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The Hobbit
or
there and back again
J.r.r tolkien
Teacher Guide
a Memoria press study Guide
by Cheryl Lowe & Brett Vaden
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Table of Contents
How to Use This Guide...................................................................................................................... 4-5
Introduction: J.R.R. Tolkien.................................................................................................................. 6-7
Unit I
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Party........................................................................................................ 8-9
Poetry Weeks 1-3........................................................................................................................... 10-13
Chapter 2: Roast Mutton............................................................................................................... 14-15
Chapter 3: A Short Rest................................................................................................................. 16-17
Chapter 4: Over Hill and Under Hill.............................................................................................. 18-19
Unit II
Chapter 5:
Chapter 6:
Chapter 7:
Chapter 8:
Chapter 9:
Riddles in the Dark...................................................................................................... 20-21
Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire................................................................................ 22-23
Queer Lodgings........................................................................................................... 24-25
Flies and Spiders......................................................................................................... 26-27
Barrels Out of Bond..................................................................................................... 28-29
Unit III
Chapter 10:
Chapter 11:
Chapter 12:
Chapter 13:
Chapter 14:
A Warm Welcome...................................................................................................... 30-31
On the Doorstep........................................................................................................ 32-33
Inside Information...................................................................................................... 34-35
Not at Home............................................................................................................. 36-37
Fire and Water........................................................................................................... 38-39
Unit IV
Chapter 15:
Chapter 16:
Chapter 17:
Chapter 18:
Chapter 19:
The Gathering of the Clouds...................................................................................... 40-41
A Thief in the Night.................................................................................................... 42-43
The Clouds Burst....................................................................................................... 44-45
The Return Journey.................................................................................................... 46-47
The Last Stage........................................................................................................... 48-49
Appendices
Book Notes.................................................................................................................................... 52-57
Spelling / Usage .................................................................................................................................58
Runic Alphabet.............................................................................................................................. 60-61
The Story Behind a Name............................................................................................................... 62-63
Inside Information.......................................................................................................................... 64-65
Tests and Keys
Discussion Questions/Activities Key................................................................................................. 67-74
Quiz 1.......................................................................................................................................... 75-76
Quiz 1 Key.................................................................................................................................... 77-78
Quiz 2.......................................................................................................................................... 79-80
Quiz 2 Key.................................................................................................................................... 81-82
Midterm Exam............................................................................................................................... 83-88
Midterm Exam Key......................................................................................................................... 89-94
Quiz 3.......................................................................................................................................... 95-96
Quiz 3 Key.................................................................................................................................... 97-98
Quiz 4........................................................................................................................................ 99-100
Quiz 4 Key................................................................................................................................ 101-102
Final Exam................................................................................................................................ 103-108
Final Exam Key.......................................................................................................................... 109-114
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How to Use This Guide
1. Reading Notes
Every lesson begins by identifying new characters and peoples that appear in the chapter.
These “facts to know” do not require memorization, but they will help the student keep
names and descriptions of characters clear in his or her mind. This section also includes selected quotations, many of which will relate a theme or repeated idea found in the chapter.
The student should be able to identify which character spoke the quotation.
2. Vocabulary
Every lesson begins by bringing challenging vocabulary words to the student’s attention.
The student should look up the definition of each word in a dictionary and write a short
summary on the line provided. As with all written work in the Student Guide, the student
should check his answers with the answers provided by the teacher (or Teacher Guide). It
is suggested that the Vocabulary section be completed first, then the reading of the chapter,
and finally the remaining sections of the lesson.
3. Comprehension Questions
After the student has read the chapter covered by the lesson, the section entitled
“Comprehension Questions” should be completed next. These questions test the student’s
retention and understanding of what happened in the chapter. Most questions will concern
the chapter’s setting(s), events, character development, and other important points related
to what the author is trying to convey or emphasize. Blank lines are provided for the student’s answers, but this section may also be completed orally.
4. Discussion Questions / Activities
These questions zero in on specific details that bear significant meaning in the author’s
overall purpose and work in the story. They will require the student to analyze, interpret,
and sometimes evaulate such details in order to gain a deeper understanding of things
lying beneath the surface of the narrative’s events and characters. This section should be
completed orally, except those questions that specifically direct the student to answer in
writing.
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5. Appendices
The appendices are located immediately after the last lesson and contain a variety of aids
and supplements to the lessons, including “Book Notes” and related literature exercises.
The Discussion Questions / Activities sections will make use of one or more appendices
from time to time.
6. Quizzes and Exams
There are four quizzes, a midterm exam, and a final exam that will test the student’s mastery of the essential material covered in the lessons (i.e., Reading Notes, Vocabulary, Comprehension Questions, and composition skills).
Each quiz covers a unit of lessons, as noted in the Table of Contents. They are not designed
to be difficult, but test a basic understanding of characters, events, and geography.
The exams are more challenging, testing the student’s knowledge of the material covered
in the lessons. The midterm exam will cover Lessons 1-9, including Poetry Weeks 1-3. The
final exam will cover Lessons 10-19.
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Introduction: J.R.R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien lived from 1892 until 1973. His lifetime in-
cluded the rise of the automobile and motion pictures, World Wars I and II,
the discovery of atomic energy, the beginning of space exploration, and the
first computers. John Ronald, however, was not as attracted to the new world
of machines and technology as he was to an older world—the world that contained the English countryside where he grew up, the world that held the
stories and myths he loved to read (and write) about, and the world of simple
things he enjoyed, such as good food, gardening, and the fellowship of close
friends.
Tolkien held a special enjoyment for language. He loved words, and he
was fascinated by the way they worked and the stories they could tell. When
he was a boy, he learned several languages from his mother, including Latin.
He enjoyed reading stories like Peter Pan and Alice and Wonderland, but he liked
fairy stories most of all, especially the ‘Curdie’ stories of George
MacDonald and The Red Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang. Tolkien grew to be so
interested in words that he became a philologist, a scholar who studies
languages and literature. During his years of university at Oxford he not only
started writing poetry, but invented two languages, which he said came from
elves. Behind his love for language was an imagination so big, it went further
than poetry or story to the realm of mythology.
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Before Tolkien got very far creating his mythical world, he was
summoned by the British Army to fight in World War I. While serving in the
muddy trenches of France, he thought more about his mythology, both to
continue his creative work and to escape the bloody horror of war with his
mind. Two of Tolkien’s best friends also fought in the trenches, and during
the Battle of the Somme they were killed. Tolkien himself was wounded by a
mortar shell and had to be sent back to England, where he spent many months
recovering from his injuries and other illnesses. It was in large part because of
the friends he lost in the war that Tolkien was inspired to make his mythology
a lifelong work.
Several other important people inspired Tolkien, including his wife,
Edith (whom he called ‘Luthien’ after an elf princess he created), his good
friend and colleague C.S. Lewis, and his four children: John, Michael, Christopher, and Priscilla. Tolkien loved his children very much, and he enjoyed
using his stories to entertain them. One of these stories took place “long ago
in the quiet of the world,” a time when elves, goblins, and dragons lived. The
story was about a little person who goes on a grand adventure, and it was
quite entertaining. It was so good, in fact, that it was published in 1937, and
since that time, it has become a classic of children’s fiction. Tolkien thought
that no child ought read a book that an adult would not enjoy. And so, as you
will find if you keep reading The Hobbit, it is a book that can both entertain and
teach a person their whole life long.
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Chapter 1: An Unexpected Party
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
Reading Notes
Bilbo Baggins well-to-do hobbit living at The Hill in Hobbiton
The Bagginses
hobbit family respected for their wealth and sensibleness
hobbits
little people, half the height of humans, who relish comfort
The Tooks
hobbit family living across The Water, known for adventures
Gandalf
wizard who knew Bilbo’s grandfather, the Old Took
dwarves
people of short, stout stature, with beards and a love of treasure
Thorin
important dwarf leading a band of twelve other dwarves
Smaug
dragon who stole the dwarves’ home and treasure
• “I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to
Gandalf
find anyone.” __________________
• “We are plain quiet
folk and I have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable
Bilbo
things! Make you late for dinner!” __________________
Gloin
• “He looks more like
a grocer than a
burglar!” ___________________
• “Tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and
Bilbo
fight the wild Were-worms
in the Last Desert!” ___________________
Vocabulary
commonplace, plain
1. Mr. Baggins was not quite so prosy as he liked to believe_ __________________________
bewildered, confused
2. who was feeling positively flummoxed____________________________________________
plunderings
3. the depredations of dragons____________________________________________________
fireplace screen
4. Thorin with his feet on the fender_________________________________________________
fearlessly bold
5. this most excellent and audacious hobbit__________________________________________
admirable
6. The estimable Mr. Baggins______________________________________________________
scorched; surface-burned
7. singed beards_________________________________________________________________
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Comprehension Questions
1. The Tooks are richer than the Bagginses but not as respectable. Why?_________________
One of the Took ancestors is said to have taken a fairy wife and they are known
______________________________________________________________________________
for going on adventures.
______________________________________________________________________________
2. What are the dwarves planning to do?____________________________________________
The dwarves plan to win back their home and gold from the dragon Smaug.
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Gandalf says Bilbo is “as fierce as a dragon in a pinch.” Why does Gandalf say this? _
Gandalf is trying to assure the dwarves that Bilbo will be of use to them, and
______________________________________________________________________________
he also knows more of Bilbo’s abilities than Bilbo does.
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Why does Gandalf choose Bilbo?_ _______________________________________________
Gandalf trusts in Bilbo’s Tookish qualities. (And Bilbo makes a lucky fourteen
______________________________________________________________________________
to add to the dwarves’ thirteen.)
______________________________________________________________________________
He doesn’t have faith in
5. Does Thorin have faith in Bilbo? How can you tell? ________________________________
Bilbo. He seems to guess that Bilbo is not a real burglar and that he is timid of
______________________________________________________________________________
adventures. He catches Bilbo speaking as if he were not going on the journey.
______________________________________________________________________________
Discussion Questions
1. Explain why the second and fourth quotations show us two different sides of the speaker.
2. Where have the dwarves first come from? Why did they move South?
3. Describe the glory days of the dwarves and their relationship with the men of Dale.
4. Explain the decline in the work and prestige of the dwarves as they changed from
craftsmen to blacksmiths to coalminers.
5. Thorin has always wondered how his father and grandfather escaped from the
Mountain. How does the map explain this mystery?
6. How are the two maps in your book related?
Activities
1. Read Thorin’s story aloud in class (beginning with ‘O very well,’ and ending with ‘the
rightful heir’). Write a one-paragraph summary of the history of the dwarves.
2. Begin filling in the Book Notes on dwarves in the back of your study guide.
3. Compose a paragraph in which you summarize the events of this chapter.
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The Dwarves’ Song
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Far over the misty mountains cold
Goblets they carved there for themselves
To dungeons deep and caverns old
And harps of gold; where no man delves
We must away ere break of day,
There lay they long, and many a song
To seek the pale enchanted gold.
Was sung unheard by men or elves.
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The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
The pines were roaring on the height,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
The winds were moaning in the night.
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
The trees like torches blazed with light.
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For ancient king and elvish lord
The bells were ringing in the dale
There many a gleaming golden hoard
And men looked up with faces pale;
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
Then dragon’s ire more fierce than fire
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.
Laid low their towers and houses frail.
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On silver necklaces they strung
The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They fled their hall to dying fall
They meshed the light of moon and sun.
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.
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Far over the misty mountains cold
Far over the misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns old
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away ere break of day,
We must away ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.
To win our harps and gold from him!
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Poetry Week One: Memorize verses 1-3
Vocabulary
before
1. We must away ere break of day_ _______________________________________________
times long past
2. The dwarves of yore___________________________________________________________
mountain or hill
3. In hollow halls beneath the fells_________________________________________________
hidden funds
4. here many a gleaming golden hoard_ ___________________________________________
put together; worked
5. They shaped and wrought_____________________________________________________
handle
6. To hide in gems on hilt of sword_________________________________________________
Comprehension Questions
1. What were the dwarves’ mighty spells?___________________________________________
The spells were the dwarves’ craft of making beautiful things from precious
_____________________________________________________________________________
metals and gems, the beauty of which casts spells over men and other races.
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. Paraphrase: “… and light they caught/to hide in gems on hilt of sword.”______________
The dwarves’ magic method of cutting and setting gems to make them catch
_____________________________________________________________________________
light and reflect it makes the gems and gold seem to capture light.
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. What item did the “dwarves of yore” make, out of what materials, and for whom?_ ____
They made swords and other things from precious metals and gems; for ancient
_____________________________________________________________________________
kings and elvish lords.
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. Rewrite these verses in prose.___________________________________________________
Example: At the break of day we must go to seek pale enchanted gold far over
_____________________________________________________________________________
the cold misty mountains to deep dungeons and old caverns. In times long
_____________________________________________________________________________
past the dwarves made mighty spells in hollow halls beneath the hills. They
_____________________________________________________________________________
hammered in deep places where dark things sleep. There they shaped and
_____________________________________________________________________________
wrought gold for ancient kings and elvish lords, and they cut and fashioned
_____________________________________________________________________________
gems on the hilts of swords.
_____________________________________________________________________________
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Poetry Week Two: Memorize verses 4-6
Vocabulary
cups
1. Goblets they carved for themselves_______________________________________________
digs; searches
2. where no man delves_ _________________________________________________________
Comprehension Questions
1. What are “flowering stars”? “dragon-fire”? _______________________________________
The flowering stars are jewels (perhaps sapphires or diamonds); dragon-fire is gold.
______________________________________________________________________________
2. What were the dwarves claiming besides their gold? _______________________________
They claimed their lost kingdom and heritage; the title of King Under the Mountain.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. What do harps and goblets symbolize? __________________________________________
They symbolize music and feasting, prosperity and ease, and the king’s glorious reign.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Do you think the dwarves became overconfident of their wealth? _____________________
Yes.
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Rewrite these verses in prose. ___________________________________________________
Example: They strung jewels on silver necklaces, and they hung gold on crowns.
______________________________________________________________________________
They meshed the light of moon and sun in twisted wire. At the break of day we
______________________________________________________________________________
must go far over the cold misty mountains to claim our long-forgotten gold in deep
______________________________________________________________________________
dungeons and old caverns.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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Poetry Week Three: Memorize verses 7-10
Vocabulary
valley
1. The bells were ringing in the dale________________________________________________
anger
2. Then dragon’s ire more fierce than fire____________________________________________
Comprehension Questions
1. What happens in verses 7 & 8? Why?____________________________________________
The dragon came from the North, flew over the trees, and set them on fire.
______________________________________________________________________________
The dragon took the town by surprise; the alarm rang but Smaug destroyed the town.
______________________________________________________________________________
2. What happens in verse 9? What was the ‘tramp of doom’? __________________________
They heard the destruction of Lake-town and Dale and of the dragon’s approach; they
______________________________________________________________________________
knew he was headed for their treasure.
______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Why did the dwarves leave their hall? What happened?_____________________________
They left to escape and possibly to fight; the dragon killed them as they were feasting.
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Who is “him” in the last line of verse 10?__________________________________________
Smaug, the new King Under the Mountain
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Does dragon-fire attract dragons?_________________________________________________
Yes— ‘dragon’s ire more fierce than fire’; the dwarves’ greed lured the dragon’s greed.
______________________________________________________________________________
6. Identify the three verses that are nearly identical. Copy the last line of each. When
read together, what story do they tell? ____________________________________________
They are verses 1, 5 and 10: “to seek, to claim, to win.” They tell of the yearning for
______________________________________________________________________________
and resolution to recover the gold and the old way of life.
______________________________________________________________________________
Example: The high pine trees were on fire and the
7. Rewrite
these verses in prose.____________________________________________________
wind spread the flames. In the dale alarm bells were ringing and the men saw the
______________________________________________________________________________
dragon, who destroyed their towers and houses. As the fire smoked, the dwarves
______________________________________________________________________________
heard the dragon approaching. They tried to escape but were killed. At the break
______________________________________________________________________________
of day we must go far over the grim misty mountains to deep dungeons and dim
______________________________________________________________________________
caverns to win back our treasure from the dragon.
______________________________________________________________________________
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Chapter 2: Roast Mutton
… he began to feel that adventures were not so bad after all.
Reading Notes
trolls
very large persons, not very clever, but dangerous and evil
• “Great Elephants! You are not at all yourself this morning—you have never dusted the
Gandalf
mantelpiece!”_______________
• “You will have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs, and a good many other things,
Dwalin
before you get to the
journey’s end.”_______________
• “Bother burgling and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire,
Bilbo
with the kettle just beginning
to sing.”_______________
William
• “Blimey, Bert, look what
I’ve copped!” _______________
Bilbo
• “I am a good cook myself,
and cook better than I cook, if you see what I mean.”_______________
Vocabulary
settled, cleared
1. funeral expenses to be defrayed_________________________________________________
revered, respected
2. Thinking it unnecessary to disturb your esteemed
repose____________________________
necessary, obligatory
3. proceeded in advance to make requisite preparations______________________________
supplies, equipment
4. parcels and paraphernalia______________________________________________________
flesh of sheep used as food
5. for nice bit o’ fat valley mutton__________________________________________________
stolen, robbed
6. purloined the beer_____________________________________________________________
spells, chants
7. Gandalf tried various incantations_______________________________________________
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Comprehension Questions
1. What causes Bilbo to leave his hobbit hole without a pocket-handkerchief?_____________
Thorin’s letter and Gandalf pushing him out the door cause Bilbo to leave without
______________________________________________________________________________
his pocket-handkerchief.
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Where does Bilbo meet the Company of dwarves?__________________________________
He meets_________________________________________________________________
them at the Inn of the Green Dragon.
_____________
3. What is the Company’s first mishap? _ ____________________________________________
A pony falls in while fording a river; supplies are lost.
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Where does the Company encounter the trolls?_____________________________________
They encounter the trolls at night in the dreary hills while making camp.
______________________________________________________________________________
5. What is Bilbo’s discovery about himself? __________________________________________
“He had read of a good many things he had neither seen nor done.”
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
6. What happens to trolls at daybreak?______________________________________________
They turn to stone.
______________________________________________________________________________
They find supplies, elven swords,
7. What does the company find in the trolls’ lair?______________________________________
and gold. They take the supplies and swords and bury the gold.
______________________________________________________________________________
Discussion Questions
1. Describe what is happening in the drawing in this chapter.
2. In the fourth quote of the Reading Notes, who is Bert, and what has the speaker
“copped”? What does “cop” mean? Which class of British people do you think was
Tolkien’s model for the trolls’dialect?
3. Is Bilbo an optimist or a pessimist? Find specific phrases to support your answer.
4. Why is a pocket-handkerchief important to Bilbo?
5. Compare Thorin’s and Gandalf’s attempts at rescuing the dwarves. Who is successful?
Why?
6. Bilbo is hired as a burglar. What are some hobbit characteristics that fit the job
description?
Activities
1. Add trolls to your creature list. Include a description of their appearance, speech, eating
habits, their natural habitat, where they had moved to and why, and what happens to
them in daylight.
2. Continue your Book Notes.
3. Copy the letter from ‘Thorin and Co.’ in your best penmanship. Take care with punctuation and spelling. Be prepared to write this letter from dictation in class.
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