“This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected.”
It was one of the most brilliant books I've ever read actually. Yes, it was written as a children's book, but in my opinion, children's books are sometimes even the best ones. Even Harry Potter, which was written in a way that a child could understand, touched the hearts of many adults and children alike across the world. And The Hobbit is no different.
Here are the beginnings from Harry Potter and The Hobbit:
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
It's written in a similar manner. But why do so many automatically assume that a serious book is only for adults, yet a whimsical book is only for children? The book was definitely an easy read, but the story was so captivating that it was like a movie playing in my head.
The Hobbit begins with an introduction of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who lives in the side of a hill of Bag End. Living in a cozy hobbit-hole while reading books and cooking was the normal life-style of little Bilbo, yet things take a turn when the great wizard Gandalf makes a surprise visit to his home. Thirteen dwarves take Bilbo on an unexpected journey after barging into his little home. Accompanying a band of dwarves on a quest to The Lonely Mountain was the last thing Bilbo would have ever thought of doing, yet it would change his life completely. Even Gandalf tells him that once he returns, he will never be the same.
What I learned from this book was that no one should be afraid to disrupt their normal life routine and try something new and exciting. Bilbo never knew what he was capable of doing until he broke his traditional life style and explored new horizons. In a way, I felt like a Bilbo Baggins when I graduated from a private Christian school and went to a public high school. I was accustomed to a cozy environment without having to meet many new people besides the thirty students I saw every day. On my first day of high school, I had no one. I was a lost and lonely little hobbit. Along my journey, I met many fellow hobbits and dwarves who became my journey partners, and together, we've overcome orcs, misty mountains, and dangerous forests. Our journey's not over (one semester to go, eep!), yet we know how to get through the rest of it because of how much we've grown.
By the end of his journey, Bilbo has discovered that he is a courageous little hobbit-warrior, replacing his crochet needles with a brilliant sword. All he needed was someone to come by, drag him along on a journey, and have faith in him. It's amazing how those 3 things could change someone completely. So go ahead, if life takes you an unexpected journey, you'll be there and back again in no time, but as a different person.
“Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway.”
