The Hobbit

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1937

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-13

Chapters 14-19

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “An Unexpected Party”

The tale of The Hobbit begins at Bag End in The Hill, the home of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit. Little folk with leathery feet and pot bellies, hobbits are fond of large meals, gardening, and living a comfortable, unadventurous life. The general nature of hobbits is what makes Bilbo Baggins’s imminent adventure all the more remarkable: “This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected” (5). As Bilbo sits outside one morning after breakfast smoking his pipe, Gandalf the wizard appears on his doorstep seeking him to go on an adventure. Opposed to such an inquiry, Bilbo does everything he can to dissuade the wizard from putting upon him any longer, and promptly bids him a “good morning,” escaping back into his home after absentmindedly inviting Gandalf to tea the next day.

The next morning at tea time, Bilbo hears the doorbell ring, and, expecting to see Gandalf, he swings the door open only to find a dwarf waiting for him. One after another throughout the day, a series of 13 dwarves appear—Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and the noble Thorin Oakenshield—along with Gandalf himself. After proceeding to eat Bilbo out of house and home, the dwarves play music and sing deep into the night before finally discussing their plans for the journey.

When Bilbo learns that the dwarves are under the impression that he is a master burglar and treasure hunter (Gandalf led them to believe this), the adventurous side of Bilbo awakes, and he feels a stirring desire ”to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick” (16). Gandalf spreads a large map across the table and tells Thorin that it was drawn by Thorin’s grandfather; the map plots out the “the Mountain.” To go along with the map, Gandalf also gives Thorin a small silver key (though he does not explain this artefact, it presumably pertains to the Mountain), and Thorin puts it on a chain around his neck. Bilbo’s interest further piques as they invite him on their quest: to recover the Lonely Mountain on the map—the ancestral home of Thorin and the dwarves—from the fearsome dragon Smaug. There is immense treasure stored up in the mountain as well. After their conspiratorial discussions, however, Bilbo decides he is not quite in the mood for an adventure, and he goes to bed with no plan on joining them in the morning.

Chapter 2 Summary: “Roast Mutton”

The next morning, Bilbo awakens to find the entire party of dwarves has left, with a kitchen full of dirty dishes as the only evidence of their presence the night before. Relieved that they left him behind, Bilbo washes up and sits down to breakfast, only to be surprised once again by Gandalf, who walks into the house and inquires as to when exactly he will be setting about to join them: “‘My dear fellow,’ said he, ‘whenever are you going to come?’” (27). Without realizing what is happening, Bilbo is shoved out the door and running down the road to meet the dwarves at the Green Dragon Inn (as specified in a note they left behind and that Gandalf conveniently pointed out). Upon arriving, he finds the whole company of dwarves waiting with a small pony just for him; after traveling all day through the wilderness, they make camp and rest for the evening.

From their campsite, they see a dim light from far off in the woods. Curious, they venture off in the direction of the light and persuade Bilbo, the company’s burglar, to go ahead by himself and investigate. After creeping as close to the light as he can, for “hobbits can move quietly in woods, absolutely quietly” (32), Bilbo discovers that around a fire sit three very large and vulgar trolls. Determined to be useful, Bilbo attempts to pick the pocket of the nearest troll, only to be discovered and captured by one of the trolls named William. While the trolls argue about how best to handle the hobbit, Bilbo is injured and sprawls to the side of the clearing just outside the light of the fire.

Startled by all the commotion, the dwarves attempt to discern what is happening and, one by one, are themselves captured by the trolls, for “trolls simply detest the very sight of dwarves (uncooked)” (35). All 13 dwarves are bound and thrown into sacks, while Bilbo hides up high in a bush. Suddenly, Gandalf appears after having abandoned the company earlier in the day. The trolls, who at this point are having quite the argument about how best to kill and eat the dwarves—”roast them slowly, or mince them fine and boil them, or just sit on them one by one and squash them into jelly” (36-37)—are startled and fail to realize that the sun is just about to rise. Before they can do anything, they all swiftly turn to stone: “[F]or trolls, as you probably know, must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again” (38).

Chapter 3 Summary: “A Short Rest”

After narrowly escaping the mouths of the trolls and pilfering the trolls’ lair of weapons, food, and gold, the team rest for a few days. Gandalf then informs them that he is leading them to the Last Homely House of Elrond in Rivendell, the home of the elves: “[A]head of us is the fair valley of Rivendell where Elrond lives in the Last Homely House. I sent a message by my friends, and we are expected” (42-43). With the approaching twilight, the travelers hear a mysterious song from within the trees, soon discovering that the elves found them before they could find the elves. While the dwarves are anxious—as dwarves and elves do not get along well—Bilbo finds himself fascinated by them, feeling even more curious at the fact that they seem to already know who he is.

After arriving at the Last Homely House, they discover it to be a delight and time of great joy and comfort—”Bilbo would gladly have stopped there for ever and ever” (46)—staying for more than two weeks enjoying one another’s company. Elrond, the master of the house, is a noble and ancient elf warrior who tells them many things, even informing them that the swords they captured from the trolls are ancient elf weaponry fashioned in Gondolin (an ancient, hidden elvish city) for the Goblin wars of old. Perusing the map that Thorin brought with them, Elrond informs them of runes hidden within the map—runes that imply the only way to discover the secret entrance into the mountain lairs must be revealed at sunset on Durin’s Day, the first day of the dwarves’ new year. The following morning, the company sets out for the Misty Mountains toward the goal of their journey, healed, refreshed, and strengthened for the events to come: “[T[hey rode away amid songs of farewell and good speed, with their hearts ready for more adventure” (49).

Chapters 1-3 Analysis

The start of the tale of Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf companions is immediately cast in a light of the strange and the curious. The simple ways of the hobbits and their habits contrasts starkly with the mysterious figure of Gandalf and the adventure he brings. After being tricked into hosting the entire traveling party of the dwarves, Bilbo is privy to the war council held by Gandalf and the dwarves and, in the process, is equal parts enchanted and bullied into joining the group. The unexpected nature of a hobbit (and a Baggins no less!) going on an adventure provides both comedy and intrigue. Here, Tolkien sets up his own version of the archetypal hero’s quest, in which a reluctant individual sets out upon a journey of self-discovery and adventure only to find that he has been made of the right stuff all along, ultimately gaining a victory and returning home a changed and better person. Once actually out into the wilderness, however, Bilbo often can only think of home and wish that he was back in his kitchen by the fire having tea.

The first obstacle the company encounters is the small group of mountain trolls who spend most of their time arguing about how best to kill, prepare, and eat the hobbit and dwarf captives. A common theme throughout the novel is the subject of greed in the face of a desired object, and the necessary consequences of giving in to vice and temptation. The trolls’ gluttony and pride cause them to argue for so long that the sun comes up and turns them all to stone.

Escaping the trolls’ clutches, the company find sanctuary in Rivendell, the home of Elrond, where they regain their strength and prepare for the arduous road ahead. Elrond counsels them, relaying the storied history of the various swords they gathered from the trolls’ cave. Elrond also provides crucial information about the map they carry that depicts the Lonely Mountain and the surrounding regions. This will not be the last time they encounter elves—for better and for worse—who will consistently figure in the outcome of the novel’s events while at the same time somehow existing above the fray and outside the normal course of events, existing in a kind of liminal space between the everyday events of the world and the more legendary events of ancient days long past.