The end

I just finished "The Hobbit" and it was one of the best books I've ever read. Even after reading a whole book about dwarves, my favorites have to be elves. J.R.R Tolkien is an amazing author because he invented hundreds of languages, such as Sindarin, and Dwarvish. Well that is all for the hobbit BOOK. I will be doing full movie posts when they all come out.

The Battle of Five Armies

At the very end of the book, after Smaug dies, the dwarves of Dain come to the aid of Thorin and Co. because Bard did not want the other dwarves to come into the mountain. So began the Battle of Five Armies (dwarves, elves, men, eagles, goblins). At the beginning there was only the dwarves, men, and elves. Then the goblins came riding on the deadly wolves, Wargs, to avenge the Great Goblin who Gandalf killed. Then after the goblins came The Lord of the Eagles from the Misty mountains. Sometime later Beorn comes in his huge bear form and helps out a lot. He literally picks up a warg and squishes it! At the end of the battle it gets very very sad because the old mighty Thorin Oakinshield fights his last battle along with Fili and Kili, fellow dwarves. (One cool fact, Thorin is actually Fili and Kili's nephew because Thorin is their mom's eldest brother) so Bilbo got to go home to peace and so did the many fallen dwarves, elves, men, and goblins.  Thorin, Fili and Kili were the only ones dead out of the company of dwarves that took to such a long journey to the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo got a share of gold and went on his way home to The Shire.

Smaug is dead!

OMG I jus got to the part where old Bard shot down the dragon!  It was so breathtaking and I actually laughed out loud after reading that part.  Well, now the town near Lonely Mountain has a new king, King Bard.

I wonder what will happen with the dwarves now that Smaug is gone...

cool facts about The Hobbit

I found these online, from a very cool website, TVfacts:

• Bilbo Baggins was about 51½ years old at the time of The Hobbit. 
• Hobbits called themselves “kuduk” in their own language. 
• Tolkien meant the name Bag-End, from a hobbit’s point of view, to be associated with the end of a bag, as in a ‘cul-de-sac’. 
• Tolkien had an aunt whose farm was nicknamed Bag-End. 
• Bag-End was a luxurious hobbit-hole and was envied by many, especially Bilbo’s cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses. 
• Bilbo’s dad was called Bungo Baggins. His mom was Primula Took. It was said he got his sensibility from his Baggins side, and his curiousness for adventure from his Took side. 
• Bilbo Baggins was the first hobbit to become famous in the world outside the Shire. 
• There are three main kinds of hobbit: Harfoots, Fallowhides and Stoors. 
• Hobbiton was one of the oldest villages in the Shire. It was built on a hill. With Bywater, it formed a single community. 
• Bilbo’s hobbit-hole of Bag-End was in a neighbourhood called Under-Hill. 
• All the holes in this neighbourhood were dug into Hobbiton Hill. 
• An ancestor of Bilbo was called Bandobras Took. He was a huge hobbit (4 feet, 5 inches tall) who became famous for killing the goblin chieftan Golfimbul in the Battle of Greenfields. After this battle, Bandobras was nicknamed Bullroarer Took. 
• Rivendell was a refuge for elves which was situated in a valley. It was founded by Elrond who had been fleeing a great war. 
• Elrond was thousands of years old at the time of The Hobbit. 
• Elrond was also known as Elrond Peredhil (Half-elven). 
• “Elrond” means “Elf of the Cave” in Sindarin. 
• As a child, when he and his twin brother Elros were rescued after fleeing a battle, he was found playing in a cave beneath a waterfall, and so received his name. 
• Rivendell was a place of quiet meditation, scholarly learning, but also merriment – especially music and singing. 
• Rivendell is called “Imladris” in Sindarin. 
• The Misty Mountains are about 1440km long – nearly the length of New Zealand!

Barrel escape

In my reading of "The Hobbit," I just got past the part where the dwarves are escaping from the Elf King's palace.  It was one of my favorite parts and I loved how creative their barrel escape was - it's cool that Bilbo thought of this sneaky plan.  I found a couple of pictures from the next movie:

spiders of Mirkwood

Creepy!  Just read about the spiders of Mirkwood and how Bilbo rescued the dwarves (again).

Beorn

So, Gandalf, Thorin and Co. have just been carried off the Misty Mountains by the Lord of the Eagles, they have been dropped off in a bee farm of the "Skin Changer" Beorn (he has tendency to change into a bear and he has the ability to talk in various forest animal languages). Gandalf took Bilbo in search of his large wooden house, after a couple of minutes of searching they found a gate guarded by two beautiful, white horses. They ran back and alerted Beorn of his guests, they came to his house, then the dwarves came, they stayed for about a week. Then, Beorn sent them off for Mirkwood with some bows, arrows, cram (which is a small nutritious cake), ponies, clothes, and some other goods for survival. Right at the edge of Mirkwood, Gandalf said goodbye and they parted. Then began the journey into Mirkwood.

Smaug, the dragon of Middle Earth

There has been a lot of confusion among my friends about the nature of dragons in the Middle Earth. Smaug especially has caused many arguments between people. However, in "The Hobbit" Smaug is very clearly described and so is his obsession with gold and jewels. Smaug's love of treasure can be compared to Gollum's love of the Ring - they both end up living alone, in a cave, away from others, and have gone insane because of it.

   "There he lay, a vast red-golden dragon, fast asleep; a thrumming came from his jaws and nostrils, and wisps of smoke, but his fires were low in slumber. Beneath him, under all his limbs and his huge coiled tail, and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay countless piles of precious things, gold wrought and unwrought, gems and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light. Smaug lay, with wings folded like an immeasurable bat, turned party on one side so that the hobbit could see his underparts and his long, pale belly crusted with gems and fragments of gold from his lost laying on his costly bed." - J.R.R. Tolkien

Gollum and the Ring

Inside the Goblin Cave, Bilbo got lost and found his way to the insane creature, Gollum.  Gollum has been sitting, cooped up in that cave for over 300 years powered by the Ring of Power.  Gollum has gone crazy because he hasn't been around normal people for many, many, many years and he is obsessed with the Ring - his Precious (the Ring of Power, the "Ring that Rules Them All" which is explored in more details in the "Lord of the Rings").  Bilbo finds the ring in Gollum's cave and hides it in his pocket.  Gollum is crazy and likes to have a little fun from time to time, he likes to play a little game of riddles with himself.  Here are some of the riddles that Gollum used in the Game of Riddles with Bilbo:

"Voiceless it cries, 
Wingless flutters, 
Toothless bites, 
Mouthless mutters". p. 63
(answer: Wind) 

"A box without hinges, 

key or lid, 

yet golden treasure inside is hid". 

p. 64 

(answer: Eggs) 

"This thing all thing all things devours: 

Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; 
Gnaws iron, bites steel; 

Grinds hard stones to meal; 
Slays kings, ruins town, beats high mountain down". p. 65 

(answer: Time) 

"What have I got in my pocket?" p. 66

(answer: The Ring) 

Gollum never gets that one - Bilbo wins the game.

 

The Goblin King

I really liked the part of the book when Bilbo and the dwarves are captured by the goblins.  They should've known the cave that seemed safe was not safe at all - it was more of a trap.  The goblins took them down to their cave and were planning to eat them.

The Goblin King was so awesome in the movie!  Super gross with a giant growth on his chin.

And then, Gandalf came, defeated the Goblin King and helped the dwarves escape. Very cool!

stone giants

The dwarves and Gandalf just left Rivendell and are taking a narrow path down the Misty Mountains. While on the path, a huge storm broke out. It wasn't just a storm, it was the Stone Giants battling on the mountaintops. Both the dwarves and Bilbo had never seen the "gods" in person, but then was the first time. Fili and Kili (who, if you didn't already know, they are brothers and the youngest dwarves out of the whole lot of them and had the best eyes) were sent to scout out for a safe cave to rest in for the night. They found one that wasn't so far but on a more then skinny path. When they were going, a huge foot swung out of the side of the mountain. Unfortunately, carried some of the dwarves with it as it went. But in the end, they made it to the cave and they were safe and sound.

Or were they?...

Rivendell

The dDwarves have been on their journey for quite some time now and the have seen many things and battled many beings, but they never have had a time to relax and have a delicious meal. So, after getting about half way done with the book, the dwarves came across the Elven City, Rivendell. Rivendell has been around for thousands of years and is home to Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell. Elrond is a courageous Elf that knows how to rule, he has lead battles, killed beasts, and won many wars. The dwarves happen upon his humble city, they request help (even though the dwarves don't fancy asking for help). Elrond kindly showed them what their map said and was a huge help to the dwarves, giving them food, and weapons. He also showed Gandalf and Thorin that the swords they picked up in the mountain trolls' cave, were the famous Orcrist, Goblin-Cleaver and Gandalf's, Glamdring, Foe-Hammer. With that, the dwarves set off for the Misty Mountains.

mountain trolls

As the dwarves traveled through a forest, they set up camp and sent Bilbo to find out what the strange light was.  Bilbo soon saw big mountain trolls: Bill, Tom and Bert, gathered around a fire, arguing over what to have for dinner.  As he was sneaking around them, they caught him and considered eating him.  The dwarves heard the big commotion and ran to help Bilbo.

They were not very successful.  The trolls wanted to cook the dwarves, they caught them and put them over the fire.

Luckily, Gandalf came just in time, distracted the trolls, and they didn't realize that the sun was coming up.  They turned to stone, as sunlight hit their bodies.

The dwarves

As I read "The Hobbit" I have fallen in love with Thorin and his buddies.  They are all equally strong, smart, and loyal.  But they also have a bit of an obsession with gold and treasures.

They used to live in The Lonely Mountain, they had a fancy city carved inside, and they were very wealthy.  Until one tragic day, when Smaug came.  Smaug is a dragon of Middle Earth and he is truly a beast - he attacked the dwarf city because he wanted their gold.  Many dwarves were killed and some were run out of their home and their city under the mountain was destroyed.  Smaug took over and settled in.

Until one day when Thorin and company make a plan to travel back to Lonely Mountain and take back what I rightfully theirs.  This long journey is what the plot of "The Hobbit" is about.

Gandalf's visit

"The Hobbit" started with Bilbo Baggins sitting in front of his house smoking a pipe.  Soon Gandalf the Grey came by and talked to Bilbo about wanting to share an adventure with him.

Bilbo declined, but the events were already set in motion by Gandalf.  That evening dwarves began showing up at Bilbo's door, he would invite each of them inside, and they had a giant feast.  There were 13 dwarves in total, which greatly worried Bilbo.  At the end of the feast, they talked about their plan to journey to the Lonely Mountain and take it back from the dragon that besieged it.

Lord of the Hobbit

Hello. This is the first post on this blog.  Here I will talk about the wonderful author, J.R.R Tolkien, his amazing characters, his great books about Middle Earthen adventures, and excellent movies.

I will be doing full character descriptions, commenting on particularly interesting parts of the stories, and providing my opinions and critique of the books.

Feel free to comment on anything you like or are interested in.  If you want me to do a specific post about your favorite part in the book, leave me a comment.