The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (6)

 The Hobbit definitely stands out with its meticulous and amusing worldbuilding, exposition and character development. It is hard to have many characters in the story and keep the clarity of the story. However, Tolkien brilliantly portrays his characters and even though some of the characters get more attention than the others he gives equal importance to all the characters. Throughout the story the reader follows Bilbo, his point of view and his character development. In my  opinion Bilbo is a great representation of a character arc and the growth of an ordinary into a hero. The reader can relate to Bilbo and discover themselves through his journey. All of us can find our inner hobbit when we plan our lives and try to stay on the safe side of it but some events push us to do more, to think outside the box, be our better and braver selves and feel accomplished. 

What caught my eye the most is Tolkien’s representation of the Smaug. I find him very engrossing but it was amazing how he has the mixture of the characteristics of every other character in the story. I would like to mention two of them: Thorin and Bilbo Baggins. Smaug, like Thorin, was so greedy to let anyone take what he considers himself. Although he’s the villain of a story, who seizes what belongs to dwarves and drives them out from their kingdom, Tolkien successfully highlights Smaug’s intelligence, making him a worthy opponent for Bilbo Baggins, a courageous, loyal, and clever hobbit who left his comfortable life behind and went on an adventure. As Smaug could not see the hobbit, he decided to destroy his rival, spreading distrust among whom the hobbit endangered his life. 

I wish I would have read The Hobbit when I was younger. It is definitely more colorful and dedicated to younger audiences as everything is very well explained and understandable for a child and helps to develop their imagination. Although Hobbit is a fantasy it illustrates every single detail so deliberately that I do not question anything in the story. 

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