The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Book Analysis

J.R.R. Tolkien does many things in his stories to make them engaging for children. Tolkien adds literary devices to his stories to highlight the important concepts, and to help the readers connect to the characters. These devices can be used in different ways, at the same time. Tolkien’s The Hobbit makes the story appeal to both adults and children by using literary devices such as imagery, figurative language, and foreshadowing. 

Specifically,  throughout the story, Tolkien uses imagery as a literary device many times. Tolkien uses it when he describes Bilbo’s home. It says, “In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit” (Tolkien 1). He is showing how Bilbo’s home is so the reader understands his conditions. Another way imagery is used is when they are going to the Misty Mountains. Tolkien describes this by saying, “Dark and drear it looked, though tips of snow-peaks gleamed”(Tolkien 43). Tolkien says this trying to get the image of the setting in the reader's head. Tolkien describes the images with detail and adjectives, making them exciting for children and adults' imaginations. This is just one of the many ways literary devices are used in the story.

Figurative language is another literary device used in the story to make it relate to other things in the reader's real life and to make the reader understand what he is talking about. For example, in Chapter One, Tolkien is talking about the hobbit-hole and uses a simile to describe it. It says “A perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green” (Tolkien 1). Tolkien is showing how a hobbit-hole is similar to a porthole to tell the reader what a hobbit-hole is. Another example of figurative language is the metaphor “Every worm has its weak spot.” (Tolkien 221) Bilbo’s father said this and now Bilbo is because he is comparing Smaug, the big dragon, to a tiny worm. These comparisons help engage children and adults by creating images in the reader's mind with similes and conveying more emotions with metaphors.

In addition, foreshadowing is a literary device used throughout the story. Tolkien uses foreshadowing to help the reader make predictions through the story. Foreshadowing starts at the very beginning of the story in chapter one when Bilbo is being described. Tolkien is trying to get it across to the reader who the character is. He is part blood of both Baggins and Took, which is different because hobbits do not adventure. “Belladonna Took never any adventures after she became Mrs. Baggins” (Tolkien 3), claims Tolkien. After marrying Mr. Baggins, she never took adventures since she was part of them now. Another example of foreshadowing is when they are given suggestions of the danger Bilbo and the crew are going to face. It says, “Only Gandalf had shaken his head and said nothing” (Tolkien 56). The quote in the story shows how Gandalf is taking this suggestion. Foreshadowing is another type of literary device used in the story.

In conclusion, literary devices are used in many ways throughout the story. Tolkien’s The Hobbit makes the story appeal to both adults and children by using literary devices such as imagery, figurative language, and foreshadowing. All of these devices help build the story for readers to understand. The use of literary devices connects to the theme of The Hobbit by embedding the theme into different parts that connect the devices in the story.