What is "The Hobbit" About?

With Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" hitting theaters in about two weeks, I'm sure there are plenty of people asking, "What is The Hobbit even about?"  Well, I'm here to answer that question for you.

Our story centers around a simple little hobbit named Bilbo Baggins.  He is fairly well off, as far as hobbits go, and is thus able to spend much of his time relaxing at home with a good book and his smoking pipe.  Although he, like most hobbits, enjoys the quiet, simple life of the Shire, deep down he has always had a taste for adventure - though he never acted upon it...

Until one day, when Gandalf the Grey, an old friend and wizard, shows up with 13 dwarves who are in need of a "burglar" to help them reclaim their stolen treasure.  Indeed, they hope to reestablish their dwarven kingdom that Smaug (a terrible, fire-breathing dragon) invaded and stole from them many years before.

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again as Bilbo pens it, is the story of their journey through Rivendell (where they meet Elrond, an Elvish ruler and friend), the Misty Mountains (infested by Orcs and home to Gollum), Mirkwood Forest (home of the cunning Wood Elves and terrible giant spiders), Laketown (a human settlement on the shores of the Long Lake under the shadow of The Lonely Mountain) and finally, to The Lonely Mountain, where dwells Smaug the Magnificent (the antagonist of the story).

One of the reasons that I love The Hobbit is because there is almost non-stop action, fun characters that you grow to love and root for, and great lessons about friendship, forgiveness, loyalty, courage and love (among other things).  It is a fantastic read and I have every confidence that the movies will be quite entertaining.

Again, this is a relatively simple overview for those unfamiliar with the story.  This is certainly not the most in-depth synopsis, but I think it gives you a good idea of the plot without giving away any of the exciting twists.  Please let me know if this was helpful to you or if you have anything to add.

Thanks!

What is a Hobbit?

For those of you who don't know, a hobbit is a simple little creature largely considered to be extinct - although most of us know better.  They were first brought into the public eye through J.R.R. Tolkien's fantastic tale, The Hobbit about a friendly little hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who gets swept away on an adventure with 13 dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf.

Some years after Bilbo's adventure, his adopted son, Frodo Baggins, becomes a primary character in an adventure of his own chronicled in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.  This trilogy was later made into a series of blockbuster films directed by Peter Jackson.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Quite simply, a hobbit is a child-size person (between 3'5" and 4') with generally curly hair on their head, of course, and their feet as well!  They have thick skin on their feet that allows them to walk about without shoes, although they wear other clothes just the same as you and I do.  Although they are very hospitable and love a feast followed by a good pipe, they tend to shy away from strangers.

They generally prefer to live separately from the rest of the world in "The Shire" and are content to be left alone.  Hobbits tend to live in holes in the ground, but not dirty holes like snakes or rabbits; hobbit holes are clean, well-kept houses that just happen to be underground (by nature of having been built into the side of a hill, in many cases).

Photo Credit: alilapop

We'll get into a bit more about them in my next post but I think that is a good start.

Let me know if you have anything to add!