The Hobbit Research Paper

“Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, but taste completely different” (Stephen King). The Hobbit, originally written by JRR Tolkien and directed in film by Peter Jackson, is a story about Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit used to the sedentary lifestyle who also owns a magic ring that turns him invisible, pursuing an adventure with Thorin and Company, a group of dwarves seeking to reclaim their lost treasure from Smaug, a dragon who conquered the lost kingdom of Dale, ruled by Thorin’s ancestors. The stories themselves of both film and novel are very similar in structure. The chapter “Barrels out of Bond” contains the Wood-elves imprisoning the dwarves, with Bilbo barely slipping out. Using his magic ring to turn invisible,

The dwarves had floated safely down the Forest River after escaping the Wood-elves’ captivity in the novel, whereas they are chased in the film. Evidence from the novel to the party’s safe passage is, “Then the hurrying water of the Forest River swept all the company of casks and tubs away to the north bank, in which it had eaten out a wide bay” (Tolkien 186). Tolkien had perhaps wished to give Thorin and Company, as well as the reader, a moment of rest to prepare for their next episode of excitement. Therefore, Tolkien wrote the river ride as mostly uneventful. In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the Orcs kill the bridge guards and are commanded by their leader to, “Slay them all!” (Jackson). The added effect of visuals allows the viewer to absorb the content, rather than savor it, as opposed to text. Ergo, in order to keep the viewer on edge, Peter Jackson had added an action scene to excite the viewer. Additional excitement was added by pressing music and constant movement, keeping the action flowing. The effect of this change on the story is due to Jackson perhaps wanting to create higher tensions between the Orcs and the Dwarves, which was done effectively: the intensity of the scene was heavy with excitement. In summary, Thorin and his party are pursued by Orcs and Wargs in the film, as opposed to the uneventful float down in the

Evidence from the novel is, “Then the hurrying water of the Forest River swept all the company of casks and tubs away to the north bank, in which it had eaten out a wide bay” (Tolkien 186). As written in the last paragraph, Tolkien perhaps gave the reader and dwarves a moment of rest to steel themselves against the future struggles. In the film, Kili took an arrow in the knee from an Orc (Jackson). Jackson’s intent for this was to show that the dwarves were in a very real danger. Kili was not invulnerable, but was capable of making mistakes. This made him more relatable for the audience, and had developed his character to something more human than just a silhouette of person. This change also increased suspense, further amplified by the camera panning over Kili after he gets shot, with him in intense pain. The effect of this on the story is that there will be much more casualties sustained, adding to the grim realism intended by Jackson. This evoked the realization that almost anything could jeopardize their quest for treasure in a gruesome manner. To summarize, Kili is injured in the film, while the entire company of dwarves floated down the river unharmed in the