WEEK 6: THE HEROIC HOBBIT

As popular and mainstream as it is, I’ve never really been interested in the high-fantasy genre. They never piqued my interest in books, and even in films. I guess my unpopular opinion regarding the subject is that they don’t seem as relatable as other genres, which makes total sense since it’s a completely fictional made-up world. People probably dive in deep with these books in order to forget about the real world, but that’s just not my jam. That being said, here are my thoughts on Tolkein’s The Hobbit!

Though it took me a bit to get into it, I enjoyed reading this story. The world-building that Tolkein provided was absolutely wonderful with the way he described the environments and creatures that inhabited them. My personal favorite was Smaug the fire drake because I felt that he was a character built from tropes, but was written in a fresh perspective. It seemed like Tolkein wanted him to have more intelligence so that the audience could understand him better as a character, rather than going with the usual archetype of “big scary dragon” that is just there to play the final boss.

 Overall, I can say that this was quite the classic hero’s journey. Throughout the book I was able to detect the tropes easily, which made the reading a little simpler. From reluctant heroes to treacherous obstacles, the journey was always present in some way. Even the way that the whole beginning played out made it so obvious where the story will go, with Bilbo’s reluctance and the dwarves/ Gandalf essentially dragging him out of the comforts of his home to a world of danger and excitement. I did find the ending to be interesting since Bilbo did not come back to Hobbiton as a renown hero, despite all of his triumphs. I almost imagined that the other hobbits would celebrate his feats and be curious to know what he’s been through, but I guess they’d rather not be a part of it. Props to Bilbo though, for being proud of his own accomplishments and not seeking the approval of others. Because in the end, it’s the maturation you get out of the journey that make it worthwhile, not the fame and fortune.

- ☽Stacy Moon☾