“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
So begins the classic 1937 fantasy epic, “The Hobbit,” written by J.R.R. Tolkien. In the 75 years since its initial publishing, Tolkien’s tale has appealed to child and adult alike in its portrayal of an unlikely hero, Bilbo Baggins, and his journey from the comforts of his hobbit hole to far-off Lonely Mountain to confront the dragon, Smaug.
In the years since its writing, Tolkien wrote a sequel, “The Lord of the Rings,” and successful movie adaptations of both “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” have been released, with the most recent being the first film of a planned “Hobbit” trilogy, “An Unexpected Journey.”
I first read “The Hobbit” as a freshman in high school and was inspired by Bilbo Baggins, a character Tolkien describes as just like all hobbits, “little … half our height … fat in the stomach …(and) good-natured faces.” Content in living in his hole, smoking his pipe and enjoying cakes, Bilbo is startled when the wizard Gandalf asks him to accompany him on an adventure, and tells his visitor that hobbits “are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures! Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things!”
Eventually, Bilbo agrees to go on the adventure with Gandalf, and 13 dwarves, to reclaim gold from the dragon Smaug, claimed by the monster during a pillaging of a dwarvish kingdom.
Along the way, the hobbit finds courage and strength, and ends up saving the dwarves from various perilous situations. The dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, initially do not put too much stock in Bilbo’s usefulness during their journey, but come, in the end, to respect him and count him as their equal.
Growing up in South Africa in the late 19th century-early 20th century, Tolkien was 4 when his father passed away, and his mother, Mabel, worked hard to provide a good life and strong Catholic foundation for him and his brother, Hilary.
As Mabel’s family was Protestant, they withdrew their financial support when learning she was raising her sons Catholic, and the mother began home-schooling her children until they were able to achieve good enough exam scores to receive scholarships at private schools. From a young age, Tolkien revealed his love of languages, as he was reading by the age of 4. He learned Latin, French and German at the age of 7.
After Mabel passed away, the 12-year-old Tolkien and his brother were entrusted to the care of a priest of the Birmingham, England Oratory, Father Francis Xavier Morgan, who continued guiding the two in their faith development.
It was this faith that Tolkien sought to show in his works, but not overtly. Tolkien believed that God had used mythic narrative to communicate his Christian message to man, and, in attempting to reflect God’s creation, he created a mythic land called Middle-Earth in “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” that was, at its moral center, a Catholic universe. However, he wanted Middle-Earth, a land populated with hobbits, dwarves, men, elves and orcs, to be as realistic and immersive as possible; any overt religious overtones mentioned, he felt, would just distract readers and pull them out of his narrative.
Besides the use of unlikely protagonists as heroes, Tolkien illustrates the sin of greed in his works. In “The Hobbit,” Thorin attempts to gain back the land and gold stolen from his ancestors by Smaug. Especially covetous of the Arkenstone, Thorin turns on Bilbo when he finds out the hobbit is in possession of the stone, using it to gain peace. “No friendship of mine goes with him,” he says. Greed also befalls the Master of Lake-town, who received part of the gold after Smaug’s death, and later “fell under the dragon-sickness,” running away with as much gold as possible, and later dying of starvation.
This theme is a big part of Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” which centers around the power a small, gold ring can have on the hearts of men. This ring first makes its appearance in “The Hobbit,” when Bilbo comes across it, but plays a more prominent role in its sequel.
A willingness to step out of your comfort zone and pursue a noble quest; finding courage and strength with a humble disposition; and overcoming greed, are all examples of Tolkien’s desire to create a moral, Catholic world in “The Hobbit.” Seventy-five years later, the physical world today still needs a dose of Middle-Earth.
Peter G. Sánchez is the Catholic Star Herald staff writer.