Hobbit Nostalgia Post

Yesterday I finished watching The Hobbit Trilogy in theater. And as much I'd love to tell you how much it sucks, I'm too caught up on nostalgia of the past 14+ years of my life.

 So, that's what I'm going to talk about first.

 If you don't want to a review my adolescent/Tolkien #feels please skip this post. I'll upload the content/thematic review shortly (either tomorrow or, you know, whenever I feel like it)

Annyyway....

When I was about 13-14, my sister Red got a dramatized edition of The Hobbit on five white cassette tapes with grainy, 1968-era audio sound (That, judging from the reviews on the product, pretty much everyone except me hates)

The story/script was compelling. Right from the beginning, there are these vivid descriptions that lead into the story without weighing the story down.

The cast was fantastic; The Narrator, the bumbling/stuttering Bilbo Baggins ("B-A-double-G-I-N-S"), Thorin, Gandalf and Gollum. Later, when I started Fellowship of the Ring and decided I should read the book version of The Hobbit, those voices were the ones I imagined.

Movie-goers fell in love with Richard Armitage's voice as he sang the adventure-anthem "Far Over The Misty Mountains" for the movie. (and for good reason, it's an excellent rendition). In the same way, fell in love the version of that song in the radio drama. It's longer, the tone is different but to me it's every even more enchanting because its the song that first ushered me into the adventure.

(I loved this song so much, I wrote more verses to it....mostly about what the people in Dale were doing when the dragon attacked and about what the dwarves were planning on doing. They weren't very good, but you know...fanfiction.)

I don't recall if I was babysitting or at school, but for some reason Red was able to listen to the story ahead of where we had left off. She left me in Gollum's Cave, she was at the Battle of Five Armies. When I  opened the door to the room, she was listening to the last cassette tape...

"NO!! You can't come in!!" 

...and she slammed her body against the door to keep me out.

"You have to listen to it all the way though!" 

I typically don't mind being spoiled when it comes to plot points, but I am so glad my sister did this for me.

 I went in to listening to the story no knowing what was going to happen. She wasn't being mean or anything, we both were enjoying the story and I knew if she didn't want me to skip chapters, it was because what was coming next was really, really good. And that just skipping to the end would make me enjoy it less.

She was totally right. The last 1/3 of the story blew me away.

One of the reasons I think the story resonated with me is because of what was happening in my life at the time.

If I recall correctly we started the story just prior to, or concurrently with, me beginning community college courses and volunteering at the hospital (and, in general, preparing for the future that I wanted to have: as a nurse, as a young adult, and ultimately as a wife/parent).

Bilbo's beginning could have easily been written as a midlife crisis (If it was, he would be looking back at his life with regret and book!Bilbo doesn't do this.) but Tolkien didn't do that. Even though Bilbo is an older man when the story begins, this story is his coming of age. It's the part of his life in which he's deciding who he wants to be.

A Few of Bilbo's "Teen" Struggles:

•  He worries about what other people think about him

• He's wants to be dependable and worthy of trust

• He lacks practical experience. 

• He struggles with fitting in.

• He gets depressed and overwhelmed (and kinda gothy)

• He gets obnoxious and cocky

• He (sometimes) gets lonely, even when he's surrounded by a bunch of people.

• He's competent

• He's the anti hero

I think I can pretty much echo Movie!Gandalf when he says:

Sometimes when I was in school or at work I would quote Bilbo to myself. Not the really memorable/meaningful quotes, just the little snippets of Bilbo being Bilbo: When I was overwhelmed (Why oh why did I ever leave my hobbit hole), or pleased with myself (Now I am a burglar indeed.) or disappointed ([So this is victory...] It seems a very gloomy business).

It sound really pathetic, but it gave me a lot of encouragement because I idolized him (still do ;))

Even if no one had ever thought to turn Tolkien's books into movies, this story would still have had a affect on my life (but it's probably would have been something that I'd have kept in my heart...Not posted twenty blog posts about, or dressed up as Thorin Oakenshield when I go to the theater.)


Here are some of my favorite (meaningful) Quotes from The Hobbit:


“He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.” 

A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo's heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering. All these thoughts passed in a flash of a second. he trembled. And then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, he leaped.

“Well, are you alive or are you dead?” asked Bilbo quite crossly. Perhaps he had forgotten that he had had at least one good meal more than the dwarves, and also the use of his arms and legs, not to speak of a greater allowance of air. “Are you still in prison, or are you free? If you want food, and if you want to go on with this silly adventure–it’s yours after all and not mine–you had better slap your arms and rub your legs and try and help me get the others out while there is a chance!”

“Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished 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.

“Go back?" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.”

“Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!” 

“You! You!” cried Thorin, turning upon him and grasping him with both hands. “You miserable hobbit! You undersized—burglar!” he shouted at a loss for words, and he shook poor Bilbo like a rabbit.

“Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!” 


“You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” 

“Gandalf, dwarves and Mr. Baggins! We are met together in the house of our friend and fellow conspirator, this most excellent and audacious hobbit—may the hair on his toes never fall out!” 

"[I] have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, and uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them."  

“Don't tell us about dreams – dream dinners aren't any good and we can't share them.” 

“I may be a burglar...but I'm an honest one, I hope, more or less.” 

“To the end of his days Bilbo could never remember how he found himself outside, without a hat, a walking stick or any money, or anything he usually took when he went out; leaving his second breakfast half-finished and quite unwashed-up, pushing his keys into Gandalf’s hands, and running as fast as his furry feet could carry him down the lane, past the great Mill, across The Water, and then on for a mile or more.”

P:Pinterest

I feel popular

In Defense of Bilbo Baggins

For almost a year now I've been following a post on thorinoakenshield.net called, In Defense of Thorin Oakenshield. It's a wonderful, thorough, and thought provoking character analysis of the Dwarf Prince- Turned King in The Hobbit.

To many fans, Thorin is seen as the villian in the third act of The Hobbit. This article notes that Thorin's demands and requests are not unreasonable, and that it is difficult  not to find sympathy with his viewpoint.

"The same traits Thorin exhibited as a prisoner in the dungeons of the Elvenking, such as stubbornness and distrust, are now in conflict with the wishes of the chief protagonist, and he is no longer seen as the victim, but as a miser. In this way, he becomes the antagonist by opposing the goal of the hero, even though his own goals never change; he never makes a secret of his desires, nor a promise that he will be generous with the treasure. As it is, the original contract between the dwarves and Bilbo is very specific on the matter of shares. By being protective of the treasure, Thorin is safeguarding all of the Company’s interests. Looking at it from the standpoint of the dwarves, one could say Thorin remains true to his nature, and everyone else becomes antagonistic toward him."

The the site for this article has evolved into a conversation among fans about the character, primarily thanks to the comments section.

I haven't been a big contributor to the conversation, but reading other people's viewpoints has definitely been interesting for me. At a few points, I can tell people mixed up the events in the book with the event's in the movie (Events that haven't actually happened yet, because the movie has not yet been released!!).



(Note: Spoilers are to follow for the concluding chapters of "The Hobbit")

There seem to be two strains of thought regarding Thorin's actions preceding the battle and his subsequent death.

1) That his actions and demands were justified given his complex social and cultural history of the Dwarves, Elves, and Humans.

2) That his misdeeds contributed to the misery and death of thousands of people and that his own subsequent death was required for him to "redeem himself".

So, who's fault is the battle of five armies???

• Thorin, for not surrendering a portion of the gold to the former inhabitants of Dale in their time of need?
• Thrandull, for his unwarranted intervention and lack of respect of the Dwarve's authority?
• Bard, for refusing due process and insisting on access to gold that technically wasn't his?
• Gandalf-for not seeking out Thorin and Co. in confidence instead of immediately siding with their enemies?
• Or Bilbo for betraying his friends and giving the Elves and Humans a powerful bargaining chip that ultimately ignited the battle itself?

At first glance, it seems that everyone on this list was 'doing the right thing' and was completely justified in making a stand for which ever side he thought was right.

• Thorin agrees the Humans will get financial help in due process. But on his terms, because it is his mountain and his gold.
• Thranduill helped the Human's in the aftermath of the dragon attack, so he has a right to be there.
• Bard and the Laketowners need the money, like, now.
• Gandalf was so busy fighting the Necromancer he forgot that Thorin and Co. still existed. 
• And poor Bilbo just wanted the whole thing to be over without any more hurt or trouble to anyone.

Who was justified in their offence of the other parties?  Whose motives were "right" and whose were "wrong"? Who was "the enemy", and who "started it"?

Sometimes people are so concerned with finding the right side that they miss the most beautiful, the most poetic, the most hear-breaking truth that Tolkien communicated in any of his bodies of writing.

This message is not found in The Lord of The Rings, not in The Silmarillion, or in any of Tolkien's other writing projects: It is that good people can disagree, good people can do bad things, and good people can die at the hands of other good people.

(Although it never really comes to that...they get invaded by a fourth fifth party and the armies of Dwarves, Humans, and Elves join forces to defeat a common enemies. However, the powerful prelude to this battle has been a source of fascination for me ever since I first heard the story...These good people could have just have easily been killing each other instead of their true enemies.)

Sometimes the right thing won't in our best interests, sometimes even if we do act selflessly we can't avoid the negative consequences. I believe Bilbo illustrates this point best when he gives "The Heart of The Mountain" to the Elf king and still returns to Thorin's side. He's willing to take the fall-out for his actions.

One commenter to the thread observed that Bilbo's role and his choices in the battle were "maddening" and said, "he seems so undecided and wavers in his loyalties" as he (Bilbo) initially chooses to stay with the Dwarves, but then goes to fight with the Elf King. I pointed out in another comment that he did no leave Thorin and Co. of his own accord, he was dis-fellowshiped from them...and nearly thrown off a cliff!


Because I've been re-visiting this ongoing discussion for a while, I've come to another conclusion about Bilbo that I'd like to share: I do not think for one second that Bilbo was "undecided" in terms of knowing what the right thing to do was. He was the only member of the Company, and perhaps within the whole realm of Erador, with the clarity to see the destructive course that the pride and greed of both sides would bare.

Bilbo isn't pointing fingers, he knows that the answer to "Whose fault is it" is "It doesn't matter, I still have to do the right thing." He knows that there is no "bad" side, there is simply a "right" thing to do and a "wrong" thing to do. And because no one else is doing those things, he does it himself.



Since there are a ton of parallels between "The Battle of Five Armies and  World War I: I wanted to share this website I really like that helped me learn about the First World War.

http://www.firstworldwar.com/

It's really fascinating how the whole situation just got completely out of control because people over-reacted to a problem and started getting their friends involved in drama.

The Facebook Experiment: Results

I'm not going to post anything substantial here.

It took 14 days. 

Despite the futility, I am still an addict.

Pinterest is my methadone.

I warned you.

Facebooking...and Griping

I've been on the geek sites (Livejournal, until I found out it was a whore-house of porn writers. Mugglespace, Youtube, Darkufo (for my LOST fix), and had mostly family members and close friends on Myspace.) for years.

But Facebook is something I entered slowly and cautiously. Mostly because I put my real name and identity are there.

Facebook does have a many practical uses. It does a good job of connecting people, helps us to share information quickly and efficiently. It does exactly what it's supposed to do.

I'm more concerned with what Facebook does not do...Primarily make social interactions as sincere and seamless as I want them to be.

I used to resent the fact that I had to accept 'friend'  requests from people who I really don't know well, in hopes of getting to know them well. (BECUZ THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE YOU THE TIME OF DAY WHEN YOU WERE TALKIN' TO DEM IN REAL LIFE!!)

This "friending to make friends" by the way, doesn't work. If someone extended a "Friend-ship" to you, it doesn't mean they want to get to know you better. 'Facebook Friends' are actually just aquainances. Aquaintances who have access to most of the stuff I write for my family and real friends, they can look at all of the stuff I "Like", where I work, how much school I've had, and as a result they get to make judgement about me.

(:D

The worst thing about this is it (at least at first, and at least for me) it creates the illusion of an interpersonal relationship, because they might know everything about you but still not "know you". Very sad.

Here are a few more of my gripes on facebook-style social networking.

• Private Messages-In my opinion, some things are not private enough. Some things are, you know, private....meaning you don't talk about them with other people unless you are in each other's confidence. I have difficulty having confidence in someone I can't see. So, unless you're the deity I pray to, get to know me face to face before trying to 'get to know me' via PM.

(Plus, I don't want to hear IN A PRIVATE MESSAGE about your trip to the bishops office or the type and amount of sex you have had in the past.)

• Trolling-You'd think there would be some accountability on a site like Facebook, where people pretty much know who you are (AND WHERE YOU LIVE!!) And there is more accountability...maybe...kinda...not really....They're actually proud of being jerks...kind of like Shrek is proud of being a smelly oger (ok, so we know he's actually ashamed of it sometimes, but he is never successful in changing his ways)

(Trolling? Facebook has no Trolls, they have OGERS!)

*Actually I think some of the breeds of Oger flourish particularly well in this habitat, they just have to know how to avoid the big billy goats gruff.

• Tagging-The first time I was tagged at a Facebook event I was so confused about what "Tagging" was. How someone I hardly knew, picked me (and 27 others) out of a crowd. I pictured it in my head that there was some dude with a smartphone; "Oh, I see her, and her, and him!) CREEEPERS!

*A side adventure here is the time I created a Facebook event called "The Toilet" (or was it, The Bathroom"? I can't remember.) and tagged myself there. (Yes, it was very juvenile. XDD)

• Friends-I'll admit I've added friends who ONLY were "Friends" because they vaguely remember seeing me at a real life event and then I was "tagged" on Facebook. Really kind of pathetic, now I have "Friends" who I don't know that I'll ever see again. 

• Similar Interests/stalking-I'll admit I'm guilty of this. It's not exactly hard to do, as soon as you express an interest in a product or service little adds pop up showing you each and everyone on your friend's list who also "likes" that (It also suggests people who you can "suggest" the "like" to. 

Despite all of this, Facebook does make keeping in touch a lot easier. Very few people will know about this blog post until I post a link on Facebook next month.