Writer, poet, and Oxford professor Also a philologist. He uses this expertise to invent languages in his novels. Known as the father of modern fantasy Fought in World War I Close friend of the author C.S. Lewis

The Hobbit is the prelude to The Lord of the Rings novels Considered to be a “high fantasy” novel The book was written as a children’s story whereas the sequels (LOTR) were written for adults One of the most popular books of all time.

Set in the continent of Middle Earth which is in Arda, Tolkien’s version of prehistoric Earth. The Shire is inhabited by hobbits and is the place where Bag-End is, the house of Bilbo Baggins. Rivendell is the name of the house of Elrond (6,500 year-old elf, father of Arwen, raised Aragorn) The Lonely Mountain is the destination of the company, and the former home of a kingdom of dwarves now inhabited by the dragon Smaug.

Hobbits – small men with thick curly hair all over, never wear shoes, fond of farming, eating, and socializing, they avoid adventure and excitement Men – a mortal race that is on the rise in Middle-Earth Elves – an immortal race that is declining and leaving Middle-Earth, they are strong, tall, intelligent, and agile Dwarves – a short, stout race of fierce fighters with long beards that like to live underground & mine precious metals

Eagles – giant, sentient birds that occasionally rescue characters in the novels, friends of Gandalf Orcs – also known as goblins, the first race bred by the ultimate evil Morgoth, they hate the sun Trolls – a giant, monstrous race created by Morgoth, they turn to stone in sunlight

As we watch the movie you need to keep track of the characters that we meet. Write a description for each including physical characteristics, noteworthy traits: are they honest, smart, fun etc and important actions they take A summary will also be due at the end of class on Tuesday when we finish the movie.

Protagonist of The Hobbit A hobbit from the Shire He steals the One Ring from Gollum He is thus considered to be a Ring-bearer The longest living hobbit (due to the power of the Ring) At the end of his life he is gifted with immortality for helping to guard the Ring, travels to the Elven Undying Lands

An Istari (a Wizard), a being that resembles a man but is immortal and has much greater power The Istari were created to help against the forces of evil (think of them as angels) He guides the company in The Hobbit and the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings Discovers the true nature of the One Ring

Once a hobbit named Smeagol Smeagol’s relative found the One Ring at the bottom of a riverbed, but Smeagol, already under the influence of the Ring, killed his relative when he refused to give it to him.

Smeagol lived in exile for hundreds of years, slowly transforming into the evil creature Gollum until Bilbo steals the Ring from him Renamed “Gollum” after a nasty noise he makes with his throat He spends the rest of his life trying to find “his precious”, the Ring Captured and tortured in Mordor, he is the one who tells Sauron where the Ring is

Bilbo Baggins is at his house (Bag-End) when Gandalf and 13 dwarves invite him on an adventure to steal the treasure from Smaug in the Lonely Mountain. Reluctantly he goes. On the way he bravely saves the company many times. Most importantly, he steals the One Ring from Gollum At the end of the book, Smaug is killed and the Dwarves, Elves, Men, Eagles, and Goblins fight a battle for the treasure, with the forces of good being victorious Bilbo receives a share of the treasure, including a mithril mail shirt, which he passes to Frodo

Forged by the Dark Lord Sauron (Morgoth’s first lieutenant) in the fires of Mount Doom (in the evil land of Mordor) in order to double his power Sauron uses the One Ring to control 19 other rings that he forged and gave to the leaders of men, elves, and dwarves in order to corrupt them, thus making Sauron the “Lord of the Rings” The rings for the 9 leaders of men turned them into the Nazgul (Ringwraiths) Sauron’s most dangerous servants The Elves removed the 3 rings intended to corrupt them The Dwarves were too stubborn to be controlled, but their 7 rings led to the demise of the Dwarves that had them

The Ring appears to be a simple band of gold most of the time When thrown into fire it reveals a rhyme: “One Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them” Whoever is near the Ring (especially the person who has it) begins to become evil and corrupt Hobbits become corrupt more slowly than most because of their good nature and lack of ambition It has a will of its own and can change sizes and slip off a finger on purpose. It wants to get back to its master Sauron. The Ring stops the aging process and makes mortals invisible (but visible to the Nazgul) It can only be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom

The Ring is the source of much of Sauron’s power, when he loses it he can no longer maintain physical form The Ring was lost to Sauron when it was cut off of his finger in a battle by Isildur who then lost it in the river Anduin until Gollum obtained it. Sauron’s spirit has been trying to recover it for over 2,500 years When The Fellowship of the Ring begins, the Ring is still in the possession of Bilbo Baggins Weary but un-aged, he decides to retire from public life, and to hand the Ring down to his adopted cousin Frodo Unbeknownst to Bilbo, he has already started to become corrupted by the Ring When the novel begins, no one suspects it is the One Ring, they believe it is just a magic ring of invisibility

Frodo Baggins – Hobbit, protagonist and Bilbo’s nephew and adopted heir, the Ring-bearer Samwise Gamgee – Hobbit, Frodo’s gardener and best friend Merry Brandybuck – Hobbit, Frodo’s cousin Pippin Took – Hobbit, Frodo’s cousin Gandalf – Istari (Wizard), leads the Fellowship Aragorn – Man, Ranger and heir to the throne of Gondor but has no wish to become king Boromir – Man, son of the Steward of Gondor Gimli – Dwarf, son of Gloin (one of the dwarves who helped Biblo in The Hobbit) Legolas – Elf, prince of the Elves of Mirkwood

Arwen – Elven daughter of Elrond, sworn to give up her immortality to be married to Aragorn Saruman – A Wizard like Gandalf who falls under Sauron’s corruption Sauron – servant of Morgoth, antagonist in LOTR, creator (Lord) of the Rings of Power