The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again Chapter 12 Quotes
The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again Chapter 12 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 7
So Bilbo told them all he could remember, and he confessed that he had a nasty feeling that the dragon guessed too much from his riddles added to the camps and the ponies. [...]
"Well, well! It cannot be helped and it is difficult not to slip in talking to a dragon, or so I have always heard," said Balin anxious to comfort him. "I think you did very well, if you ask me – you found out one very useful thing at any rate, and got home alive, and that is more than most can say who have had words with the likes of Smaug." (12.86-7)
In getting cocky and taunting Smaug, Bilbo told the dragon more than he meant to about where he comes from (e.g., "Barrel-Rider" = from Lake-town). But now that Bilbo has actually made a mistake, Balin is "anxious to comfort him." So Balin, at least, seems to be pulling real friend duty with Bilbo. His loyalty to Bilbo doesn't seem to be dutiful.
Quote 8
Already he was a very different hobbit from the one that had run out without a pocket-handkerchief from Bag-End long ago. He had not had a pocket-handkerchief for ages. He loosened his dagger in its sheath, tightened his belt, and went on. (12.8)
What does Bilbo's pocket-handkerchief (or lack thereof) tell us about what kind of a hobbit he was back in Bag-End? What kind of a hobbit is he now, as he heads down to see Smaug and his treasure? How do you see Bilbo's character developing over the course of The Hobbit?
Quote 9
A sound, too, began to throb in his ears, a sort of bubbling like the noise of a large pot galloping on the fire, mixed with a rumble as of a gigantic tom-cat purring. This grew to the unmistakable gurgling noise of some vast animal snoring in its sleep down there in the red glow in front of him.
It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. he fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait. (12.12)
Bilbo's decision to go into the dragon's lair alone is the bravest thing that he has ever done, he feels. Do you agree? Are there other moments in the novel that stand out to you as equally (or even more) brave? What is it about this particular moment that requires all of Bilbo's courage?