Re: The Hobbit, after all these years

On 07/11/2012 23:54, Wayne Morrison wrote:
> I'm re-reading The Hobbit. It's been a looong time since I last read it.
> I don't remember when, but it was many years prior to the Jackson LotR.
> I've only gotten as far as The Gang getting to the goblin cave and there
> are few things that have struck me so far.
>
> - It has much more of the feeling of a children's book than I remembered.
>
> - Most books with trolls would name them things like Shnurnk, Waggfrump,
> and Grfnozul. JRRT avoided the obvious and named his trolls William,
> Bert, and Tom. I think those are fantastic names for trolls.
>
> - Gandalf doesn't seem to be as knowledgable as in LotR. He also seems to
> be a bit more of a comical character than he becomes in the later books.
>
> - There seems to be a slight implication that Elrond isn't an elf.

He's Elrond the Half-Elven - his father was Human, his mother an Elf and
he and his brother had the choice to be Human or Elven. His brother
chose to be a mortal (Aragorn's ancestor), and Elrond chose to be Elven
- but that choice was also available to his children. (choice not
available to the children of the mortal side of the family)

>
> - The elves themselves give a different impression than in LotR -- less
> serious and more like happy hippies.
>
> Those are just some impressions, maybe things will change as it goes along.
>
> Wayne
>
Most of the elves we meet in the Hobbit are not 'High Elves' but Sylvan
Elves - their ancestors hadn't travelled to the Undying Lands in the
West, so they were more grounded in Middle-Earth.

--
Jette Goldie
jette.goldie@gmail.com