercy and kindness by Gandalf and Frodo Baggins, and this triggers one Gollum's more kind, loving, moral, and hobbit-like personality to overthrow Gollum, the corrupted, evil, nasty personality. Samwise Gamgee would later name the good side "Slinker" and the bad side "Stinker." There are scene in New Line Cinema's movies for The Lord of The Rings depicting Gollum and Smeagol having a conversation. You can observe one of these in the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbW-Zv_kR5Q

There is much symbolism and thematic elements in the character of Gollum. The duality of his identity represent the good evil in a person. Especially how they both compete within our conscience and mind. Our subconscious thoughts about the right or wrong, the good or bad, sort of ensue arguments in our own beings without realizing, and whenever the immoral or unethical decisions are made, the damage in our character can be immense. Gollum also holds a vital theme of Tolkien's sage: the material and unimportant things in our lives can corrupt us because we are human. 

The fact that Gollum was once a hobbit was a terrific decision for Tolkien to make in his development for the character. It represents the innocence, livelihood, kindness, love, and devotion of a person (or on universal terms, all humans), because that is what hobbits represent. And the One Ring, represent the evil and corruption of our world, whether it is people, material things, or a flaw in our personality, the greed and malignance of Gollum demonstrate what we are when we are selfish, and his physical metamorphosis into the creature depicts what we may appear to look like to others if it reflects on our evil dynamics.

"He hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself. He will never be rid of his need for it." (Gandalf about Gollum)  

"It's pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had a chance!" (Frodo)  

"Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. And some that died deserve life. Can you give it to them Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many." (Gandalf)

Riddles in the Dark

"He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment."

Perhaps the most awaited moment of this book is when Bilbo acquires the Ring of Power. Especially to fans of the books or movies of The Lord of the Rings, that scene is one that has us reading through the book hastily in anticipation of this moment. And it comes sooner than expected, very early in the book. Chapter 4, Over Hill and Under Hill, consists of the troupe of dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf crossing through the Misty Mountains and finding a cave for shelter. That night, however, they are captured by a the goblins, and taken prisoners. Gandalf however followes behind, slays the Great Goblin, and gathers his troupe to escape the caverns. But Dori, whom was carrying Bilbo in his shoulders, collapses losing hold of Bilbo, and immediately gets up and goes without Bilbo (which was seen as an incredible act of greed and unselfishness on the race of the dwarves, and how they don't care or believe much in Bilbo.

"Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slumy creature. I don't know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum - as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face."

Riddles in the Dark is not famous because it demonstrates the discovery of the Ring, but because it is the introduction to Gollum, a very vital and integral character of the Middle-Earth saga. Bilbo and Gollum meet very deep inside the cave, near a lake where the mysterious creature lives. Gollum and Bilbo ensue in a riddle game, out of which Bilbo would not survive if he had failed. "It must have a competition with us, my precious! If precious asks, and it doesn't answer, we eats it, my preciousss. If it asks us, and we doesn't answer, the we does what it wants eh? We shows it the way out, yes!"


After many riddles vacillate between the two, Bilbo asks "What have I got in my pocket?" This of course is a very arbitrary and inappropriate question, for there is no possible way Gollum would know, and there was no riddle to guess for. So Gollum answers incorrectly, and infuriated, he goes to his hiding-place "where he kept one very beautiful thing, very beautiful, very wonderful. He had a ring, a golden ring, a precious ring." Of course it is the ring Bilbo has in his pocket. "He wanted it because it was a ring of power, and if you slipped that ring on your finger, you were invisible; only in the full sunlight could you be seen, and then only by your shadow, and that would be shaky and faint." Gollum planned to use it to sneak up on Bilbo, kill him and eat him. Obviously though, he does not find it.

"Where iss it? Where iss it? Lost it is, my precious, lost, lost! Curse us and crush us, my precious is lost! It's lost, gollum, gollum, gollum."

The creature chases Bilbo, but he slips on the ring, trips, and Gollum runs past him crazed and panicked. Bilbo hears it form a distance, formulating a plan to wait for the Baggins at the exit of the cave, so Bilbo follows Gollum, unseen. Bilbo jumps over Gollum at the place where he dared go no further because the goblins guarded the other passages. Bilbo had escaped.

"Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it for ever!"

Bilbo's destiny had instantly been changed. The robbery of the ring is the first successful step Mr. Baggins takes towards becoming a burglar, since he hadn't managed to rob the trolls alone. Frightened, alone and anxious, yet witty and audacious he manages to confront the wretched creature, steal his ring, and escape the goblins cave. Of course that the invisibility of the ring helped a vast amount, allowing him to exit the cave unseen. But considering he is a hobbit, completely lost and new to these bold and daring experiences, much should be credited to him later by the dwarves. The Took side of Bilbo had emerged even further through this experience, and without it, he might have not survived or endured the experiences that would follow.

The 13 Dwarves

The following are the actors of the upcoming film adaptation of The Hobbit, coming December 2012, as the 13 dwarves, followed by character descriptions provided by:


http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/07/15/time-exclusive-first-look-at-balin-and-dwalin-from-the-hobbit-movie/#hbt-dwf-001c
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorin_Oakenshield

Thorin Oakenshield

Thorin son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain, is described as being very haughty, stern, and officious. He has a talent for singing and playing the harp, wears a gold chain, and has a very long beard. His appearance is also characterized by his distinctsky blue hood. He refers to his homes in the Blue Mountains as "poor lodgings in exile." He is a capable and a cunning warrior, if not a particularly inspiring or clever leader. While shorter than elves or men, Thorin is said to be quite tall for a dwarf.

Balin & Dwalin

"Dwarf Lords in their own right, Balin and Dwalin are close relatives of Thorin. Beyond this, these brothers are two of his most loyal and trusted friends. An old warrior, Balin has lived through hard times and fought many battles, yet he harbors doubts about the wisdom of the Quest to retake the Lonely Mountain. Dwalin has no such forebodings – his belief in Thorin’s leadership is unshakeable. A powerful and bruising fighter, with a natural tendency to distrust anyone who is not a Dwarf, particularly anyone who might be an Elf, Dwalin is not someone to cross lightly."

Nori, Ori, & Dori

"These three brothers, all sons of the same mother, could not be more different from each other. Dori, the oldest, spends much of his time watching out for Ori, the youngest; making sure he’s not caught a chill or got himself killed by Wargs or Goblins. Nobody quite knows what Nori is up to most of the time, except that it’s quite probably illegal. Dori, Nori and Ori are intensely loyal to each other – and though they are perfectly happy fighting amongst themselves, anyone who means harm to one of these brothers should watch out."

Oin & Gloin

"Distant cousins of Thorin Oakenshield, these two doughty, Northern Dwarves join the Company out of a sense of loyalty to their kin, and also because they have a substantial sum of money invested in the venture. Along with Bombur, Gloin is the only other married Dwarf in the Company (there being a shortage of female dwarves in general). His wife is an acclaimed beauty with a particularly fine beard. Gloin is the proud father of a young son, Gimli, who will go on to become part of the famous Fellowship of the Ring."

Fili & Kili

"Two of the youngest Dwarves, Fili and Kili have been born into the royal line of Durin and raised under the stern guardianship of their uncle,Thorin Oakensheild. Neither has ever traveled far, nor ever seen the fabled Dwarf City of Erebor. For both, the journey to the Lonely Mountain represents adventure and excitement. Skilled fighters, both brothers set off on their adventure armed with the invincible courage of youth, neither being able to imagine the fate which lies before them."

Bombur, Bofur, & Bifur

"Dwarf Lords in their own right, Balin and Dwalin are close relatives of Thorin. Beyond this, these brothers are two of his most loyal and trusted friends. An old warrior, Balin has lived through hard times and fought many battles, yet he harbors doubts about the wisdom of the quest to retake the Lonely Mountain. Dwalin has no such forebodings – his belief in Thorin’s leadership is unshakeable. A powerful and bruising fighter, with a natural tendency to distrust anyone who is not a Dwarf, particularly anyone who might be an Elf, Dwalin is not someone to cross lightly."

The Journey Begins

"Don't be a fool Bilbo Baggins! Thinking of dragons and all that outlandish nonsense at your age!"

Chapter 2, Roast Mutton, depicts the first day of Bilbo's Unexpected Journey. The morning his expedition was supposed to begin, Bilbo woke up rather late and was surprised by Gandalf, who rushed Bilbo into a quick packing and sent him out with not nearly enough food, clothing, or commodities for his journey. Soon though, he meets the dwarves at the Green Dragon Inn and his supplies are provided. 

The Chapter is recognized for presenting Bilbo with the major obstacles he will face throughout the course of his journey. This is, the tasks and uncomfortable commodities of traveling, the starving diets and eating habits, the weather, the nature, and most importantly, the different creatures, both menacing and friendly... in the case of Ch. 2, not friendly at all...

"They were trolls. Obviously trolls. Even Bilbo, in spite of his sheltered life, could see that: from the     great heavy faces of them, and their size, and the shape of their legs, not to mention their language, which was not drawing-room fashion, at all."

Despite the rushed evolution in tone from mysterious and adventurous to panic and alarming, Tolkien beautifully maintains comic relief through this scene (and many others).

"What are yer?"

"Bilbo Baggins, a bur - a hobbit..."

"A burrahobbit? What's a burrahobbit got to do with my pocket anyways?"

"And can yer cook 'em?"

So the dialogue between the trolls discusses whether they will skin and bone Bilbo, or make him into a pie, or cook him... Eventually the dispute ensues into a fight. The dwarves arrive after hearing the distant noises and while Bilbo hides in a bush, they are captured and put into sacks.

Gandalf arrives, and takes part in the troll's dialogue to confuse them and spark another argument.

"Shut up!"

"Shut up yerself!"

"You're a booby!"

"Booby yerself!"

Gandalf then places an enchantment on the trolls, instantly turning them into solid rock. They obtain a key that leads to their cave and use it for shelter. In the cave they find much food and several weapons and treasury.

Gandalf and Thorin take the famous swords of Orcrist and Glamdring. Weapons manufactured by the ancient High Elves of the West. Bilbo takes a long knife, which serves him as a good sword in length to his shorter size. This sword is a key element in the transformation of Bilbo as an adventurer, and will later become known as the famous STING, the sword he passes on to Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings. 

The first two Chapters provide beautiful and rich opening scenes, with humorous and captivating dialogue, and a fast ensuing plot with an intriguing story you don't soon dismiss!

"In a hole under the ground there lived a hobbit... This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected."

Tolkien opens the novel by introducing the hobbit... well, the hobbits, "they are a little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves. There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary, everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off. They are inclined to be fat in the stomach; they dress in bright  colours; wear no shoes, because their feet grow natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads; good-natured faces and laugh deep fruity laughs." 


The hobbit we will accompany through the story is Bilbo Baggins. The Bagginses were "very respectable, rich, and they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected." Why then are we following a Baggins hobbit's quest? It seems unlikely that Bilbo will provide us with the daring, courageous, brave, and bold characteristics that a hero would... But Bilbo's mother, Belladonna Took, like all the other Tooks, "would go and have adventures." So Tolkien provides us with a bit of hope that Bilbo's inner adventurer will emerge, because he "got something a bit queer in his make-up from the Took side, something that only waited for a chance to come out."


Bilbo is visited by Gandalf, a very famous, respectable, wizard that hadn't been seen or heard from in The Hill for a long time. Tales were often told of his many extraordinary fashions. So upon visiting, Gandalf expresses to Bilbo

"I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone."

Bilbo is immediately turned off by the idea and declares 

"We are plain and quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!"

And after a brief comedic and witty dialogue in which Gandalf reveals to Bilbo his identity and how Bilbo's "good morning" actually meant "please go away" or "you're no good till you're off," Bilbo dismisses Gandalf, inviting him to tea the next day. 


But instead, 13 dwarves come visisting by the door the next afternoon, and keep Bilbo in the stiff and overwhelming task of supper and tea for the large group. After Gandalf arrives and the group has settled in, they recite a powerful song that introduces their purpose, and then discuss their plans and the purpose of the upcoming journey with Bilbo, explaining the history upon which a "most specially greedy, strong and wicked worm called Smaug" destroyed their kingdom of Dale (which belonged to Thorin's grandfather Thror) and now resides in the Lonely Mountain of Dale with the dwarves' treasure.


The bells were ringing in the dale
And men looked up with faces pale; 
Then dragon's ire more fierce and than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.


Far over misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns cold
We must away, ere break of day, 
To find our long-forgotten gold.


The 13 dwarves did in fact instantly doubt that Mr. Baggins would be appropiate for the burglar position they needed assistance from. Gandalf is infuriated by that, and assures the dwarves,

"I have chosen Mr. Baggins and that ought to be enough for all of you. If I say he is a burglar, a burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more to him than you guess, and a deal  more than he has any idea of himself. You may all possibly live to thank me yet."

Bilbo did indeed question Gandalf's words, and so himself. But a midst the talks of the adventure and the inspection of the map, Bilbo's heart and spirit flush out all cowardice, laziness, and a small spark ignites inside. That spark was the Took side of him, for it had won! 

"He suddenly felt he would do without bed and breakfast to be thought fierce. Many a time afterwards the Baggins part regretted what he did now, and he said to himself: 'Bilbo, you were a fool; you walked right in and put your foot in it.' "

An Appeal to Fantasy Fiction

Childhood is the possibly the most magical and beloved phase of our existence. When you're a young little person, you discover the world in the most innovative and fun ways, and our experiences then preface the future. Our premature  years lay the foundation for our interests, character, and identities. So in many ways, childhood is a very good era to access when confronted with astounding surprises, queasy predicaments, or simply to make choices we are having difficulties with. That is why when confronted with a list of over 30 possible books to read and little appeal to any, I played the magic card of infancy. 

I still remember watching th every first Harry Potter film back in 2001 when I was 6. That was the day that marked my core with a love unlike no other. A connection to fantasy fiction. Today it definitely seems geeky and lame to be in love with such a genre, but when you're half the height you are as a teenager and care nothing about the image you present to others, nothing is better than flying away from home and down the block with a broom held beneath your crotch and a stray tree-limb for a wand (let's not forget the fashionable wizard robe).

Wizards, magic, elves, trolls, dragons, giant spiders, ghosts... I had subconsciously created a chimeric universe around me. So I generated and evolved my intrigue towards the fantasy field. During the rest of my elementary and junior high years, about 70% of my reading involved fantasy fiction. Of course when I entered high school, my repertoire had to focus on new genres. Up until now, when I was handed a list of books for me to read separate from our current class book, and the only book that appeals is J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.


"Fantasy novel that is the prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Just where did Bilbo get that ring from anyway?"


A lot of words stood out for me in the provided synopsis.


FANTASY 


PREQUEL


THE LORD OF THE RINGS

I think yes. So in the next 5 days, as the assigned project for the novel, I will document my experience, thoughts, and reflections on the novel. 

"It's a dangerous business going outside your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to."

- Bilbo Baggins