The Hobbit Study Questions & Topics for Discussion

The Hobbit Key Questions

The Hobbit has on occasion been referred to as a bildungsroman, or coming of age novel, and the book may profitably be discussed within this context. Frodo Baggins does not at first appear to be a typical bildungsroman hero, however. In traditional examples of that genre such as Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1795-1796), Charles Dickens's Great Expectations (1860-1861) or Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel (1929), the hero is young, poor and something of a misfit, a diamond in the rough, unappreciated by the ignorant rural folk with whom he lives. Bilbo is neither young, nor poor. Rather, he is a middle-aged pillar of the community.

Still, worthwhile connections to the bildungsroman can be explored in a discussion group. Although Bilbo is comfortable enough at Bag End, he yearns for adventure and the outside world; like the typical bildungsroman hero he has made up for any deficiencies in his...
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