{"id":613,"date":"2011-10-26T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2011-10-26T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=613"},"modified":"2011-10-19T20:48:23","modified_gmt":"2011-10-20T03:48:23","slug":"mark-reads-the-hobbit-chapter-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/10\/mark-reads-the-hobbit-chapter-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Hobbit’: Chapter 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the third chapter of The Hobbit<\/em>, the party of dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf continue to travel, only to take a break in Rivendell. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Hobbit<\/em>.<\/p>\n

CHAPTER THREE: A SHORT REST<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m keeping an open mind about all of this, and I do think this story is pretty interesting so far. I know that this book was written a long time ago and<\/em> that I don’t what the hell is going on. But this is weird<\/em>. I’m trying to get used to it, but Tolkien’s constant insistence to inject himself into the story is bizarre to me. And it’s not like this isn’t a fascinating story or anything like that! But I don’t understand why<\/em> he does this or why it’s necessary.<\/p>\n

At the same time, as Tolkien expands the world these characters travel through, I find myself loving the landscape more and more. Thankfully, none of this is really over-described, and Tolkien is able to convey the vast amount of land that these characters cross over in this chapter. Bilbo himself seems to be able to handle this quite well, too, especially since this is essentially the first time that he’s left The Hill in his whole life. That’s….weird, right? Didn’t he also live in the same home, too? SHELTERED HOBBITS. I mean, the fact that Bilbo sees a mountain for the first time and believes it to be The<\/em> Mountain, when it’s just THE VERY FIRST ONE OF THE ENTIRE MISTY MOUNTAINS RANGE speaks of his naivete here. Plus:<\/p>\n

“O!” said Bilbo, and just at that moment he felt more tired than he ever remembered feeling before. He was thinking once again of his comfortable chair before the fire in his favourite sitting-room in his hobbit-hole, and of the kettle singing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While this might be read as a hyperbolic statement, I truly believe that this is the most<\/em> tired that Bilbo has ever been. The dude has probably NEVER RIDDEN A PONY BEFORE. Well, okay, neither have I, but you get the point.<\/p>\n

So the group continues to their next destination: the Last Homely House of Elrond in Rivendell. I am going to assume it’s called that because there’s nothing but mountains and death and dragons beyond Elrond’s home, so this is literally<\/em> the last house that is homely in this area. But even before they get there, the journey is treacherous. Well, no one dies<\/em> or anything, at least not yet. But this flat plain that leads to the foot of the mountains is not as flat as it seems, as they come upon sudden valleys, gullies, ravins, and bogs which all threaten to disrupt their passage. I like that Tolkien provides all these physical descriptions along the way because for someone like me, this is all very<\/em> new. I have no concept of this universe, its geography, or the places that are referenced. This is my first introduction to Middle Earth! (Oh god, am I still<\/em> getting this wrong?)<\/p>\n

And part of that introduction includes my very first scene with elves. Tolkien seems to be taking legends from various mythologies and using them in the construction of this world, as he did with trolls. The elves are apparently the moral enemies of the dwarves because they laugh at dwarves<\/em>. Which is kind of adorable to me because the dwarves are so protective of their own beards. And I have had a beard for many years! So I understand this! Should I feel morally opposed to the elves because of this?<\/p>\n

Strangely, though, I was taken aback by the fact that the elves seem to know who Bilbo is? Um….how is that even possible<\/em>. Clearly, this is something to be dealt with later, but allow me to flesh this out: Bilbo, as far as I understand it, has never left The Hill, and has only had one interaction with Gandalf. Now, in his fiftieth year (give or take) of life, Gandalf suddenly believes that Bilbo is the best possible “burglar” for this adventure and elves know who he is. So….what’s happened since Gandalf first visited Bilbo’s village and now? WAS THERE A PROPHECY. There’s always a prophecy in these sort of stories, right?<\/p>\n

Maybe the prophecy is just THE ELVES ARE REALLY MEAN<\/em>. SERIOUSLY. The first things they say after they’ve stopped are:<\/p>\n