LMB Book Club, The Hobbit Ch. 1: An Unexpected Party

[Lennidhren]

Here's this week's discussion thread for Chapter 1 of The Hobbit, "An Unexpected Party"!

I was hoping to put together some suggested topics for discussion, as well as compile references to the Silmarillion for this chapter, but between school and getting ready for holiday travel...it did not happen. We're about to leave for a long drive to family reunion where I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to get online and post this. So I'm just going to open the floor for any discussion of chapter 1 as we all read through it this week. If I get a chance during the family gathering, I'll add discussion topics & Silm. references to this thread.

You may find the Tolkien Professor's lecture series on The Hobbit to be a good source of enrichment as we read through the book: http://www.tolkienprofessor.com/lectures/hobbit_series/hobbit_home.html

And also, for our weekend in-game meeting, please vote in the poll for the best time for you to attend...but, if more than one time slot is feasible, please mention it in comments. :-) For the Saturday evening time slot, I'm thinking around 6pm EST, but that's the day we come home from the family gathering so I'm not positive that I'll be out of the car and able to go online by that time. It might end up being later...

[Lindorieh]

I have a suggested reading from the Silmarillion: Chapter 2, "Of Aule and Yavanna", tells of the origins of the Dwarves. It's a short chapter.

Lindorieh

[Andeon]

excellent - a COMPLETELY SPLIT VOTE as of the moment I voted...fantastic! :)

seriously though, when a time is decided on, if I can make it, I think i'd like to hop in on this - i get some time saturday afternoon, after my haircut, may try and pick up my fourth copy of Silmarillion (its a long story...*snicker*...pun intended)

looks like its time to catch up on my hobbit as well- think i'll read up to chapter 2, just in case I'm falling behind

[Lennidhren]

Hurray, I have succeeded in connecting to the internet at my uncle's house during the reunion. :-) So, here are proposed discussion topics for chapter 1:

1. Tolkien as Linguist: Our beloved Professor's work on the Oxford English Dictionary shows through sometimes even in his fiction. Of course in LOTR we see his fascination with languages in Elvish, but even in the Hobbit it plays a large part. How do his word choices influence the way in which we read the story? Did any words particularly catch your attention? I for one love that phrase, "Confusticate and bebother these dwarves!" (I confess there are moments I want to quote that line and replace "dwarves" with "students"...hehe...ah the joys of teaching high school.) How does Tolkien show his intense linguistic consciousness - for example, when Bilbo and Gandalf first meet, note how Gandalf takes Bilbo's formulaic "Good Morning" very literally and seeks a precise definition of the phrase - and how that exchange both provides insight into the two characters, and adds a good bit of humor.

2. Music: The Dwarves have their priorities quite clearly marked out: First comes food, then comes song, and only after those two essentials can they get down to business and plan their adventure! I love the scene with the Misty Mountains song, in which nearly all the dwarves have an instrument to play. I found myself wishing we had in-game options to correspond to Kili and Fili's fiddles and Dwalin and Balin's viols, as well as Dori, Nori, and Ori's flutes, Bombur's drum, Bifur and Bofur's clarinets, and Thorin's harp. What an impressive ensemble that must have been, all crowded into Bilbo's hobbit hole! How does the music in the first chapter set the mood for the quest details that Thorin will share afterwards? And how does that music wake the adventurer in gentle Bilbo Baggins, the "Tookish side" of his heritage as Tolkien puts it?

3. Humor: So many funny little moments in this book! Point out any you particularly enjoyed. My favorite: The off-hand comments about the invention of Golf. Priceless! :-)

4. Gandalf as Mentor: Being a teacher myself, it interests me particularly to see how Gandalf interacts with the others in the capacity of a facilitator more than a leader. Assigning Bilbo to be the expedition's Burglar shows his perception of qualities not even Bilbo yet realizes he possesses: "If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself. You may (possibly) all live to thank me yet." It makes me wonder how many of my students may have "a lot more in them" than I guess, or they know themselves, and what I can learn from Gandalf to become the kind of teacher who can draw those qualities out of them.

There now! On with the discussion! And many thanks, Lindorieh, for the Silmarillion references. I seem to have neglected to pack my copy of the Silm. :-(

[Lindorieh]

One of my favorite lines from Chapter 1 is Bilbo saying "Confusticate and bebother these dwarves!" I always these were words that Tolkien made up, but evidently not.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/confusticate

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Talk:bebother

Lindorieh

[gaiagil]

Aiya!
I have checked Saturday Evening as my choice as it is most certain for me, but I can be here on Sunday as well. My daughter has a performance and rehearsal for an Irish dance performance that day though, so there are limits: I need to get her to her performance by 3pm eastern (12 noon pacific). I will need to stay there until she goes to rehearsals at 6pm eastern (3pm here). It is possible that my husband will do this shuttling for me. If you all decide on Sunday, I will do my best to implore him!

I also marked the chapter Lindorieh suggested because the origin of the Dwarves helps to enlighten these strange peoples. I have some further suggestions for readings from the Silmarillion to help with the enlightening of Dwarves but also of Gandalf.

The chapter called "Of the Maiar" ends with a bit about Olorin, one of Gandalf's many names. Knowing his origins will also help us understand what he says.

In "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," there are a couple of passages that are pertinent to this first chapter. The first is on the rings given to the dwarves and what they did to them. Given the way Bilbo feels when he is listening to them sing, this passage sheds some interesting light on the song:

[gaiagil]

Aiya again,
I didn't want to mix too much in one post, so I kept the other post focused on the passages from the Silmarillion and on a time to meet. On the topics for discussion, I would like to propose one other that struck me as a central theme:

The battle in Bilbo between his awakening Tookishness and his stalwart Bagginsy nature. He is as schizophrenic in this chapter as Gollum is in LOTR.

I, too, noted the attention to language. I am working on expanding my Role Playing Guide to include specific guides for each race. The Hobbit is perfect for studying both hobbit and dwarf speech patterns. Most of my highlighting is of great hobbity phrases! The word choices for the dwarves also define things about them though. Gandalf's speech patterns seem more in tune with the hobbits, but there are dwarvish moments. It's almost as if he uses the speech most appropriate to the person to whom he speaks.

The teasing song while cleaning up has long been one of my favorite humor moments. Dwarves seem so serious most of the time. This bit of fun always helped me embrace them better. And it's also music....

The power of music is what struck me most here, how Bilbo feels dwarvish during the Misty Mountains song and it allows his Tookishness to take over. It also haunts the end of the chapter in a great way. I like how the Dwarves expect that Bilbo has listened fervently to their song too and understands the situation because of it. They seem to use music as a way of conveying information.

The Tolkien Professor's website discussion forum poses an interesting question about Gandalf's choice of Bilbo to join the expedition. He asks if Gandalf's choice is premeditated or happenstance. This might also be an interesting topic to tackle in Lennidhren's section on Gandalf as mentor.

Regards,
Gaiagil

[Lindorieh]

gaiagil wrote:

The chapter called "Of the Maiar" ends with a bit about Olorin, one of Gandalf's many names. Knowing his origins will also help us understand what he says.

Here is the passage, from page 18 of trhe Houghton Mifflin Edition

Quote:

Wisest of the Maiar was Olorin. He too dwelt in Lorien, but his ways took him often to the house of Nienna, and of her he learned pity and patience. Of Melian much is told in the Quenta Silmarillion. But of Olorin that tale does not speak, for though he loved the Elves, he walked among them unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts. In later days he was the friend of all the Children of Illuvatar, and took pity on their sorrows, and those who listened to him awoke from despair and put away the imaginations of darkness."

Nienna is the Valar who mourns for all the sorrows of Arda, but she can also turn sorrow to wisdom and give strength to those who mourn.

Lindorieh

[Lennidhren]

Saturday evening looks like the best time so far so we will schedule the book club meeting for then. I'm going to aim for 9 p.m. EST in hopes we will be home from Thanksgiving travel by then. :-)

[Lindorieh]

I might not be able to make it then, but I'll try!

Lindorieh

[gaiagil]

Aiya,
In case Lindorieh cannot come, can someone else download the following abc file to accompany me on the song tonight? The part is for horn... Byrdie? If Lind is there, I won't need the help, but I thought it better to have a backup plan.

Thanks,
Gaiagil

P.S. Someone else labeled this as "Cooley's Reel." The song is actually "King of the Fairies."

Code: Select all

X:1
T:Cooleys-horn (2:10)
Z:Transcribed by LotRO MIDI Player:http://lotro.acasylum.com/midi
%  Original file:Cooleys.mid
%  Transpose:-11
L:1/4
Q:120
K:C

z4 F4 F4 F4 ^D4 F2 ^C2 =C2 ^G,2 F2 ^D2 F4 F4 F4 F4 ^D4 F2 ^C2 =C2 ^G,2
F2 ^D2 F4 F4 F4 ^D4 ^D4 ^G2 =G2 F2 ^D2 C2 ^A,2 F,2 ^C2 F4 F4 ^D2 ^C2
^A,2 ^D2 ^G2 =G2 F2 =C2 ^G2 E2 [F4z3] c F [F3z3/4] =G/4 ^G ^G3/4 ^A/4
[cF4] c ^G3/4 =G/4 ^G3/4 ^A/4 [cF] F [F7/4z3/4] =G/4 ^G3/4 F/4
[=G3/4^D2] ^G/4 =G3/4 F/4 [^D2z] C [Fz3/4] E/4 [Fz3/4] G/4 [^G3/4^C2]
=G/4 ^G3/4 ^A/4 [c3/4=C2] ^A/4 ^G3/4 c/4 [^d^G,2] ^d3/4 ^c/4 [=cF] F
[^G3/4^D5/4] =G/4 F/4 ^D3/4 F2 [F2z] c F [F3z3/4] G/4 ^G ^G3/4 ^A/4
[cF4] c ^G3/4 =G/4 ^G3/4 ^A/4 [cF] F [F7/4z3/4] =G/4 ^G3/4 F/4
[=G3/4^D2] ^G/4 =G3/4 F/4 [^D2z] C [Fz3/4] E/4 [Fz3/4] G/4 [^G3/4^C2]
=G/4 ^G3/4 ^A/4 [c3/4=C2] ^A/4 ^G3/4 c/4 [^d^G,2] ^d3/4 ^c/4 [=cF] F
[^G3/4^D5/4] =G/4 F/4 ^D3/4 F2 [F2z] c [f3/4F4] g/4 f3/4 ^d/4 c c
[f3/4F4] g/4 f3/4 ^d/4 c ^g [=g3/4^D4] ^g/4 ^a3/4 =g/4 ^d ^g
[=g3/4^D4] ^g/4 ^a3/4 =g/4 ^d ^g3/4 ^a/4 [c'^G2] ^g/4 c'3/4 [^a=G2]
=g/4 ^a3/4 [^gF2] f/4 ^g3/4 [=g^D2] ^d/4 g3/4 [fC2] f3/4 g/4
[^g3/4^A,2] =g/4 f/4 ^d3/4 [fF,2] f3/4 g/4 [^g^C2] ^g [f3/4F4] =g/4
f3/4 ^d/4 c c [f3/4F4] g/4 f3/4 ^d/4 c c [^d3/4^D2] ^c/4 =c3/4 ^A/4
[^c3/4^C2] =c/4 ^A3/4 ^G/4 [=G3/4^A,2] ^G/4 ^A3/4 =G/4 [^D2z] F3/4
G/4 [^Gz3/4] =G/4 [^Gz3/4] ^A/4 [c3/4=G2] ^A/4 c3/4 ^d/4 [f3/4F2]
^d/4 f3/4 g/4 [^g=C2] f [^d3/4^G2] ^c/4 =c3/4 ^A/4 [c3/4E2] ^A/4
^G3/4 =G/4 F5