The Hobbit

About the Hobbit:

In terms of Tolkien's literary context, we should look to his twin focuses: philology (the study of languages) and philosophy (moral, rather than political ethics). The Hobbit is a literary exposition of Tolkien's personal grappling with the "big ideas" that have long engaged the great minds of Eastern and Western civilizations. Without straying into Tolkien "lore," we briefly note Tolkien's career as a Professor at Oxford, the site of Tolkien's well-documented and highly-intellectual relationship with the well-read Professor C.S. Lewis, a close friend and fellow author (think: Narnia). Tolkien's relationship with Lewis is significant because it helps to establish Tolkien's understanding of good and evil in the world, repeatedly represented through the old archetypal binaries: Light = good, white, God, truth, etc.; darkness = evil, black, devil, deception, etc. The Hobbit is a good preparation for a reading of the LOTR trilogy (or a reading of Lewis' 7-part Chronic...