Two Reasons I Dislike Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit"

Watching the Hobbit movies while working today (working from home is great, by the way!) and I hit on another reason why I'm not overly impressed by Peter Jackson's interpretation. Besides the cheeky "love story", jumbled chronology, or Legolas being added in, I have two deeper reasons I wanted to discuss today.

The portrayal of Thorin

In the films, Thorin Oakenshield is portrayed as a rugged hero, selflessly trying to free his home from the tyranny of Smaug. He is the introspective leader of a lost people, mourning for a nation displaced by chaos. Basically, trying to be the Aragorn that was portrayed in the LOTR films.

But the problem is that Thorin is not Aragorn and the story shouldn't be crammed to fit into that mold. Thorin is, at his core, a thoroughly shitty person who is driven only by his greed.

Look, the Dwarves are all about greed. They've always been the race most likely to sit on hoards of riches, more so than men even, and still seek more. The Seven (the Dwarven Rings of Power) only accentuate this. Like the other Rings of Power, they amplify deep desires and instincts (Men want power, so they get it, and get corrupted by it for example). Dwarven rings enhance this greed.

Thrain, Thorin's father, was the last bearer of one of the Dwarven rings. In the years after they left the Lonely Mountain, Thrain became prosperous again but went mad because he wanted the riches of Erebor not just what he already had. Thorin grew up in a household completely obsessed with gold and riches. If you did not have them, or if someone had more, then you had no succeeded.

During the journey, Bilbo and the others are fairly expendable as long as he can use them to get his gold back. He doesn't really give a damn and sends Bilbo into harms way multiple times without regard for Bilbo at all.

So, surprise, Thorin is killed in his pursuit of his goal. It's basically Tolkien's 2nd biggest point of the story, the dangers of unchecked greed.

The crowding out of Bilbo

More importantly than Thorin's errant portrayal is Bilbo's absolutely unforgivable push out of the central storyline. He's still there, doing things and putting on the ring but the storyline is not about Bilbo; it's about Thorin.

This point is related to my above problem with Thorin's portrayal but at its heart, "The Hobbit" is a story of Bilbo's personal change. It isn't about retaking a mountain or the killing of a dragon; it's about Bilbo going out into the world and discovering something about himself. It's a coming of age story and that story has been put firmly on the back-burner by Peter Jackson.

I actually don't have much problem with the on-screen portrayal with Bilbo. Martin Freeman has been great and his writing has been solid. Where I DO have the problem is with how that portrayal fits into the rest of the film. His portrayal should be central. 

"The Hobbit" is a character piece and should not be treated as cheap action fodder. It cheapens the work and cheapens the artistry.

The films are fun to watch but don't mistake them for the books on-screen, perhaps an "Inspired by the works of JRR Tolkien" disclaimer would be more appropriate.

Tolkien Goes Meta

While rereading "Council of Elrond" on my flight this morning to double check my accuracy, I find a line that I had previously glossed over.

At the Council,  Frodo tells everyone of his time with the Ring. All the way from Bilbo's disappearance to the Council. When he is finished,  Bilbo encourages him and insists that they sit down and get all the story written down if Bilbo is to write anything up for his book.

"There are whole chapters of stuff before you ever got here! " Bilbo exclaims.

Later in the chapter,  Bilbo is the first to volunteer his services as the Ring bearer to Mordor. Gandalf applauds his bravery but asks him to stay in Rivendell and to "get ready to write a sequel, when they [the fellowship] come back. "

I enjoy these lines because from a lore standpoint, what we know as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit comes from the "Red Book of Westmarch" which is the name of the book that Bilbo is always working on. This book is passed down by Sam's family until Tolkien discovers it somewhere and translated it from its original "Westron" into English.

Cool, huh?

Chapter 11: A Knife in the Dark

This chapter is a long one and covers quite a bit of ground. For simplicity's sake, I've divided the chapter into 3 sections.

Fire on Weathertop by Ted Nasmith

The Riders in Buckland

The first part of the chapter brings us back to Crickhollow and Fatty Bolger, who is still pretending that Frodo is holed up there to aid the Hobbits' flight through the Old Forest. However, this is the night that the Riders make themselves known and raid Frodo's house.

Silence descends on the house which must be strange considering how close it is to the Old Forest and it's many bugs and other noisy critters. Three shadowy figures enter the yard of Frodo's house and approach the door. As you can imagine, Fatty has bolted out the back door and is high-stepping it away as fast as his legs can carry him but the Riders don't know that.

They pound on the door, demanding that they open the door in the name of Mordor. A brave soul, indeed, is needed to refuse that.

Fatty has reached neighbors and began spreading the alarm. Word reaches Brandy Hall where the Master of Buckland (Merry's father) blows the Horn of Buckland to muster the Brandybucks and the other hobbits into a militia to repel the Riders. 

Can you imagine this? Put yourself in the position of the residents of Buckland. 

You've lived your entire life without hearing this horn, and most of your parents have never heard it either. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, a sound like rolling thunder blares over the hills, waking you and demanding your attention. Then, you are expected to heed the Master's call and appear, with pitchforks, clubs, whatever you might have, to repel the threat facing the land.

It's just a cool scene. Go re-read the beginning of this chapter.

Journey through the Marsh

The second part is more character development and historical fluff, detailing the departure from Bree and the slow slog through the Midgewater Marshes that separate Breeland from the barren lands guarded by Weathertop.

Frodo wakes the morning of their departure with a dream of hearing the Horn of Buckland. How does Frodo keep having these prophetic dreams? Tolkien has eschewed much outright magic, especially among those not of the older, nobler blood of the Elves (which includes the Numenorean men like Aragorn). Hobbits, Dwarves, and most men we encounter have no such proclivity.

Could these dreams be related to the Ring? My current favorite theory is that the Ring is acting a bit like a walkie-talkie here. Sauron is aware of who has the Ring but doesn't really know how to behave with someone else in possession of it (Isildur died and then it mostly disappeared. Gollum kept it in a pile and not always wearing it. Plus, it drove him mad). My theory is that these dreams are little bits of Sauron's experiences peeking their way into Frodo's head through the Ring. His dream here is about the Riders, who most certainly are intimately connected with Sauron and also fled from the Horn. Previously, he dreamed of Gandalf's escape from Isengard, which Sauron likely observed through the Palantir located there.

It's not a perfect theory, but I think its more plausible than Frodo somehow being a "seer" or something. Your thoughts?

Anyway, the party leaves Bree and they hit the road. Strider again speaks highly of his skills, boasting that he never takes the wrong path. Besides coming as a dismissal to Sam, it's important to remember that in the books, Aragorn is the one who argues against going to Moria the most. Gandalf convinces the others, however, and he reluctantly goes along. Turned out that Strider, indeed, never takes the wrong path. Willingly, at least.

They slog their way through the marsh and reach the barren, empty lands leading up to Weathertop. Frodo makes a crack while walking about losing so much weight, joking that soon, "I shall become a wraith". Strider is not amused by the joke, and this line is fairly prophetic to what happens at the end of the chapter when he is stabbed by a morgul blade and is in danger of becoming, you guessed it, a wraith.

I just noticed this line on the current read-through. Good stuff.

Storytelling and Conflict at Weathertop

The last portion of this chapter is dominated by two large history dumps, one about Gil-Galad, the last Elven High King, and the other about Beren and Luthien.

As they approach Weathertop, Strider explains this was once a great watchtower of the Northern kingdom and was where Elendil (Isildur's father) waited with his host for Gil-Galad and the Elven armies to join him on the march south to Mordor. Just when he is about to explain more about Gil-Galad, Sam bursts into song and sings a lovely ballad about the king.

Sam! As if we needed more reasons to like him, he sheepishly explains that he learned the song from Mr. Bilbo and memorized it years ago. Sam, our Elven scholar. Strider is also pretty impressed by Sam's knowledge of this ancient song and also impressed by Bilbo for having translated it. Bilbo must've been pretty busy the past 50 years translating all bits and pieces of Elvish history he could find. 

Also telling because it shows that Strider knows Bilbo. Not surprising, really, but shows that Bilbo wasn't the "hermit" many of the hobbits believed him to be.

Secondly, while the party waits in the night for the Riders to appear, Strider sings them the ballad of Beren and Luthien. This is an abbreviated story that is told in much greater detail in the Silmarillion and is one of the deepest and most tragically beautiful stories Tolkien told. 

I've written about it a bit previously, but Luthien was an elf (half-deity really, her mother was akin to Gandalf) and Beren was a lord of men. He fell in love with her and begged her father, King Thingol for her hand. He refused and set upon Beren an impossible task: retrieve a Silmaril from Morgoth (Sauron's boss). Beren, like a boss, puts his man-pants on and marches into Angband, and steals away a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown. It's kind of like the 12 Labors of Hercules if you are familiar with that story.

Anyway, then Strider goes on and on about their sons and daughters, stating the Elrond is a grandson of theirs and all the Kings of Numenor are descendents as well. Which, lets us know that Strider is of their blood and that story is especially touching since he is also in love with an elf whose father disapproved of the match. And also one where the elf chose mortality. And as a highlight, Arwen is also of their blood so its part of each of their legacies.

Again, not super relevant to this story, but super cool and worth a read.

The Attach of the Wraiths by Ted Nasmith

Conclusion

Finally, we hit some action. The wraiths appear and Frodo, in his fright, puts on the Ring (at the Ring's urging...) He sees the Riders in their full and terrible splendor. He sees their long white hair with their leader wearing a full crown upon his head. This is big news if the Witch-King of Angmar himself has appeared. He stabs Frodo, showing that they can see through the Ring's magic (because they are in the spirit world and not the physical one mostly).

The wraiths only flee when Aragorn scares them away with fire. Well, shit. It's still over 10 days from Rivendell and we got a slowly dying important hobbit here.

Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past part 2 - The One Ring

This is the second part to my talk on Chapter 2 which focuses on the One Ring.

The Ring 

The Ring is the character who drives the story from start to finish. After several re-reads, it's clear that the Ring is its own character as much as Frodo, Aragorn, or Sauron are and should be discussed as such. We find other wondrous artifacts such as Anduril, Glamdring, or Sting, but none expand into the realm of near-sentience. As Frodo notes when Gandalf explains the Ring, "Did not always see the same size or weight; it shrank or expanded in an odd way, and might suddenly slip of a finger where it had been tight". It literally has a mind of its own.

Diving off on a tangent, the Ring's power is clearly from what Sauron emparted on it. It's a part of him so to speak. However, that is not to say it is an actual extension of Sauron nor is it wholly independent. Think of the Ring like Sauron's dog. It has great power on its own and can bite and make its own decisions. It can even refuse to be tamed by others and run away if needed. But the dog is trying to get back to its master. It can survive without Sauron, but it needs, and WANTS, Sauron in order to thrive and wag its little morgul-script tail.

Additionally, it is very important to understand the effects the Ring has on those around it and who wear it. The Rings of Power are a purposefully underexplained phenomena in Middle Earth and the One Ring perhaps moreso, however we can glean quite a bit of information from whats provided and infer much else. Gollum, Bilbo, and the Ring-wraiths are the best examples of what Sauron's Rings do to the races of Middle-Earth.

Essentially, the Rings amplify what you want most - what your base desire is. 

For Men, that's power. Not always in an evil sense as we see in Boromir, but the desire to gain personal power (for their own gains, or for communal gains) is very strong. The Ring-wraiths were consumed by this. Becoming more powerful and falling more under the grasp of their rings. For Dwarves, this is beauty and craftsmenship.

For a Dwarf, there is nothing that can compare with crafting the finest weapon, the finest armor, the most beautiful hall, the deepest mine. As such, all of the Dwarf rings except a handful were lost due to their wielders going one step too far (think Thror in The Hobbit who amassed too much wealth and attracted a powerful dragon, or Durin who delved too deep and found a balrog).

It's unknown what this is for Elves as Celebrimbor forged their rings before Sauron could influence their construction. The Three amplify the Elves natural "beauty" in a sense, which can account for why Lorien and Rivendell are the most majestic places visited in the saga (Elrond and Galadriel each bear a ring) but they do not have the same corrupting power as the Nine, the Seven, or the One.

For Hobbits, it seems like Sauron didn't calculate them into his plans (which is a HUGE theme of the entire saga). For a Hobbit, traditionally, there is nothing better than good dirt for tilling, good pipe weed for smoking, and good friends for passing the time with. Essentially, they're a simple folk and don't have illusions of power! They don't desire to amass wealth (their fondest tradition is giving OTHERS presents on their own birthdays) and those who do are selfless with it (see Bilbo). 

It's notable that the three most famous Ring-bearers are Hobbits. 

Gollum is the first, a Stoor (one of the farther branches of Hobbitses) and is still posseses a semblance of will after nearly 500 years with the One Ring. The Nine have fully faded into the shadow realm and don't have physical bodies anymore. The Nine are substantially weaker than the One so its remarkable that Gollum is still corporeal nevermind comparatively sane.

Bilbo has the Ring for 50 years and its effects are mostly seen through the unnatural prolonging of his life as he slowly is pulled from the physical world and more goes into the shadow world. Eventually, he would become like the Ringwraiths, beings fully in the shadow world, capable of passing into the physical world with the power of the Ring. When Bilbo puts the Ring on, he jumps fully into this shadow world, amplifying the effects and allowing him to see the unseen, like the Ringwraiths. It is very significant that Bilbo is the only individual to willingly give up the Ring during his life-time. (We could argue Sam, but I won't. Sam is a bit atypical from all the other characters as we'll explore later).

Frodo has the most difficult task because the Ring is most rebellious to Frodo. It's remarkable that Frodo willingly sets out on the trek to destroy the Ring before Gandalf even suggests it. He knows what he has to do and understands the gravity, and is rightfully afraid. Frodo is very courageous and no one can help him in his times of darkness.


That was a lot of information and I'm interested in your thoughts here. I find the Hobbit's remarkable constitution one of the triumphs of the piece. Everyone consistently underestimates the Hobbits and they pull through in the end, better than all the other races of Middle Earth.

Chapter Two: The Shadow of the Past part 1 - The Hobbits

Chapter Two is one of my favorite chapters in the entirety of the Lord of the Rings saga because it really is where the story kicks off. Chapter 1 has some nice exposition and a pleasant party, but Chapter Two is where we dig into the character of Frodo and start to see him, and his friends, as a contrast to the older, stodgier Hobbits of the first chapter.

Hobbiton by Ted Nasmith

 

I think I'm going to spend this chapter looking at the two biggest Hobbit characters in the book, Frodo and Sam, followed by a second post looking at one of the most mysterious, yet powerful characters, the One Ring, which will be posted tomorrow!

Frodo 

Frodo is the young nephew of Bilbo introduced in the first chapter. Frodo is an orphan and we've discussed the interested position he has as the eldest of Bilbo's cousins and the role of the "elder" in a group. Chapter Two really fleshes out what Frodo is before the journey and highlights just how different he was compared to his neighbors and even his friends. As an aside about Frodo's friends, he is introduced with his circle of friends who are Meriadoc and Peregrin (who are well known characters) and the less known Folco Boffin and Fredegar (Fatty) Bolger. Fredegar gets a good amount of attention in the next few chapters and is one of the least heralded heroes of the saga but one who played an absolutely crucial part. Samwise Gamgee is NOT mentioned as a friend of Frodo's despite being of a similar age as Pippin and living in the same hill as Frodo. Sam, after all, is Frodo's employee and NOT his friend. The clear language in this chapter establishes that they were on good terms with each other, but not oft drinking buddies or old comrades.

It's important to note that Frodo is aggressively pushed as an atypical Hobbit, much the opposite way Bilbo was presented in The Hobbit. Bilbo is a very reluctant adventurer and relishes casual days smoking pipe weed and walking through the gardens. Frodo, having grown up on Bilbo's tales, has a sense of wonder that is matched by his companions, atypical Hobbits themselves!

Tolkien writes that Frodo is oft seen wandering the Shire by night, alone, staring up at the stars and lost in thoughts. He surrounded himself with odd characters as well. The respectable Hobbits of the Ivy Bush Inn whispered about queer Mr. Frodo as he was "Often he was seen walking and talking with the strange wayfarers that began at this time to appear in the Shire". I would think they mean Men in this instance as Elves and Dwarves are mentioned individually elsewhere in the section (and Frodo speaks frequently with them as well!) and new men in the Shire likely mean early scouts of Saruman, although this is nothing more than a personal hunch.

Sam 

As I mentioned before, its significant that Sam is not mentioned as a specific friend of Frodo. He is of a lower social class, his father being Bilbo's longtime gardener, and drinks with the fellow laborers of town like Ted Sandyman the miller while Frodo carouses with Merry Brandybuck, the heir to Buckland, and Pippin Took, the heir of Great Smials and the title of Thane of the Shire. Frodo is hanging out with Shire nobility (and as a Baggins with a Took for a mother and a Baggins/Brandybuck father, a noble himself)while their workers gossip about them in pubs.

When we are properly introduced to Sam, he is telling his drinking mates about tales he's heard from the northernmost reaches of the Shire - giants have been seen and there are Elves going through the woods again! He frequently references the tales of Mr. Bilbo and laments how Bilbo left so he can no longer hear the stories. Sam is a simple man, enchanted by the unknown and mystery that Bilbo presented. When Gandalf insists that Sam accompany Frodo at the end of the chapter, Sam is overjoyed. HE GETS TO SEE THE ELVES! He literally jumps for joy at the chance to live out one of Mr. Bilbo's stories and is anxious to leave the Shire behind.

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I think the most significant of the Hobbit's characteristics is that these Hobbits represent a new generation very different than the previous ones. These Hobbits grew up on Bilbo's tales of adventure and have a deeply ingrained sense of curiosity, wondering what else there is besides gentle rolling hills and fine pipe-weed to the world. Sam is the most wide-eyed child-like over this (probably because he, and Pippen, are essentially kids when this starts) but all of the main Hobbits are different in that they are intrigued by adventure and do not shy away from the possibility of it. This is a REMARKABLE difference than 50 years prior when Bilbo ran out of town without his handkerchief.

Chapter 1: A Long Expected Party pt 2

This post picks up where the last one left off, which is to say, after the first page or so. In this post, I wanted to look at just how strange Bilbo (and by extension Frodo) really seemed to others in the Shire and how, in some respects, they seemed destined for adventure.

Green Hill Morning by Ted Nasmith

Strange Visitors

Dwarves

The chapter continues to describe Bilbo's preperations for the party, which is the buzz of the entire Shire. Not only does Bilbo send for the bulk of the Shire's cooks and food stores to serve everyone at his massive feast, but he has some odd visitors the movie left out as well. Early in the chapter, several dwarves come to Bilbo and stay with him throughout the week leading up to the party. At the Ivy Bush Inn, Sandyman, the miller, mentions that dwarves are relatively frequent visitors at Bilbo's door and since he returned from his adventure 50 years prior, he has often disappeared for short stretches at a time.

I think this is very significant because it establishes that Bilbo is not a recluse (from the world, at least), and actively attends to his desire to get out and "see mountains", so to speak. At the end of the chapter when Bilbo finally leaves, he does so in the company of three dwarves and they set out at a jog across the fields, not taking the shorter road.

Also, take a moment to check out this song recorded by The Tolkien Ensemble, a Dutch orchestra which wrote music to all of Tolkien's lyrics and poems in the books. This is the first song in the book, the Walking Song which Bilbo sings while leaving.

Gandalf

Bilbo: "I suspect you know best"
Gandalf: "I do - when I know anything"

Gandalf is perhaps the strangest of the visitors to Bilbo. The ancient man appears without any specific description of his powers, but even Tolkien himself seems to respect them, describing them with the subtle and inherent respect that true power commands. Seen rarely in the Shire, and even then only for short periods of time and always in the company of Bilbo, Gandalf is eyed suspiciously as men are not seen often in the Shire.

Gandalf is a favorite character of mine and one we'll be talking about much more in later chapters. For right now, I think the quote above is enough food for thought as we interpret Gandalf's actions throughout the book. Clearly, his interactions with Saruman come to mind, as does his decisions in Moria. What other situations can you think of right now that we can examine through this statement?

Frodo

Not a visitor per se, Frodo is the yound nephew of Bilbo and arguably the main character of the story. His father is Bilbo's second-cousin and his mother is Bilbo's first-cousin (on opposite family sides), and they perished when we was young in a boating accident. Bilbo adopted him and made him his heir after that. Frodo is referred to often as "half-Bucklander" meaning his father's family comes from Buckland which is on the far edge of the Shire, away from other more "respectable" Hobbits. Often called a "queer folk", Tolkien shows from the start that Frodo is not cut from the same cloth as most.

Frodo is interesting because he represents a new generation of Hobbits, caught between the traditional values of the Shire, and the tales of wonder and excitement of Bilbo. When Bilbo shares his plan to leave the Shire with Frodo, Frodo offers to join him and laments that he did not once Bilbo finally does leave. Clearly, he is not alone in this as the Gaffer bemoans their plight at the inn, "The legend of Bilbo's wealth was now too firmly fixed in the minds of the younger generation of Hobbits."

Merry, Pippen, and Sam clearly fit into this category (Sam is the one MOST enamored with Mr. Bilbo's stories) and their actions combining traditional values with a new approach shape not only the Shire but the entirety of Middle Earth by the end of the tale.

Theme 2: Lineage

We'll dive into this throughout the book but lineage plays a strong role in developing characters from the earliest pages. Frodo is the best early example. As explained above, he is seen as different already for his unusual lineage of Bucklander. Combining that lineage with his mother's Took side (a family often seen as the most adventurous of Hobbits - read about the Bullroarer Took, one of my favorite Tolkien characters) and place him under the watch of the Hobbit who had the greatest adventure in centuries and there is a recipe for peculiarity. Does Frodo uphold his bold and adventurous pedigree? I'd argue no, but we'll keep reading.

Aragorn is another interesting case study here, along with Boromir/Faramir.

Theme 3: Sibling "Rank"

In literature especially, there is often important placed on where one is born in a family. The eldest son is the heir, the "man of the house", and the one who must most closely resemble manly ideals and masculine virtues. This is often portrayed through martial prowess, with great physical size and strength. Usually, these characters are not the smartest of offspring, but make up for it with the idea that they represent the families "honor" and must show chivalry to ensure its kept. A Song of Ice and Fire has many examples of where this is true. See Ned Stark's older brother Brandon or Tywin Lannister's eldest son Jaime.The younger brother often needs to find their own niche in the world, for example as a cunning strategist instead of a physical fighter (see Faramir). 

Through this lens, Frodo and Sam are particularly fascinating. Sam's father has been the head gardener at Bag End for 40 years and Sam and Frodo have been friends for a long time, practically brothers. Bilbo took Frodo in because Frodo is his eldest cousin, while Sam is the Gaffer's youngest son. In a way, this creates a similar, but subtle dynamic in the story.

I never noticed it before this read through, but I'm already fascinated about what I will find when looking at Sam and Frodo through this lens. Frodo is the "big brother" but who fulfills that role more traditionally? I know it's going to be Sam, but I'm interested in finding the examples!

Until next time,

Chapter 1: A Long Expected Party pt 1

This is the first post in what promises to be a riveting and exceptionally geeky exploration of Tolkien's legendarium. I'll be tinkering with the format as we go, but please leave comments below on parts you find interesting and would like me to expand on, or simply areas you enjoyed.

Green Hill Country by Ted Nasmith

The Lord of the Rings begins as any story worth telling does: with an epic party. I won't go into terrible detail about the plot narrative as surely most of my readers are familiar with that (check out this wonderful resource if you want a refresher. It's great.) Instead, I will explore a few things I found interesting and worth further commentary. I will also discuss points where the movies left out details or portrayed events differently. I do this because most of my generation encountered the movies first and then read the books and they, probably justifiably, have a strong imprint of what they remember which isn't always what the books intended.

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The chapter starts with an introduction to Mr. Bilbo Baggins, a figure well-known throughout the Shire, and indeed, one of the more globally famous Tolkien characters. These pages of introduction tell us quite a bit about the Hobbits and what we can expect from our protagonists throughout the tale.

Theme 1: Appearance

The first paragraph is describing how Bilbo is seen by others throughout the Shire. Major background plot (revolving around the events of The Hobbit) is explained over pints of ale at the Gaffer's Ivy Bush Inn.Similarly, many Hobbits' derived their own self-worth on their appearance to others. Sam's father, the Gaffer, takes great pride in his belief that he is the best gardener in the Shire. Sure, others say it, but no one says it louder than the Gaffer which must make it mostly true in a Hobbit's eye.

Additionally, gossiping and whispering are favorite pastimes of Hobbits young and old. Not in a scheming, plotting sort of way that leads to any sort of action, but in a "huh, ever wonder about this?" sort of way. Notable, Bilbo's gratuitous wealth is the subject of many conversations and each Hobbit about the tavern has his own theory over what his treasure entails and how he acquired it. When Bilbo disappears at the end of the chapter, they take great delight in wondering over its fate, or, in some instances, whispering about how Bilbo's dear nephew Frodo and that strange visitor Gandalf have plotted to take the wealth for some time.

We clearly see the importance of social interactions and appearances in Tolkien's narratives through the introductory chapter. This will be a theme we explore greatly later on when we encounter the lost king Strider, when we experience more of the One Ring's presence, and when we run into Saruman the White.