Deeper and Deeper and McKellan.

       The deeper I get into The Hobbit, the easier it is for me to recognize Tolkiens genius. His work is brilliant. As a celebration of this fantastic writer, I want to take a moment to discuss a couple of things.
       First of all: Tolkiens did not just write stories. His characters didn't just appear in the timeline and serve their purpose in the adventure. Nothing "just happened to be". Everything he did had a reason and a story leading up to it. 
       The Dwarves in The Lord of the Rings were constantly in referring to their heritage and bloodlines. Gimli was the son of Gloin, one of the Dwarves in The Hobbit. This was brought up several times in that particular story. In The Hobbit, the Dwarves were constantly telling stories about their home city and the dragon that stole everything from them. Their entire history was spelled out over the course of the story. 
       The Hobbits don't appear to have much history until you compare The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings. The scenes in which Bilbo gets upset and frantic over not knowing where the ring is are exactly like the scene in The Hobbit in which Gollum faces the same problem. The trolls in The  Hobbit are seen and even spoken about in The  Lord of the Rings. Tolkien made sure that things added up to one incredible story. Value was placed in detail, and that is certainly an incredible thing to find in a piece of writing.
       The second thing I wanted to discuss is my own progress in the book over the past week. I am still taking a lot of enjoyment from this. It keeps me engaged and I always find it hard to put down. The start of the adventure has long since passed and the group is now beginning to experience serious challenges with the forces who would stop them from achieving their goal. 
       I understand that it has become cliche to be as huge a Gandalf fan as I am, but he is one wizard that is not to be messed with. His witty comments and general Gandalfiness might be my favorite parts of this book. In the movies, Gandalf was played by Sir Ian McKellan. I just thought I would let you all know that Ian is the bee's knees. 
       I am excited to continue reading The Hobbit and I hope that my thoughts over the connections sparked some curiosity to go and find them by reading the books rather than watching the movies. Books are better, after all. Everyone knows that! Until next time...