what does tolkien want to communicate with hobbit characters?

[lillo9546]

I always thought that Tolkien described the life of hobbits as the "real life" should be for him.

Perhaps he had come to the conclusion that he found that talking about Hobbits living that way should reflect society rather than a gray life, made of money, work culture and rat race?

What do you think is the message he wanted to leave us?
Why did he invent hobbits just like that, making clear distinctions with what We know as the mens lands??

 

[Sons of the Woodland King]

Humility, peace, and joy are the treasures Christians have always been taught to value over power and wealth. The hobbits seemed to live and breathe these values. They did not crave power or care for position, and even their desire for "wealth" was humble: they just wanted to be safe, warm and comfortable in their homes!

Men, Elves, Dwarves, AND even Maia were the opposite; their lust for either glory, power, or wealth led to war, death, and other tragedies that injured the world. Therefore it required two little hobbits, with their innocent hearts, to overcome this evil propensity and reject the temptations of the One Ring.

Thorin's most famous quote probably sums all that up: “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

I believe one of the chief morals of Tolkien's work was simply, "Be more like the hobbits."

 

[lillo9546]

Umiltà, pace e gioia sono i tesori che ai cristiani è sempre stato insegnato a valorizzare il potere e la ricchezza. Gli hobbit sembravano vivere e respirare questi valori. Non bramavano il potere o la cura della posizione, e anche il loro desiderio di "ricchezza" era umile: volevano solo essere al sicuro, al caldo ea proprio agio nelle loro case!

Uomini, Elfi, Nani e persino Maia erano l'opposto; la loro brama di gloria, potere o ricchezza ha portato a guerre, morte e altre tragedie che hanno ferito il mondo. Perciò ci vollero due piccoli hobbit, con il loro cuore innocente, per vincere questa propensione al male e respingere le tentazioni dell'Unico Anello.

La citazione più famosa di Thorin probabilmente riassume tutto questo: "Se più di noi apprezzassero il cibo, l'allegria e il canto al di sopra dell'oro accumulato, sarebbe un mondo più allegro".

Credo che una delle principali morali dell'opera di Tolkien fosse semplicemente: "Sii più simile agli hobbit".

This also is made crystal clear by the "hero's journey" structure: infact, hobbiton is presented to us as another "world" vs how the rest of middle earth is. (Like "ordinary" and "extra-ordinary" world)

 

[Deimos]

Humility, peace, and joy are the treasures Christians have always been taught to value over power and wealth. The hobbits seemed to live and breathe these values. They did not crave power or care for position, and even their desire for "wealth" was humble: they just wanted to be safe, warm and comfortable in their homes!

Men, Elves, Dwarves, AND even Maia were the opposite; their lust for either glory, power, or wealth led to war, death, and other tragedies that injured the world. Therefore it required two little hobbits, with their innocent hearts, to overcome this evil propensity and reject the temptations of the One Ring.

Thorin's most famous quote probably sums all that up: “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

I believe one of the chief morals of Tolkien's work was simply, "Be more like the hobbits."

Well, except for Adelard Took, Angelica Baggins, Ted Sandyman, Lobelia and Lotho Sackville-Baggins, and the Hobbits who sided with Sharkey's men. 😉

 

[Sons of the Woodland King]

....I was HOPING no one would bring up those dang SB's! Foiled!

But hey--no race is perfect, not even the Valar, amirite?

 

[Deimos]

....I was HOPING no one would bring up those dang SB's! Foiled!

But hey--no race is perfect, not even the Valar, amirite?

'Zactly. 😉

 

[Eljorahir]

What do you think is the message he wanted to leave us?
Why did he invent hobbits just like that, making clear distinctions with what We know as the mens lands??

Page 3 of The Foreward to 'The Fellowship of The Ring', by JRRT:
"As for any inner meaning or 'message', it has in the intention of the author none. It is neither allegorical nor topical."

Definition of 'Allegory' (looked it up just to be sure I understood the word): a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

So, as far Tolkien's intended "message", I think he just wanted to tell us a story. No message intended.

However, in my opinion, this certainly doesn't preclude the readers from finding meaning on their own account. From the Hobbits I'm happy to take some life lessons:
--Get outside more,
--Be a little Tookish and go on an adventure every now and then,
--maintain your friendships and always look for new ones,
--never pass up the opportunity to view a nice fireworks display,
--if you can get them, eat six meals every d... Oh, wait, this one might be a bad idea.

 

[Radaghast]

I always thought that Tolkien described the life of hobbits as the "real life" should be for him.

Perhaps he had come to the conclusion that he found that talking about Hobbits living that way should reflect society rather than a gray life, made of money, work culture and rat race?

What do you think is the message he wanted to leave us?
Why did he invent hobbits just like that, making clear distinctions with what We know as the mens lands??

The Hobbit was just a "fairy story" about a well-fed and well-to-do hobbit, who is content to sit on his porch all day, blowing smoke rings and eating seed-cakes, until he is dragged into a dreaded adventure and made to see what the world outside the Shire is like. In the process, and with the aid of a magic ring, he becomes the hero.

Tolkien expanded upon this idea in The Lord of the Rings, though the magic ring became something evil that had to be destroyed instead of used to do heroic deeds.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

I desired dragons with a profound desire.

Tolkien wanted to meet dragons, and elves, and dwarves. In Bilbo, he was able to meet, and befriend them. Well, maybe not "befriend" Smaug -- but at least talk with him.

Perhaps there's some "applicability" there for us, too.

Good inaugural posts, lillo9546 -- and welcome to the forum! If you'd like to introduce yourself "formally", and say something about your particular interests, don't forget our New Members forum:

https://thetolkien.forum/forums/new-members.58/

 

[Muskrat]

Good points but”We cannot live on the heights.” Frodo knows that he is no real hero like Gandalf or Aragorn. Most of us aren’t. But does that mean heroes and nobles are born, as in midieval times and that the rest of us should settle for being in the crowd scenes? I think the books are much more complex than that, and that is what makes them great.
?

 

[Olorgando]

JRRT described the Shire (in letters) as being an idealized version of English rural life at the end of the 19th century. After his father's death in South Africa, his mother Mabel moved to the village of Sarehole (then south of Birmingham, now a suburb) with her two sons where they lived from 1896-1900.
However, JRRT's family on both his father's side and that of his mother (Suffield) were not country rustics. They were very much Birmingham city dwellers. And JRRT (and possibly his brother Hilary, two years younger) was given an education by his mother in a way that most likely no country children of the time received. I believe JRRT could read by age of four (I know I could read before starting school).
So he was something of an outsider even while living in the country idyll of Sarehole. He was also aware of the limitations of such a life, once commenting in a letter that his making the Hobbits small was also an indication of the small, parochial limits of their imagination - as a general rule - applicable probably to all except Bilbo, Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Sam, and the odd inhabitant of Buckland and especially Bree. As shown in the chapter "The Scouring of the Shire", with the Hobbits, with the exception of the Tooks (and probably Brandybucks) doing nothing about Sharkey's ruffians until roused by the returning foursome. Then they dispatched of the ruffians in very short order, but they needed an outside kick in the pants to do so.