The Hobbit
Shire dweller's journey
*The Hobbit* is a 1937 fantasy novel by J.R.R.
Tolkien, following the journey of Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving homebody recruited by a wizard and thirteen dwarves to help reclaim a mountain treasure guarded by a dragon.
The book introduced Middle-earth and preceded Tolkien's epic *The Lord of the Rings*.
A hobbit, more generally, is any member of the small, peaceful, hairy-footed folk Tolkien invented: I'm such a hobbit—I just want second breakfast and a nap.
Mythical small beings
- elvesMythical small beings
- dragonLegendary fire-breathing reptile
- goblinsMalicious mythical creatures
- orcsSavage fantasy humanoids
trolls · wargs · eagles · thrush · Gollum · halflings · wood-elves · ravens
New and unusual
- children's literatureBooks aimed at youth
- prequelLater work, earlier setting
- 1937Mid-twentieth century year
- chaptersMain divisions of text
Tolkien · narrator · fairy tale · fireside tale · storytelling · episodic · bildungsroman · classic
Risky exciting undertaking
- questSeeking journey for something
- heroismExceptional courage under duress
- courageFortitude facing danger
- burglaryIllegal entry to commit crime
riddles · luck · greed · home · unexpected · hospitality · cleverness · providence
Bilbo Baggins
dwarves
Mythical small beings
orcs · trolls · wargs · eagles · thrush · Gollum · halflings · wood-elves · ravens · bats
novel
New and unusual
- children's literatureBooks aimed at youth
- prequelLater work, earlier setting
- 1937Mid-twentieth century year
Tolkien · chapters · narrator · fairy tale · fireside tale · storytelling · episodic · bildungsroman · classic · illustrated
adventure
Risky exciting undertaking
- questSeeking journey for something
- heroismExceptional courage under duress
- courageFortitude facing danger
burglary · riddles · luck · greed · home · unexpected · hospitality · cleverness · providence · growth
Bag End
Hobbit's hillside burrow
- Rivendell
- Mirkwood
- Lonely MountainMountain isolated from others
ring
Closed curve shape
- 20th Century Books1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World, Catch-22, Grapes of Wrath
- Adapted NovelsHarry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Jurassic Park, The Lord of the Rings
- Adventure BooksTreasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Hatchet, Swiss Family Robinson, The Three Musketeers
- PrequelsRogue One, Prometheus, Monsters University, Better Call Saul, Maleficent
- Tolkien BooksThe Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, The Two Towers
- 1930s NovelsGone with the Wind, Brave New World, The Good Earth, The Maltese Falcon, Rebecca
The HobbitThe Lord of the Rings
The Silmarillion · War and Peace · epic · trilogy · magnum opus
The HobbitThe Silmarillion
The Lord of the Rings · tragedy · Game of Thrones · epic poetry · Beowulf