The Hobbit Book vs Film

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Yasemin Akyurek 31/12/14 Movie Assignment Bilbo Baggins: Film vs Book J.R.R. Tolkien’s children’s book The Hobbit is a much loved classic. Prequel to the ever popular Lord of the Rings, there are few who are unfamiliar with the adventures of Bilbo Baggins who is thrust into a life changing quest with a band of dwarves and Gandalf the wizard. When Peter Jackson came out with his cinematic representation of The Hobbit many were excited to see the tale come to life on a screen. Upon watching Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey I couldn’t help but notice some differences between the character I had imagined from reading the book and the character portrayed by actor Martin Freeman. Bilbo Baggins is introduced to the reader in the very first chapter An Unexpected Party as a seemingly typical hobbit; he loves food, his pipe and the comforts of his home in Bag End. Bilbo is a Baggins who are considered “very…respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected” (12). However, there is more to Bilbo than meets the eye as he is also part Took who are “not entirely hobbitlike” (13) due to their knack for adventure. Initially the movie portrays Bilbo accurately when he encounters Gandalf the wizard and politely declines his suggestion for an adventure, “Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning!” (17). The first shift in character between the book and the movie is apparent when the dwarves begin to show up at his house the following day. In the book Bilbo is not a very proactive character, he merely reacts to the uncomfortable situations he is tossed into which is seen when the dwarves arrive and he is unable to be anything other than hospitable despite his confusion, “‘Come in and Have some tea!’ he managed to say after taking a deep breath” (19). However in

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