This Friday marks the long-awaited/much-bemoaned arrival of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. While the movie will undoubtedly be visually delicious, but it remains to be seen if it can capture the delight of Tolkien’s children’s story or recapture the sense of awe that the Lord of the Ring films embued.
Something about Tolkien’s work keeps bringing us back. With four official books, hundreds of thousands of posthumously published notes, and a whole weeks worth of movie, its clear that there is something that draws us to Middle Earth, and will continue to do so for decades to come.
So what is it about these short, furry-footed homebodies we love so much? What can we learn about living life from them?
“There and Back Again” is the key to understanding The Hobbit.
Bilbo was not looking for an adventure. He had a good life in a home he loved. He eats seven meals a day and enjoys his pipe. His adventure is predicated on leaving and hopefully returning to the comforts of home.
In a world where the average American moves every two or three years, and no one knows their neighbors, it’s important to consider how putting down roots for awhile will help is live fuller adventures in the future.
We find meaning in adventures, not stuff.
The villain of The Hobbit is not that different than the hero. They both live alone in holes in the ground, where they hoard their belongings. But by the time Bilbo encounters Smaug, he has changed. He has become a burglarer, a riddle contest champion, and a warrior. When given the chance, Bilbo gives over his portion of the treasure to save his friends. In the end, Bilbo has the treasure he needs, but more importantly, he has memories and friends.
Life is better when done with others.
At the beginning of Bilbo’s story, we find him alone in his hole, and quite upset at being interrupted by Wizards and Dwarves. At the end, he couldn’t be more thrilled to be interrupted again. Likewise, the Lord of the Rings is driven by the idea of a few friends, banding together against all odds. It almost seems like Tolkien was constantly trying to recapture the sense of purposeful friendship found in the trenches of WWI. This idea has been labeled Communitas, “a community formed in the context of an ordeal, challenge, task or mission…where friends become comrades.” In a country that seems to have an epidemic of isolation and depression, Middle Earth promises that true community can be found when vastly different people are drawn together for a common purpose.
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