Tolkien has spun a fascinating tale with adventure involving dragons, magicians, hobbits, dwarves and skin-changers etc. The protagonist, Bilbo Baggins with his heroism, self-esteem, courage and quirks like stealing skills, is an adorable character. Although he is a figment of the author’s imagination, his kindness and poignant insights infuse him with qualities akin to the best of humans.
The author had started this story as a way of entertaining his own grandchild, and true to this, the book adheres to a conversational style of story-telling. For example, he writes ‘The mother of our particular hobbit- what is a hobbit?’ and starts describing the hobbit before describing Belladonna Took, the hobbit’s mother.
The poetic quotes throughout the course of the story also reveal the writer’s style, which tells it apart from other legends, for example –
‘Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten gold’
The author’s use of foreshadowing makes the plot very interesting and keep the reader’s interest alive. For example, Thorin’s key and map are revealed to be an important part of the story towards the end. Readers love these unexpected turn of events and surprises in the story! Another example of foreshadowing is when Bilbo gets the power and courage to overcome hurdles and fear in the battle of the five armies, which he could only access after he got the ring.
The author has used a novel way of capturing his young readers’ attention by introducing a chapter full of riddles between