There & Back Again ~ On the Trail Trivia Game

 

 

 

We've done a 'riddle' thread before on the old site and it wasn't too hard and with this we can be as broad as you like really and take in the reports on the movie and the 'other part' of the story which isn't covered properly in any of the books except in passing during the 'Council of Elrond' in Book 2 of the Fellowship of the Rings so we can have a little excursion on that as well because it something that is possibly even more exciting for Tolkien fanatics than teh Trilogy since the canon is literal blown wide open on the assault of Dol Guldur which is where Gandalf disappears to whilst Bilbo and the Dwarves are busy getting through Mirkwood and then in Dale...  Also Peter Jackson's doing more hands on PR with this now so we can throw that into the discussion side of things too so we have lots to natter about while we're on the trail

 

So, to get the ball rolling here's the first 'riddle'

 

 

Mentioned in the first pages of the book this is a piece of scenesetting that's possibly outmoded these days with health crazes but nevertheless it's completely of a piece with the books place in classic childrens fantasy and possibly one of the most recognised starting lines in literature...

 

 

 

Smoke rings to be exact - lot of puffing of pipes in that 1st chapter .

 

I think one of the greatest delights of the Hobbit is that's it's great to read out loud - something I regrettably never got to do except to my sisters as I don't have kids of my own. There's something very attractive it and I think it's because it's not really speaking to any particular age or maybe not talking down (too much)?

Question - how many colours of Dwarf's hoods are mentioned? (and I don't think the photo at the top will help much )

I first read the Hobbit fairly young (in fact I think it was probably read to us), and enjoyed it then as a children's book, it definitely stands re-reading because it is well written and the words flow. As an adult its a fun exploration of the lands and decent escapist fantasy, I can't decide wether its primarily a children's book or not, that may have to wait for later in the discussion.

Is it the Hill?

On a seperate subject, is this the only time in the book that the Dwarves play their instruments, and do elves play such a range of instruments or is that a difference between them?

 

The Elves were 'Firstborn' of the sentient peoples and so they had a head start and were well-endowed in all the arts, so you can take it as read that yes, they had similar instruments and excelled in playing them.

 

I'm not absolutely sure but I think this is the only time we see the instruments - they lost a load of supplies and belongings in the next chapter where they're fording a river in the Trollshaws... do we want to move on yet?

 

I thought you meant the Werewolf thingy?