A Children's Story: Critical Analysis of Context Behind The Hobbit Jarrett Nichole Bowen College

Through the knowledge that J.R.R. Tolkien’s widely beloved fantasy novel, The Hobbit, was originally an oral story meant to entertain his own young children, the story, structure, narration, and style of the book can be understood through a clearer and more accurate lens. Tolkien began to create the world of Middle-Earth, its characters, and the events revolving around those characters during the year 1930. At first, The Hobbit existed only through oral tales and bedtime stories told by Tolkien to his young children as a form of fun entertainment spawned by his overflowing creativity and personal interest in fantasy. This seemingly simple background of story-telling led the novel to become a fantastic work driven specifically towards the audience of young children, with a proper tone, narrative voice, and structure to fit that intention.

Understanding the context of The Hobbit as a story geared towards young children unveils the exact purpose of the narrator’s tone and method of story-telling throughout the book. Tolkien delivers his story through the conversational voice of a non-participating, informative, and paternal narrator who provides personal opinions regarding the characters and current events within the novel,...