The fuss about children’s literature has been started from its definition as literature written especially for children. This explanation is somehow no longer adequate, since there are numbers of violation to this rule. There are books which were intended for adults but now are considered to be children’s (Mark Twain’s “Huckelberry Finn), and vice versa. It then creates a space between the two for works which can belong to both. “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien is one of them.

It might be a simple fantasy novel belongs to children’s literature in the twentieth century for its lacking of allegory and theme simplicity. Yet, Tolkien used his superb skill in linguistics which may cause complication to some points for younger readers to understand.

“The Hobbit” takes place in a realm called Middle-earth, a world full of amazing creatures with their own distinct characteristics, such as: elves, dwarves, trolls, and goblins. There, Bilbo Baggins is a simple hobbit who dwells contently in his nice little hole in Hobbiton. When it is widely known that elf is truly a good race; goblin is the bad race; and human is something in between; it is then arousing curiosity why Tolkien would set a hobbit as the major character instead of others. Although they share elves’ passion for food and poetry, they look nothing like the beautiful folk. They have curly brown hair and their heights vary between three to four feet; a little shorter than dwarves with no fighting skill. Their morality is similar to human; which is commonly good but there are also irritating kinds — such as the Sackville-Bagginses. Though they have sharp seeing and could sneak well despite their plump bodies, they lack of adventurous temperament. They spend their life in the Shire without meddling into outer world affairs.

Our hero, Bilbo Baggins, is such a creature. What makes him different is perhaps his Took side which he inherits from his mother Belladonna Took. The Tooks are known to be eccentric among hobbits. They never quite forget that Bilbo’s ancestor, Bandobras Took, could slay a goblin chieftain. Bilbo, however, wis justly a Baggins; until one day when the mysterious wizard Gandalf the Grey appears on his door way with a band of armed dwarves led by Thorin.

Dwarves always have a lust for fortune. But these dwarves, unfortunately, have lost their kingdom in the Lonely Mountain after Smaug the dragon destroys it and slaughters each one inside. It also has kept the remaining treasure of the dwarves with itself, which they now long to retake. Gandalf then counsels them to hire Bilbo as a burglar to help them. Alas! Bilbo has never thought of leaving his nice little burrow for an adventure. But his pride conquers his hesitation when the dwarves begins to distrust his skill as a rogue. So he accepts the quest with the reward 1/14 of total profits, and hopes that there is truth in Gandalf’s words: “he had something more than meets the eye” .

As there are common characteristics used to classify children’s literature, it would be wise to explore “The Hobbit” based on each of them:

1. Do not contain adult themes
The theme of “The Hobbit” is obviously simple enough to understand by children. This is the typical “good conquered bad” story.

2. Are appropriate for children
This characteristic might be subjective. Yet, in general appropriate would suggest a meaning that the literary work does not contain any violence and sexual depiction, which make this book as harmless as it should be.

3. Deal with themes of growing up, coming to age and maturation.
Bilbo Baggins is 51 years old when he starts the adventure, a mature age in the hobbit period which lasts around 100 years. But the story is emphasized on his character’s development. In the beginning he is an ordinary rich hobbit who enjoys food and poetry; and then later his character develops to be a brave thief, while keeping his common sense and idea of bad and good. He is a classic kind of hero on children literature. He is far from perfect, as he is never good in fighting. Yet he has possessed other skills to prove himself to be worthy in the end.

4. Are plot-oriented (fewer descriptions and ruminations)
Although “The Hobbit” has very thorough descriptions (not necessarily ruminations), it is plot-oriented enough. Tolkien continuously follows Bilbo’s journey and neglects the rest. The third person point of view helps the readers to see what the characters see or do, but not quite yet grasping their feelings.

5. Are educational, or else contain tales of fantasy and adventure.
This is fantasy. If you hold the view that literary work is an imitation of human life, you would likely drop the idea after reading “The Hobbit”. As the result of mimetic criticism, readers of literature might sometimes be mistaken in seeing something that does not really exist; imagining their own imagination as well as interpreting symbols based on their own needs.

Tolkien had confirmed that he dislikes allegory. In this case, it would be out of place to assume that the creatures of Middle-earth were created based on the different races in Europe during the World War II, for example. He preferred history, true or feigned, he said. As a philologist with a huge interest over Old English and ancient mythologies, there is no doubt that he meant to preserve the objects of his concern. The only option left is then to see Bilbo Baggins as his means in directing the story. The story is based on Anglo Saxon mythology, as it is described in how the characters’ aree dressed, or how they give name to their weapons, which has been custom on tales such as King Arthur’s Excalibur. Therefore, this story is rather a pure fantasy with a high sense of literature as it can be seen through the diction. Educational it is, as it teaches many moral lessons wrapped in the manner of ancient English tales with a superb touch of fantasy.

6. Have a happy end, in which good triumphs over evil.
Naturally such a story must end up in a happy ending. But Bilbo had to go through many things before reaching it, which made him more deserve it after all.

He begins the adventure by being sort of a burden for the others, not to mention endangering their life. Yet he never gives up. As the story flows, he could prove his skill as a burglar with the help of this luck; particularly after finding Gollum’s magic ring which could turn him invisible. So there he is; a sudden hero with the help of the magic ring.

Of course luck cannot teach enough lessons for children to learn. Bilbo’s adventure has not yet ended. When the dwarves’ greed over the treasure had blinded their eyes and put them in a conflict against other races due to the share of the treasure, Bilbo keeps his feet on the ground. He gives up his part of the treasure to be given to the human, without betraying his dwarf friends.

However, this novel has also violated some of the common characteristics of the children literature, such as:

7. Have children as protagonist
Although Bilbo is small, he is not at all a child in age.

8. Are written in simple language
As reprinted on the current paperback of “The Silmarillion”, Tolkien said, “Many children make up, or begin to make up, imaginary languages. I have been at it since I could write.” He was an expert in linguistics; which can be seen on the writing of this novel in making it as beautiful as any adult novel can be; adorned with Elvish and other foreign languages of his own invention. The diction might be an extra task for the children to learn nonetheless.

To sum up, does “The Hobbit” belong to children literature or not? I would suggest yes, but that is not all. It is, as previously mentioned; appropriate enough for children to read, given guidance on difficult terms and foreign languages. However, as smart as children can be, this work would be better comprehended by adults seeking for entertainment in literature: serious, playful, compelling, you name it. There is no need of parental advisory label or whatsoever. This is a work for all ages.

This has been originally posted here on March 17, 2005