Analyzing Literature for Children - Essay Example

Childrens Literature During the Golden Age of Comic Books, there was publication of modern comic books, which became popular with famous superheroes like Superman and Batman. On the other hand, the Silver Age of Comic Books is the period after the 1950s where there the publishers of American comic books recorded immense achievement. The period between the Golden Age and the Silver Age--roughly 1920 to 1950 was the period when the primarily educational, even adult-oriented books of the Golden Age were giving way to the more child-friendly works of the Silver Age. Indeed, the aspect of education and specifically childrens literature was synonymous in this period. During this period, many children books came up for publication, which included the Little House, the Hobbit, among others (Tolkien 1). However, these books received a lot of criticism based on their morality, purpose, themes, and target audience. The Hobbit by John Tolkien is one of the children books published from the period between the Golden Age and the Silver Age--roughly 1920 to 1950 and received numerous criticisms. The Hobbit is a childrens book with a lot of comic, which is popular and recognized in childrens literature. The author published the book inn 1937 in the midst of wide criticism. The novel has attracted international recognition in children literature. The Hobbit has different characters and depicts continued human quest. The Hobbit narrates the story of a simple English man, Bilbo Baggins as he seeks to possess a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug (“The Tolkien Society” 1). The story also depicts human greed and human conflict as all characters disagree at the end of the story. The main themes of the novel include heroism and personal growth while warfare is a dominant motif in the novel that attracts critics over the experiences of the World War I as seen in the novel. There have been variant adaptations of the novel where every adaptation received critical recognition. The novel depicts a glorious, challenging, and entertaining adventure that entails humor and suspense (Eaton 1). The novel uses understandable language and English comics to entertain children. Additionally, the ideals of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (Abramson 1) are part of the novel. Notably, the novel presents a clear view of the authors thoughts about human complexity and human development combined with the ideas of Scandinavian epics he studied as well as a reflection of middle-class life in England as seen in the plot, character, and themes in the novel (“Lord of the Rings” 1). Indeed, the novel depicts human evolution and development by showing the main character, Bilbo maturing to a hero in the novel. Bilbo was initially superficial, insignificant, and cowardly but grew through the plot of the novel to become a hero who is brave, self-sufficient, and versatile where his colleagues relied on his assistance (Tolkien 254-261). At the beginning of the story, we can see Bilbo Baggins living in a calm and peaceful place as manifested by the comfortable hole he lives in (“Lord of the Rings” 1). Initially, Bilbo is smoking a pipe, drinking good beer, and searching for a good meal, which confirms his comfortable life. We can relate his place of living to Hobbiton, which is a hobbit village, and relate his life to that of a hobbit (“Lord of the Rings” 1). He also possesses a weak character at the beginning where he depicts the characters of a person who is prone to fear and shyness, which confirms his lack of confidence (Tolkien 1-6). He spends most of his time gardening and has no urge to seek for fun or adventure (“Lord of the Rings” 1). As such, he lives a quiet, simple, and pastoral life until a surprise visit by the wizard, Gandalf interrupts his way of life. The wizard Gandalf initiated the evolution and maturation of Bilbo Baggins by coercing him to an adventure as emphasized in the novel. The wizard Gandalf was looking for a person to join him and a group of thirteen militant dwarves on their mission to reclaim the treasure stolen by Smaug, the most awful dragon in all Middle-earth (“Lord of the Rings” 1). This adventure presents the challenges that humans encounter as they develop. Indeed, the main theme in this novel is human development to a superhero as seen in the development of Bilbo from a simple man to a hero through the challenging adventure. The author describes the changes in Bilbos character, which reflect human development. Notably, Bilbo is the narrator in the novel and talks about the actions he participates in, his thoughts, and his feelings on humanity complexities. Bilbo’s personality develops from a weak appearance and a timid hobbit to a hero by overcoming the difficulties he encounters throughout the adventure of reclaiming the treasure stolen by Smaug. In fact, at the end of the story, Bilbo had a strong character. The team comprising of Bilbo, wizard Gandalf, and a group of thirteen militant dwarves encountered numerous challenges, which included a group of trolls, the Gollum’s ring, the spider, the abduction in Mirkwood, and the encounter with the great dragon Smaug (“The Tolkien Society” 1). Notably, Bilbo helped the team to overcome these challenges by snatching the Gollum’s ring, slaying the spider, rescuing the dwarves in Mirkwood, and speaking face-to-face with the great dragon Smaug. In fact, the combined efforts of wizard Gandalf and burglar Bilbo rescued militant dwarves from the abduction in Mirkwood. These challenges and Bilbo’s response accorded Bilbo with a chance to build his confidence and ability, which depicts human development, as he becomes a hero. Notably, the group spent the week in Esgaroth where they went to the Lonely Mountain and saw the door to Smaugs den, which they only opened with the help of Bilbo (“Lord of the Rings” 1). This part depicts human development and maturity of Bilbo. Indeed, Bilbo manifests maturity where he discovers the clue to opening the den in the Thorins map. More so, he uses the key of Thorins grandfather to open the door to Smaugs den (Tolkien 1). Additionally, Bilbo manifests his maturity by stealing from the tricky and intelligent dragon (“The Tolkien Society” 1). He also depicts cognitive development where he escapes from the dragon. He also collaborates with Bard to kill the dragon, identify the treasure, and reclaim it (“The Tolkien Society” 1). The novel also presents human complexities by using complex phrases, languages, and tones. Indeed, the Hobbit has a unique tone, which is seemingly different from the tones used in other Middle-earth works. Moreover, the novel is complex and sophisticated as it uses many names and words derived from Norse mythology, and central plot elements from the Beowulf epic. These aspects are seemingly difficult for the children to understand and manifest human complexities. The complexity is also alive where the author writes the book to the children and specifically to his four children but it goes ahead to attract a larger and complex audience. Another complexity is clear where the humans of Lake Town and the elves of Mirkwood visit the Lonely Mountain to seek a share of the treasure as compensation for the losses and aid they encountered from the attack by the dragon (“The Tolkien Society” 1). However, Thorin manifests human complexity where he greedily refuses to give them a share of the treasure. Human conflict is an aspect of human complexity and it continues to manifest where the humans and elves reiterates by besieging the mountain and trapping the dwarves and the hobbit inside (Eaton 1). As such, these humans lead to a conflict though they were seemingly working towards the same mission at the beginning. To this effect, Bilbo demonstrated his maturity by sneaking out of the mountain and seeking to bring peace between the conflicting humans. At the same time, we can see Bilbo and Gandalf coming back to Hobbiton after the dangerous adventure where they became heroes. However, despite his achievements, the hospitable hobbit society rejects him in an act, which reflects complex humanity (“Lord of the Rings” 1). This is a confirmation that epic heroism is less significant in the English society. Indeed, Bilbo would only enjoy his life by communicating with elves and wizards a she lives a simple and comfortable life after maturing to a hero. Another aspect that is clear in the novel is the body of ancient epic literature and specifically the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon epics like Beowulf. These epics are present in literature used in the novel for example the mysterious magic of the elves, the form of the heroic quest, the hoard from the treasure, and the significance of named swords (“The Tolkien Society” 1). Indeed, the Hobbit depicts a transition to the modern children literature. This is clear where the novel revisits the ancient conventions with a modern and comic tone that depicted the period between the Golden Age and the Silver Age. Moreover, Bilbo Baggins represents the life of an Englishman living in the rural areas during this period. Additionally, the complexity of the comic in the novel is fundamental in transplanting the Englishman into a medieval hero through a medieval adventure. Nevertheless, this exploration by Tolkien contradicts the world he studied in (Scandinavian) and the world he lives in and hence the human complexities (“Lord of the Rings” 1). Works Cited “The Tolkien Society.” The Hobbit - An Introduction. 2006. Web. 31 October 2013. < http://www.tolkiensociety.org/ed/the_hobbit.html> Abramson, Seth. Dislike Peter Jacksons The Hobbit? Then You Dont Know Tolkien. 1 March 2013. Web. 31 October 2013. < http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-abramson/dislike-peter-jacksons-em_b_2342591.html> Eaton, Anne. A Delightfully Imaginative Journey. 2003. Web. 31 October 2013. < http://www.nytimes.com/1938/03/13/movies/LOTR-HOBBIT.html?_r=0> “Lord of the Rings.” The Hobbit Book. 2009. Web. 31 October 2013. < http://www.lord-of-the-rings.org/hobbit.html> Tolkien, John. The Hobbit. New South Wales: George Allen & Unwin, 1937. Print. Read More