Mirkwood poem

They walked in single file,
into a gloomy tunnel.
What made noises could not be seen,
sometimes yellow or red or green eyes would stare.

A gloomy party each night,
no hope of ever getting to the end.
Lay down and die of starvation,
this they all did that day.

Chapter 8 quesrions

The Hobbit

Chapter 8 Study Questions

1. The closing lines of chapter 7 tell us, “Now began the most dangerous part of the journey” as they “plunged into the forest.”  List and briefly describe the dangers they meet and confront in Mirkwood Forest.  Why is this called the most dangerous part of the journey? It was dark in there, moths at night, spiders, food started running out, nothing edible to eat from the forest, only have a limited water supply, elfs in the woods,

2. List all the things black Bilbo and the dwarves encounter in Mirkwood Forest.  What does Tolkien communicate through this imagery? The the light, the water, the squirrels and the spiders. He uses black to show that they could be evil or diseased things.  

3. Bilbo and the dwarves have varying responses to light in this chapter.  What are the responses and what meaning do they carry? What do they learn from their encounters with the light? Some of them enjoy the light and that could show that they are fundamentally happy people.

4. What role do the spiders play in this chapter?  What does the great spider do to Bilbo and what is his response?  What heroic feat is Bilbo able to perform because he stays clear of the webs? They are the main obstacle for this chapter. The spider tries to tie up Bilbo but Bilbo fends him off and kills him. He manages to save the dwarves.

5. How is Bilbo viewed by the dwarves at the end of the chapter?  Why?  What does that say about how self-esteem is built? They admire and respect him a great deal more because he saved them. It says that you have to earn self esteem and respect through great deeds.

6. The dwarves recognise that Bilbo possesses three essential qualities for success.  Name these qualities.  Do you agree with the dwarves?  He had wits, luck and a magic ring. I agree with the dwarves.

Poem Stanzas

The wind passed around two lovers
and above their house it hovers;
while the world seeks to bring them down,
the wind is their only cover.

Chapters 6-7 questions

The Hobbit

Chapters 6-7 Study Questions

1. Having escaped the elves, Bilbo is momentarily quite alone.  As he walks to the other side of the Misty Mountains, what is he thinking?  Do these thoughts express a crucial change in him?  Why? He is wondering about Gandalf and the dwarves and wondering whether they got out ok. I do not believe this shows a crucial change in him because any ordinary person would wonder about their companions in an event like this and because Bilbo has been friendly towards them so far so that implies that he likes and cares about them at least a little bit.

2. “... Bilbo’s reputation went up a very great deal with the dwarves after” which event? When he finds their camp after the mines and sneaks in wearing the ring so nobody can see him. They all believe that he had just snuck in and was astonishingly sneaky.

3. Gandalf urges the group to travel at once and quickly to put space between themselves and the goblins.  He then adds, “You lose track of time inside goblin-tunnels.”  Speculate as to the symbolic significance of this loss of time. Time is important in their travels and if they lose time they could miss out on traveling through certain paths.

4. When the dwarves and Bilbo fear a pack of evil howling wolves (Wargs), what do they do to protect themselves? They climbed up trees.

5. Why are the Wargs puzzled and angry at the dwarves and Bilbo?Because they planned on raiding a nearby town with the goblins and having discovered the group there, they thought they were spies.

6. Describe the ordeal Bilbo and the dwarves have to endure at the hands of the goblins before they are rescued by the eagles. They are stuck in trees for awhile until Gandalf starts lighting things on fire causing the wolves to freak out. Then the goblins arrived and steered the fire towards the dwarves trees.

7. Being rescued is a frightening proposition for Bilbo and one that prompts him to drumble.  However, he soon reminds himself “not to be rude to an eagle, when you are only the size of a hobbit.”  What has happened to Bilbo since his heroic escape from Gollum’s cave that reminds him of his low stature? That he had to be rescued and would have died otherwise.

8. Describe Beorn.  What does he represent and how does he enhance the significance of this tale? He was a large muscled man with a big beard.  He is kind of like a lumberjack and is friends with Radagast. He allows Gandalf to summerize what has happened so far.

9. Beorn abandons his guests for nearly two days, leaving them to wonder what happened to him.  What happened to him? He had gone out and gathered information from the goblins and wargs.

10. What provisions and advice does Beorn give the travelers as they prepare for their journey into the Milkwood?  How is the advice received? He gave them food and ponies.

11. Why does Gandalf plan to abandon Bilbo and the dwarves at the edge of the Mirkwood Forest, that most dangerous of places?

12. The narrator tells us that “now began the most dangerous part of all the journey.”  Aside from a literal interpretation, how else could this warning be construed?

Measuring Corruptibility

If I was offered what I wanted most unconditionally, I believe I would say no, simply because at this point in time I don't know what I want most.

Fame-1 I think fame is corrupting simply because when you are that popular it gives you a god complex and it exposes you to things you normally would not be exposed to.
Beauty-3 I think beauty is corrupting because when you are "beautiful" people compliment you a lot so that it goes to your head and can make you think you are better than other people.
Immortality-7 I think this is the least likely to corrupt because you would see other people die, you would lose friends and family till you realize that nothing lasts and it would make you humble.
World Peace-8 technically speaking if you possesses world peace then that would make you the most humble and peaceful person out there.
Invisibility-4 Because you would consider yourself untouchable and the master off all things sneaky.
Clairvoyance-2 Because you would consider yourself smarter than everyone else.
Money-5 I still think money is highly corrupting, I just don't want to change any other places out. Its basically the same reason as fame. I would place it as 2.
Security-6 Not very corrupting because i dont think you would believe you are better than other people.  

Shadow Bride Questions

                                         Shadow Bride Questions

1. I think the lady represents light and the man represents dark.

2. Because he is darkness and darkness has no shadow.

3. She brings him to life. She has this effect because she is the opposite of him.

4. Because her shadow is darkness so he could consume her and wrap her in darkness as well.

5. Undedrground has no day or night.

6. He strives for one shadow which would mean the absence of light so there would be darkness. Light and darkness are said alot in this poem.

7. Darkness- night, shadow, moon, stars, grey, twilight.

   Light- day, sun. dawn.

8. Light and Dark. i believe his theme was to show the difference about light and dark and how dark absorbs everything.