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.

chapters 3-5 questions

The Hobbit

Chapters 3-5 Study Questions

1. Describe the elves and briefly discuss Bilbo’s relationship with them.  What insights can you offer about both through their relationship? He gets along well with them and enjoys their company although he is a little scared of them. They are noble and fair beings.

2. Describe Elrond and discuss in what ways he advances the plot of the story. He tells about the goblins and Moria. He tells them about the moon runes and what they say.

3. Having found refuge in the cave from the stone-giants, Bilbo has a dream that partly comes true.  Describe the dream and the aspects that are realized.  Then explore the symbolic significance of the dream. That a crack appears in the floor and a ramp comes up from it basically. When he wakes up he realizes the part about a crack is true. The significance of the dream could be that he was in trouble.

4. Who/what are the goblins?  What do they add to this story?  Describe them thoroughly and assess what their song reveals about them. They live in caves and tunnels underground. They are big and ugly looking. They have stony voices. Some goblins also have large heads. From their song, they seem to be loud, abrasive creatures that are unmerciful and enjoy causing pain and discomfort. They show in the story that there are truly evil creatures and they further the plot along by allowing Bilbo to meet Gollum.

5. Gandalf is a wizard of many talents.  Describe some of the ways in which he has helped Bilbo and the dwarves, and then describe some of what he can’t or won’t do and explain why. He has many magical abilities like throwing his voice and some destructive magic. He is willing to use magic to harm creatures that mean the group harm, but he wont use it because he dosent want to and that he has his limits.

6. One of the most memorable characters in all of literature is Gollum.  Define what it is that makes Gollum so memorable.  What is most important to him?  What do his appearance and his “home” reveal about him?  Why does he converse with his “precious” and why does he refer to himself as “we”?  His way of talking and his intense focus on the ring make him memorable. Plus, the fact that he is entirely different from all other creatures helps make him stand out. The ring is most important to him. That he is dark minded, slimy and undesirable. They also place him as a trickster and someone you cant trust. I beleive he refers to the ring as precious and himself as we because he is insane and that is just how he talks now.

7. What is revealed about Bilbo and Gollum respectively through the riddles each of them asks?  What stops Bilbo from killing Gollum?  What is the winning riddle that Bilbo asks Gollum? That Gollum prefers more dark and morbid things and Bilbo prefers light and wholesome things. Bilbo doesnt kill Gollum because at the last minute he feels pity for Gollum. He asks Gollum what he has in his pocket.

8. Why is finding the ring seen as Bilbo’s “turning point in his career”? It allows him to sneak around unseen and after his brush with Gollum he becomes more confident and sure of himself.

What is Bilbo’s response to Gollum’s outrage and pain?  What does that tell you? He has no compassion for him. He simply does not care. It tells me that Bilbo can be hard and uncaring and at times selfish.

my own riddle

I am not created by violence, nor can I be sustained by it.
The government hates me and angsty teenagers love me.
What am I? 

My chosen riddle

A certain crime is punishable if attempted but not punishable if committed. What is it?

Stone Questions

1. That trolls are dark and evil creatures and that light is good and it cleanses evil.

2. I believe we would because The Hobbit portrays them as bad so their would be no moral problem with it, plus the legend behind trolls would have faded away by our present time and would have been forgotten.

3. I think he would feel the same as me, since he is implying they would have there own little happy world inside the stone and would not care what happens outside.

4. That that is how he would like to die and go when he is dead. He is implying about stones that inside them there might be light and color and heat and other such things.

5. I think he would like the poem and maybe even agree with it.