ch19

In chapter 19, Dain, One of Thorin's relatives, is positioned as the king of the mountain, Bard is positioned as the new ruler of Laketown, and Bilbo gets a good share of the treasure from Bard. Soon, Bilbo Baggins returns home although the dwarfs and the wood elfs are finally at peace and enjoying each others company. Rather than going through Mirkwood like he had originally, he went with Gandalf and Beorn north taking the long way. When they reach Rivendell, they all exchange stories. Although Bilbo has gotten all this treasure, none of the hobbits really respect him.

I liked chapter 19 because it gave me the sign of relief that I'm finally done reading this book. Ha ha, I'm just kidding. I liked chapter 19 because it tied up all the lose ends of the novel and ended the book happily ever after without you pondering wondering what certain things are trying to tell you and are confused and left by a big line across the page saying "To Be Continued" and are expected to read the next book. Although I usually don't prefer happy endings, if you want to get a child to like such a book like this, you kind of have to make them happy rather then make them cry.

I also found the ending kind of random in some ways because the characters that end up being the king of the mountain and the ruler of Laketown are not met until near the end of the book. Usually, the leader or the king is met at the very beginning of the book and is usually the main character like Bilbo. I'm surprised that Bilbo dosn't just live in Lake town after going through so much adventure with all the dwarfs, especially if none of the hobbits really like Bilbo.

ch17&18

In chapter 17, Bard offers Thorin another agreement and he declines it for the second time. When he does this, he shows him the arkenstone and Bilbo tells him that he gave it to them. When Thorin becomes very angry at Bilbo, one of the messengers reveals himself to be Gandalf, silences Thorin and Bilbo tells Thorin that he thought that the elves needed their fair share. In order to gain the arkenstone, Thorin offers a fourteenth of the treasure to them. Although this is true, Thorin knows that his relatives are coming toward the mountain and with their help can regain the arkenstone with power. When they come, an army of goblins comes along with them and the dwarfs and the elves are forced to fight together against the goblins. Later in the fight, eagles come from the sky to help the elves and dwarfs but Bilbo falls into a coma from being hit in the head with a rock. In chapter 18, Bilbo wakes up with a head ache, eventually figures out that the dwarfs and the elves won, two of the dwarfs, Fili and Kili died, and then Gandalf tells him what happened.  

I don't like chapter 17 because there's a lot more talking and arguing than there is action, its kind of like a soap opera. Maybe I'm a little bit too critical but I can get bored really easily. I think that Thorin needs to be more thankful that he's alive on this long journey rather than he being so angry for only getting thirteen fourteenths of the treasure. I'm surprised he hasn't figured out by now that he can't always get what he wants after getting in so much trouble from being so risky.

I liked chapter 18 because of the intensity of the battle. Of coarse, it was obvious from the beginning that the dwarfs were going to win it was just the wondering of how that was the most interesting. Although the outcome was expected, I would've never expected Bilbo to be knocked unconscious during the war because the main character is always in the action. If I were Bilbo though, I don't think I'd forgive Thorin for saying what I did because I think he needs to learn a lesson by not being so prideful

ch 15&16

In chapter 15, the humans from Laketown send a raven to tell the group of dwarfs that Smaug is dead along with all of Laketown and Thorin plans to fight them for it. When the dwarfs get to the gate, they build a wall and the elves soon approach them. When they do Bard asks if they would share the treasure because of all that they have been through but Thorin does not let them because it was originally owned by his people. Bilbo greatly disagrees with this but feels that he can do nothing about it. In chapter 16, Thorin continues to look for the arkenstone in which Bilbo has. Because Bilbo disagrees so much with Throin, he decides that in the middle of the night that he sneak out to the elves' campsite and give them the arkenstone. When Bilbo runs back up the mountain, he runs into Gandalf who is very proud of what Bilbo has done.

After reading chapter 15, I have now came to the permanent conclusion that Thorin is more selfish then the Great Goblin because he will not even give valubles to someone who's town just got demolished by a dragon and has no home. It's not like he would actually win in a fight against all those elves. I believe that if anyone, Thorin deserves to die. It seems to me that Bilbo is the only one that actually has a brain in the group that he is in and is the only reason that all the dwarves are still up and moving.

I liked chapter 16 because its more towards the climax of the story and is much more intense than the other chapters. I liked the decision that Bilbo makes in how he gives the arkenstone to the oposite team and stands up for what he thinks is right rather than falling into peer preasure like the rest of the dwarfs do. I feel as if this book is coming to a very smooth ending with a good way to conclude the moral of the story which is that you have to do the right things and do as told in order to get what you want.

ch 13&14

In chapter 13, Smaug assumes that they are somehow involved with Lake Town and he goes there. When he does, Bilbo checks to see if he's gone and the dwarfs approach the treasure with pleasure. When all the dwarfs get what they want, they head towards the main gate at the river. Later they become hungry and find a good place to stop and eat at. In chapter 14, Smaug arrives at Laketown and everybody prepares to fire arrows at them but fail to defend the town when Smaug lights everyones homes on fire and the arrows take no effect. In the end, there is still one man who has not fired his arrow named Bard who kills the dragon but destroys the town when the dragon falls from the sky and crushes it. Suddenly, the townsmen realize that they can use much of the gold on the mountain to rebuild their town and they join up with the elves and walk up to the mountain.

Chapter 13 bored me because nothing really happened besides I don't like happy endings because of there unoriginality especially one that involves some secret treasure that the protagonists find. Although dragons are also unoriginal, I find dragons more amusing, funner to slay, and more suspenseful then a treasure. Basically an idea that is unoriginal is copied from someone else and there's no point to reading the same thing or idea twice so I kind of find it pointless.

I liked chapter 14 because I like war rather than a bunch of dwarfs going on an adventure like the book has been like so far. I also like this chapter because it changes the viewpoint of the book to that of the people of Laketown rather than that of the dwarfs. I like this because I like variety because without variety, stuff can get really old after a while, kind of like if you had to work at Dunkin' Donuts everyday of your life how boring and annoying that would be after like the first month or two.

ch11&12

In chapter 11, the dwarfs discover that the door to the south is too dangerous, but eventually, the dwarfs find out that after sunset, a single ray of sun knocks off a rock from the door revealing a key hole and Thorin puts the key from the map and puts it in the keyhole. In chapter 12, Bilbo is asked upon by the dwarfs to go between the mountains and snoop around. There is where he finds a dragon named Smaug who is taking a nap by many piles of golden cups and Bilbo takes one and sprints back to the group. When the dragon notices that one of the cups has been taken, he becomes very angered and he flies around the mountain searching for who did it and he finds the ponies and eats them. While this is happening, the group of dwarfs hide by the secret passage and Bilbo later has to sprint as fast as he can in order to barely make it to the door and shut it as an avalanche occurs and the group of dwarfs are trapped in the mountain.

I liked chapter 11 because it involves a mystery rather than an adventure because it is a mystery how to open the door. Usually in most chapters, there are no mysteries involved. For example, it's really not a mystery that the goblins stealing your ponies and the dragon running like mad around the mountain are antagonists, nor is it a mystery that Bilbo is not going to die from the dragon because he is the main character of the novel and that rarely ever happens, especially in a children's book like this one.

I have mixed feelings about chapter 12. The part that I like about this chapter is that they finally introduced a dragon into the novel. In my opinion, I feel that a sci-fi story based on early civilization like this one is never complete without a dragon somewhere in it and if this chapter were erased from the novel that this book would be incomplete. The part that I disliked about this chapter is that rather than slaying the dragon, Bilbo just runs away. Why didn't he just slay the dragon with Thorin's sword? Wouldn't that be pretty easy if you're invisible?

ch 9 & 10

In chapter 9, the rest of the group, just like Thorin, is kidnapped by the elves. Because the ring makes Bilbo invisable, he sneaks past all the elves and gets all his buddies out of the dungeon by hiding them in barrels. In chapter 10, they flow down the river toward Laketown. When they reach Laketown, Bilbo frees everyone from the barrels. Thorin feels as if he serves a new purpose and tells the king that he is a desendant of the king under the mountain and says that he wants his thrown back and the town celebrates and treats all of the dwarfs as if they were royal.

I disliked chapter 9 because I think that the elves should mind there own buisness rather than imprisoning the dwarfs just for passing by their forest or whatever. It seems like there are too many people in this book who are antisocial that live in caves or forests away from everyone else. I think that rather than going through the forest, the group of dwarfs should go through the city where people are more social and welcoming and spiders and goblins don't come out of nowhere waiting to kill you.

I liked chapter 10 because this is when the dwarfs first encounter humans (or a better way to say this, something that actually exists in the real world). Honestly, I'm not much of a fan of sci-fi. I just thought taking this class would be an easy "A" because I thought we would be watching more movies than reading books.

ch 7&8

In chapter 7, Gandolf says he must leave the group of dwarfs after he leads them to Beorn's house but will help them with things when necessary. Beorn gives the group basic needs and tells them they should take the elf path through Elkwood. After this, the group heads to the forest where the elf path is. In chapter 8, the group heads through the forest and finds it very creepy and dark with no end to be in sight. Soon enough, it gets so dark that everyone gets separated from one another and after hearing many voices and trying to find them, Bilbo becomes exhausted and decides to dose off. When Bilbo awakens, he finds himself tangled in spider web and he has to slice himself out of it and kill the spider. After this, he finds that everyone else is also tangled in webs as well and has to cut them free. When they're all free, they realize that Thorin is missing and has been taken by the elves.

I disliked chapters 7 and 8 because after reading this far into the book, it seems to be extremely repetitive. Each chapter starting from chapter 2 starts out where they run into a group of elves that either help the group out by telling them where to go to get somewhere or by giving them food and ponies or they run into goblins that either kidnap them or threaten to eat them or else they run into something like spiders, as in chapter 7, where they do the same as the goblins and usually this all happens because one of the dwarfs doesn't listen to what one of the helper elves that they "just happen to run into" say.

There also many other things that confuse me so far in this book. A couple great examples of this would be if Gandalf is magical enough to command random  eagles to come out of no where to save them then why can't Gandalf just transport the group to the Lonely mountain rather than making them suffer like 10 chapters going through forests and mountains? Does he not have anything else to do in his spare time? Has this question never came across his mind at least once? Why do people make books that make me want to ask so many questions? Do they not have anything to do in their spare time as well? How can I write paragraphs about my opinion if I have so many questions left unanswered? If you want my opinion, I think this book is too unamusing to be taught to a teenage audience.

ch5&6

In chapters 5, Bilbo falls down a hole in the cave and meets Golum and they have a riddling contest. If Bilbo wins, he gets let free. If Golum wins, he gets to eat Bilbo. Fortunately, Bilbo wins but Golum discovers he has the ring and he will not let Bilbo free. Although they wont let him free, as always, the protagonist wins and Bilbo escapes. In chapter 6, Bilbo finds Gandolf along with the rest of the dwarfs. When they continue on their journey, they start to hear wolves and they hide in pine trees, Gandalf finds pine cones, catches them on fire and throws them at the wolves. When the pine cones hit the wolves, they caught on fire and caught the goblins' attention. When they noticed this, they lit the trees on fire and giant eagles amazing swoop down and save their endangered lives.
I liked chapter 5 because I like riddles. I like riddles because they rhyme and rhymes always seem to easily catch my attention and when my attention is easily caught, I tend to remember things a whole lot easier. I like when I remember things because then I get good grades. I also find Golum to be a lowlife because all that he does in his spare time is talk to himself and makes up riddles. Where is his social life? Why doesn't he want out of the cave? These things very much confuse me.
I liked chapter 6 because it has a very random ending of eagles saving their lives. I mean you would at least expect that Gandalf and the goblins would get in some sort of battle. In a way, this ruins what could have happened in the story. This is because if Gandalf got in a huge battle with the goblins, it would've definitely increased the intensity and suspense of that time in the story rather than spoiling it with an uncreative ending. But as I said earlier, I like this because it was very unoriginal and unexpected.