British Literature – Summer Reading (The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien)
Due Date
AUGUST 1st, emailed before midnight to your teacher. This is regardless of which term you start Brit Lit. We will be going through your essays during the first week of class, but in order to receive credit you need to have it turned in by AUGUST 1st. Submit your essay to Mr. Weber at [email protected]. Text
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
*Students are not required to turn in an annotated copy of the text
How to Begin
As you read, write margin notes and mark up your book. Will this be collected? No. Your main concern is: What is the proper way to assimilate reading and aid understanding? A well annotated text is a very helpful aid. Relying on memory alone is always a poor strategy.
As you read The Hobbit, summarize for yourself each chapter before moving on to the next. Seeing as this novel deals with a fantasy culture, ask yourself the following for each of the chapters:
a) What is going on?
b) Do I understand every reference? Have I looked up any foreign language phrases?
c) Can I explain all of the cultural references? Read with Subject in Mind
As you read look for references in The Hobbit that relate to the subject of Heroism. You will eventually be narrowing down this broad subject to something specific. The more specific you are the less you will ramble in your essay. In a short essay like this you need to be able to get to the point quickly. To help you with this you will use quotes from the novel to help you argue for or against the author. Write Your Essay
Your essay should reflect on the following question: What is the relationship between heroism and the simple life as seen in Tolkien's The Hobbit? Your essay should have the following elements: ● Header ● Page numbers ● A purposeful, well­thought out title ● An introduction paragraph that introduces your analysis rather than a summary of the book ● A thesis statement at the end of your introduction ● Several body paragraphs that showcase your interpretation of the prompt ● A conclusion paragraph ● Quotes from the book included in your essay ● A Works Cited page ● Times New Roman, 12 pt font, 1 inch margins
Here is an example of how the writers at Shmoop discussed the topic of bravery in The Hobbit: “There are big, brave guys in The Hobbit like Bard who seem to have no doubts about their courage or ability in this world. Bard represents the human armies of Lake­town, he directly confronts Thorin, and he fights hard during the Battle of Five Armies (in addition, of course, to shooting Smaug with a bow and arrow). So he's plenty brave. But consider Bilbo, whose greatest acts of courage are to face down Gollum in the goblin tunnels and to approach Smaug by himself in the Lonely Mountain. These are all acts that he does completely by himself, without fully knowing what he's even up against. While Bard's courage may be more open and recognizable, Bilbo's may take more actual bravery. After all, Bilbo is probably the least experienced and most vulnerable character in the whole novel, yet he's the one who is most willing to walk straight into the unknown by himself.” ______________________________________________________________ Tips and Writing Mechanics A common error in essays is to simply retell or summarize the storyline. Summarizing is not an essay and your grade will reflect this. Go beyond summarization and the book report format. Your instructor knows the story and he assumes you do too. Only bring up key passages as referential points as you defend or argue against the author’s points made in the novel. Make the essay your own with your insights and your analysis. For this paper it might be helpful for you to start the body of your essay by defining the simple life in Hobbiton and then define heroism both from the dwarf perspective and Bilbo’s. Lastly, type a Titled, 2­3 full­page critical essay critiquing Tolkien’s The Hobbit in MLA format. This is not a book report and you do not need to summarize the book. Again, assume that we’ve all read it. Title the Essay: titles are not afterthoughts. Work with your title. Superb titles usually evidence superb writing.
For MLA Formatting, the Purdue OWL Website is the most recognized and up to date:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Short excerpts (less than 3 lines) of key passages are to be cited as “..…” (Tolkien 52). Quotes should neither play a minor nor a major part of your overall essay, but they should be present. If you have questions, each teacher will periodically check his/her email throughout the summer. If you are unsure which teacher to send your essay to contact Mr. Weber at [email protected]. There will be a test on this text during the first weeks of class.