Independent+Novel+Study

__Journal Entry 1__
__The Hobbit__ - __Friday, December, 2, 2011__ - __Pages 1 - 52__

__1.__ - __"Why did you select this novel?"__

 I chose this novel because a lot of my friends and family have recommended this book. I was planning on reading this book before this project, but I had never got around to it. Everyone said that this book was really similar to “The Lord Of The Rings” and that was a movie that I really enjoyed. This novel is really interesting because it is about mythical creatures for example dwarfs. I have enjoyed reading this novel so far and it is a good recommendation.

__4.__ - __"What's going on as the story began?"__

 Tons of different events have happened in the first three chapters that I have read. A mystical wizard named Gandalf came to Bilbo’s house and asked him to go on a journey. He didn’t give Bilbo very much detail, but Bilbo refused to go. He forced the wizard to leave his house at once. The next day Gandalf had invited twelve of his dwarf friends over to Bilbo’s house for breakfast and drinks. Gandalf and the dwarves had finally convinced Bilbo to go on this journey with them because they didn’t want to have thirteen people on a journey since it was unlucky. The next morning the fourteen of them got horses and went on their journey to slay the dragon and find the gold in the mountain. On the way they found some trolls which had tried to eat them and kill them. Gandalf had used his wizardry spells to trick the trolls into letting the dwarves and the hobbit go. They had continued on their quest when they reached the town of Rivendell. The elves of Rivendell had given them all fresh food and dry clothing. After this quick stop at Rivendell they continued on. Those are all the events that have happened in this exciting beginning to the novel.

__7.__ - __"What is the initial or first problem faced by the main character?"__

 The first initial problem faced by Bilbo (The Hobbit) is Gandalf coming to his house. Gandalf really wants Bilbo to go on this wondrous journey into the mountain to find gold! Bilbo knew that he would be rewarded greatly if they were to succeed on this mission, but he also knew he could die. There was a monstrous dragon that lived on the mountain and could easily kill all of them. Bilbo’s first response to Gandalf is refusing to go on this journey. He convinces Gandalf to leave his home, but that doesn’t stop Gandalf from trying to get Bilbo to tag along.

__"Additional Information"__

I have really liked reading this novel so far because it is an action-packed adventure novel. I really like adventure novels because there is never a part in the novel where you want to skip through it. They have so many events that you can’t miss one thing or else the novel doesn’t make sense. I really liked reading this novel and I’m looking forward to reading the next section of this novel.

__Journal Entry 2__
__The Hobbit__ - __Friday, December, 9, 2011__ - __Pages 52 - 103__

__8.__ - __"How does the author get you to read on or hold your interest?"__

The author of The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien) is a really amazing writer because he never lets go of my interest towards this book. This novel is extremely eventful and it is such an exciting novel. I think the main reason why this novel is so entertaining is because of how much detail is put into each event that happens. Another trick that he uses to hold my interest is he uses a sort of comedy while he is writing the novel even though this isn’t a comedy book. “Very soon all about the glade wolves were rolling over and over to put out the sparks on their backs, while those that were burning were running about howling and setting other alight, till their friends chased them away and they fled off down the slopes crying and yammering and looking for water.” I found this line in the novel quite humorous because Gandalf had lit one wolf on fire and that caused every single wolf in the distance to catch fire also. This book is extremely interesting and it is amazing how the author can keep the reader so interested in this book and wanting us to read more.

__10.__ - __"What plot twists or unexpected events happen as the novel goes on?"__

The most unexpected event in this novel so far was at the end of chapter four when Bilbo had been knocked unconscious in the goblin tunnels. “He shouted and fell; and the hobbit rolled off his shoulders into the blackness, bumped his head on a hard rock, and remembered nothing more.” He had awoken in a pitch-black room with nothing there except for a ring he found on the ground. This was really unexpected because it was while Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves were escaping. I expected them to escape from this goblin mine safe and sound, but that was the opposite of what really happened. I think this event in the novel is going to turn out to be an extremely important part to this novel because the ring he had found would grant the wearer invisibility. This event was really unexpected and at the end of chapter four I couldn’t resist the urge to read on to the next chapter.

__11.__ - __"Comment on the style of the novel. Is it easy or hard to follow the events?"__

In this novel it is really easy to follow the events because of how much detail is put into each event that happens. The events that happen in this book are not short three paragraph events; they are usually one to two chapters long. Another reason the events are easy to follow is that the author uses mostly short simple words and when he does use a more difficult word he will put the meaning of it in brackets. The event when Bilbo was trapped in a pitch-black room was really easy to follow because he stayed on that topic about Bilbo the whole chapter and didn’t flick back and forth between Bilbo and Gandalf every page. The events in this book are really suspenseful and are easy to follow which makes the book a lot more interesting to read.

__"Additional Information"__

One really interesting/important thing that happened so far in the novel is when Bilbo found a magical ring. I think this is going to have a huge impact on the outcome of this novel because it would make him invisible and the ring had a huge impact on the movie “Lord of the Rings”. This was unexpected, but I believe it will help Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves to achieve their goal which is to get the gold in the heart of the mountains.

__Journal Entry 3__
__The Hobbit__ - __Thursday, December, 15, 2011__ - __Pages 103 - 154__

__12.__ - __"Is the language in the novel difficult or easy? Give examples and explain."__

The language in this novel is surprisingly easy to follow even though the book was originally written in 1937. I thought that this was going to be a little hard to follow because it might use expressions and words that people nowadays don’t use anymore. There has only been a couple times in the novel when I didn’t know what a word meant and I had to look it up. One of the chapters that I had just read was called “Queer Lodgings”. I didn’t really understand what it meant so I had to look it up. I think some changes since 1937 have been made to the book to make it easier to follow. I really enjoy reading this book and one of the reasons is because of how the words are meant for someone my age to be reading it.

__14.__ - __"Is there a message or main theme emerging in the book? How is it shown?"__

The message or main theme that is emerging from the book is that Bilbo is going to be the reason the dwarves make it out of this mission alive. Bilbo was the chosen one; he was expected to be the one that was absolutely phenomenal and would do everything. When they first embarked on their journey he was the complete opposite. He didn’t do anything right, he was a terrible inspiration, and was not helping at all. Now that Bilbo has a magical ring that can make him invisible, it seems it has inspired Bilbo. When the spiders catch all the dwarves, Bilbo uses his magic ring to save the dwarves. When Gandalf chooses Bilbo to be the hobbit that tags along on this journey I knew this was a key message that said that he was obviously going to have a huge impact on the journey. When the spiders caught the dwarves, Bilbo was there to save them and I think he will have to save the dwarves many more times in the coming future.

__15.__ - __"Describe any new characters that are introduced? What is their purpose?"__

The latest main character that has been introduced in the novel is Beorn. He is shape-shifter that lives in the mountains and can tame animals. Beorn is a grumpy man that has animals do all the work for him. “That’s enough!” said Beorn. “Sit down and be quiet! Now go on, Gandalf!” As shown in this quote he doesn’t have much patience and isn’t too fond of these travelers. Once Gandalf tells him the story of how they killed the lead goblin he gains their respect. Beorn lets them stay the night in his house and gives them food and horses for their journey. I think that Beorn will show up again somewhere else in the novel. He is a very powerful warrior and I think he will come to their aid sometime during their journey. Beorn is a shape-shifter and a very strong warrior and had a huge influence to help the dwarves continue on their journey.

__"Additional Information"__

When Gandalf left the dwarves and Bilbo alone to proceed on their journey I was kind of confused by this until I realized it was a message. I think that the author made Gandalf leave them because now it was Bilbo’s time to save the dwarves. Although Gandalf did leave, I think that he will be back sometime in this novel. He will probably come at the worst of times for the dwarves and save them all. "Good-bye! Be good, take care of yourselves." I really like how the author leaves so many little messages here and there because it really enhances the reading experience. When Gandalf left the dwarves and Bilbo they don’t realize that he isn’t going to leave forever and that it was a sort of inspiration.

__Journal Entry 4__
__The Hobbit__ - __Friday, January, 6, 2011__ - __Pages 154 - 210__

__3.__ - __"What has happened before the novel began?"__

The most important thing that has happened before this novel has begun is that Smaug the dragon attacked the dwarves. He flew down from the mountains and past the river over to where the dwarves live. He had killed many dwarves and destroyed almost all of their houses. Thorin and the dwarves wanted vengeance on Smaug. They have planned to go into the mountain and take all of Smaug’s treasures. The dwarves were all ready for the journey, but there were thirteen of them and that was an unlucky number so they needed one more person. They did not begin their journey until they found the chosen one to help their dangerous journey to kill Smaug.

__6.__ - __"What is the setting of the novel? Is the setting important or could the novel be happening anywhere? Why?"__

The setting of this novel is in the mountains a long time ago and it is a very important setting. If this novel took place in the dessert it wouldn’t really fit in because they travel into so many different tunnels and rivers. There isn’t really and water or tunnels in the dessert so the whole novel would have to change and it wouldn’t be as interesting. I think the mountain terrain suits this novel very well because mountains are so big and mysterious and it improves the suspense level of the journey. I really like how the dwarves travel through the mountains and I believe that it has a huge effect on what happens in the novel.

__20.__ - __"Is the novel believable?"__

This novel is not very believable, although it is very mysterious and magical which makes it very interesting to read. The main characters in this novel are dwarves, a wizard, and a hobbit. They are obviously not real creatures. Bilbo has a magic ring that will turn him invisible. In this section of the novel he uses this ring to talk to Smaug without being eaten. “You don’t know everything, O Smaug the Mighty,” Bilbo said this to Smaug and was not killed or eaten by the mighty dragon because he had no idea where Bilbo was. There is a magical side to this novel that makes it not very believable, but it does make this novel very interesting because of the magic that happens.

__"Additional Information"__

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In this section of the novel the dwarves were trapped in cells because of the Wood Elves, but Bilbo thought of a very humorous/smart idea to escape. Bilbo was invisible outside of the cells, but he did not have the keys. He waited for the key master to get really drunk and fall asleep then he quietly grabbed the key from him. He unlocked all the cells and put all the dwarves in barrels. He pushed the barrels out the waterway and they slowly sailed through the river to the mountain. It was a really funny idea because there were fourteen barrels just flowing aimlessly in the river. “I wish he could have arranged a more comfortable journey.” I thought this was a very clever idea of Bilbo and it did get the job done, but it wasn’t the most comfortable way as Thorin had stated.

__Journal Entry 5__
__The Hobbit__ - __Friday, January, 13, 2011__ - __Pages 210 - 272__

__19.__ - __"What message did you get from this novel? How was this message conveyed?"__

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The key message that I got from this novel was to never give up and to believe in yourself. If you always give up, and don’t really try so hard you will never achieve anything in life. Thorin Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins showed an amazing example of this. Thorin would do anything to get the “Arkenstone” from Smaug. Nothing would stop him from being successful. On the other hand, Bilbo only wanted to be safe and sound in his “Hobbit Hole”. This message was easily conveyed because Thorin became so aggravated when he heard that Bilbo gave the “Arkenstone” to Bard. “You! You!” cried Thorin, turning upon him and grasping him with both hands. “You miserable hobbit! You undersized burglar!” He shouted at a loss for words, and he shook poor Bilbo like a rabbit.” Never giving up on your dream was a message easily identified by the attitude of Thorin Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins.

__21.__ - __"Why would you (or why wouldn't you) recommend this novel to a friend?"__

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I would recommend this novel to everyone because of how exciting and adventurous it is. I really liked how the author would go into such detail with each little event that happened. For example, when the wood-elves had trapped all the dwarves, they were trapped in their for two chapters, not two paragraphs. This book was also very suspenseful, which was very entertaining. When the enormous battle between the dwarves, wood-elves, and goblins let loose, I had no idea how it would turnout. When a rock knocked out Bilbo, I really wanted to read the next chapter because I had to know if he was fine or not. “a stone hurtling from above smote heavily on his helm, and he fell with a crash and knew no more.” This book really holds the readers interest through the whole story and is also extremely adventurous and entertaining.

__22.__ - __"Why did (or didn't) this novel meet your expectations?"__

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This novel went far above my expectations because of all the different exciting events that occurred during the story. When my friends recommended this book to me I didn’t really think it was going to be amazing. I thought it was just going to be another war book with countless different battles. This story was actually an exciting adventure to find the “Arkenstone” in the heart of the mountain. I loved how this story was exciting from the first word to the last word. The endings of novels are usually very dull because nothing really happens. In “The Hobbit” it was really funny when they were having an auction at Bilbo’s house. I thought that was a good way to end the novel because it was humorous and exciting in a way. This was an exceptional book and I recommend everyone that is into adventures should read it.

__ "Additional Information" __

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">There was one point of this novel that I thought was kind of dull which was when they realized Smaug was dead. I thought there was going to be an epic battle between Smaug and the dwarves. This was not the case; a new character named Bard had killed Smaug while he was attacking his town. I thought that there quest was to kill Smaug and steal his treasure, but they didn’t even need to kill him. In my opinion this was a very weak part of the novel and did have a huge impact on the outcome of the story.

__Focus Assignment__
__3.__ - "__Your Reaction"__

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">"The Hobbit" is an amazing adventure novel that is all about never giving up on your dream. The author J.R.R. Tolkien was very <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">successful sending this message to the reader. Bilbo Baggins was chosen to go on a quest with the dwarves to steal Smaug’s treasure. Bilbo wanted only one thing and that was to get home safely. The dwarves on the other hand wanted to kill Smaug, steal the “Arkenstone”, and obtain all the treasure. This novel is a non-fiction story, but it is still very realistic. There were a lot of really interesting parts of this novel, but there were also some bad parts. This book has a lot of little messages in it, but the main theme of this novel is to never give up because good things will happen.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The one person that stopped at nothing and would do what ever it took to get his dream was Thorin Oakenshield. He wanted to find Smaug, get the “Arkenstone”, and __nothing__ would stop him. When the wood-elves had trapped all the dwarves Thorin did not give up. He believed in Bilbo to get them out, he never lost hope in his little hobbit. When they had finally got to the treasure and Bilbo secretly took the Arkenstone without anyone noticing, Thorin was full of agony deep inside. He did not show his anger, but he came so far to find nothing. He knew that the Arkenstone was somewhere in that mountain, he just didn’t know where. Thorin worked so hard and he finally achieved his goal, he got the Arkenstone. Thorin Oakenshield never gave up and Gandalf’s magic did help him on the way, although this novel wasn’t 100% unrealistic.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This was a fantasy novel, but it also was very realistic and suspenseful at times in the book. Gandalf would use his magic to get the dwarves out of trouble, for example he lit all of the wolves on fire when they were all trapped. There were a lot of realistic things that happened in this story too. When Bilbo had to rescue the dwarves out of the wood-elves cells, he thought of a very clever idea. He got all the dwarves to go in barrels and roll along the river. This novel was very believable and unbelievable which made it a really amazing novel.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I do recommend everyone to read this book, it was really amazing because of how adventurous and suspenseful it was. This novel has a really amazing plot to it and is very action-packed from the first word of the novel to the last sentence. I loved how the author would go into such detail with each individual event that happened. It was amazing how each character in this novel, never lost hope in their one dream. They all had managed to stay with their goals and achieve them. “The Hobbit” was a fantastic novel and I do recommend everyone reading it because it is so inspirational and suspenseful.

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