Essay Questions about "The Hobbit" | Essay Questions about "The Hobbit"

1. Fully describe two (2) characters from the book. Give complete descriptions. Include physical appearance, family background, personality traits, education, work, income, and any other things mentioned in the book. Each description should be several paragraphs long.

1a. The main character of the book is a small little creature called a hobbit, and his name is Bilbo Baggins. At the start of the story Bilbo lives like most hobbits, with a bland predictable life. This definatley changes throughout the story. Bilbo was over cautious about a lot of things but I think Gandolf helped him realize how to really enjoy life. I think inside Bilbo always had it in him, its just that nobody ever taught him how. Bilbo ends up actually being a very brave little hobbit, and he proves this at the big battle at the dwarf's castle.

They eat something like four or five times a day. They pretty much just stick to themselves and their farms and such. They don't go on adventures or go traveling. They're only interests are things like family, farming, and eating. They enjoy parties and any reason to drink wine and smoke pipe weed. That is probably why most other creatures/races don't look at them like everyone else, but there is no denying they are a pretty much just a bunch of sweet little hobbits.

But even after all the heroics and acts of bravery Bilbo still decides to return to Hobbiton show that Bilbo is still himself even though he found new parts of himself and Gandalf is proved right that Bilbo has more to him than meets the eye.

1b. Gandolf is the other main character of this book and he is kind of like a guardian angel to Bilbo. Gandolf helps Bilbo get through hard times, but also teaches him valuable lessons throughout the book, lessons that even the readers may learn themselves. Physically Gandolf is supposed to be taller than the average man, which makes him look like a giant compared to the little hobbits. He has gray hair and a long beard, he also always dresses in rags. Most of the hobbits the live in the Shire, where Bilbo lives, dislike Gandolf and see him as a trouble causer because he doesn't live the simple life like the hobbits.

Throughout the story Gandolf is kind of pictured like a god, as in everyone looks up to him and respects him greatley, minus the hobbits of course. Gandolf has great wisdom that came from the many years he has spent on the earth. Nobody knows how old Gandolf is exactly but everyone knows he has been around since the beginning.

Gandalf always seems deep in thought and always has something else going on upstairs that he doesn't tell anyone about, he is very mysterious.

2. Fully describe an important incident in the book. Give all the necessary details to make the reader completely understand what happened.

2a. Bilbo and the dwarves are going through Mirkwood forest and eyes are leering at them through the darkness all around them. The group wants nothing more than to get out of the dark woods. A few days later the party sees lights that they were warned about by Beorn but they ignore or forget his warning and leave the path, going for the lights. As soon as they get to the lights they all go out, this happens two more times and then everyone gets seperated. Bilbo, being totally beat and tired, falls asleep under a tree only to wake up wrapped in spider web with a huge spider coming after him. Bilbo cuts off the webbing with his sword and kills the spider. Using the ring Bilbo then goes out and finds the others and cuts them free after throwing rocks at the spiders that can't find him because he is invisible.

This part of the book shows that Bilbo had bravery and heroism inside of him all the time, he just needed to let it out.

3. Rewrite the ending of the book in any way you wish, make sure that it is different from the ending the author used.

3a. After the battle and burying the dead Bilbo decides that he wants to see more of the world and he starts his journey back to Rivendell to stay with the elves for a bit. While in Rivendell, Bilbo studied maps of all the places around him and read books about history and folklore. After several months of preparation Bilbo sets off to the other side of the Shire where he would start his journey around the world.

After Bilbo made his way through the shire telling everyone tales of where he had been and what he had done, he set off in search of more adventures and stories to bring back to the Shire after he finishes his loop. And he is never seen again.