Should The Hobbit Be Incorporated Into Classrooms?

Should The Hobbit be incorporated into classrooms?

As students walk into their classroom and open up their books, the same question lingers in all of their minds: what makes a book worthy of classroom study? For many, The Hobbit may not immediately come to mind, but J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale has much to offer the contemporary classroom. J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit explores multiple themes that are relevant to students' lives, is exceptionally engaging, and the book has countless opportunities that allow students to build connections with the characters. All of these clearly show the importance of having The Hobbit taught in contemporary classrooms. First and foremost J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Hobbit should be taught in classrooms

Tolkien is a more appealing book for teens compared to other classics. One reason that makes The Hobbit more interesting is the setting, especially when Tolkien is describing a hobbit hole in which our main character Bilbo lives. Tolkien describes Bilbo’s home as “not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort” (Tolkien 3). This clearly shows that this book is different from other classics and much more interesting because it has a different setting than most other classics. For it is set in a mystical place, and with ideas and creatures that we aren’t familiar with. Which allows the book to be much more interesting from the very beginning. Continuing with the point made before John Garth also talks about how the setting is extremely interesting when saying that, “no writer in the English language has ever created a more complete world than John Ronald Reuel Tolkien” (Garth). Which clearly shows a reason as to why The Hobbit should be incorporated into the classroom, for the setting is different from other books in the fact with how complete and awe inspiring the world is. Which also proves the point how interesting and engaging the setting is.. Which allows the reader to be much more immersed into the book making it much more engaging for students. Another

Tolkien’s book also has a multitude of opportunities where students can form personal connections with the characters. The Hobbit is a book that teens can build personal connections with, which creates a great book to be taught in the classroom. Most student readers do not enjoy the classics that they read in class, but there are better solutions to this than getting rid of classics altogether. Fallen produces an excellent conclusion about this when she says “maybe readers are reluctant because we are not providing enough opportunities for them to connect” (Fallen). This is a great concept since students who read these books do not believe that the classics relate to them, since classics are believed to be so old fashioned and outdated. This shows that maybe instead of just letting students read the books on their own, teachers should teach about the connections that the students can construct with the book instead of just letting them do it on their own. The Hobbit is the best book for this because it has countless opportunities for students to connect, especially if teachers help guide them toward those connections. Though some students have a hard time making connections towards classics, Fallen has an excellent opinion on this when she says that students “cannot truly understand what it feels like to be Hester Prynne in 1850. They can, however, understand what it feels like to be ostracized in today’s