Why Bilbo?

[Thingol1000]

Reading through the appendix of LotR again, this time about Durin's folk. It describes Thorin and Gandalf's meeting and the underlying stategic objectives (ie Thorin to get his kingdom back and Gandalf's view of the dragon as a tactical tool for Souron.)
With the stakes so high, why did Gandalf choose a hobbit to rid ME of the dragon?????
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance

[littlemanpoet]

P'raps Tolkien, a hobbit himself,
b'lieved in the potency of the small,
so rather than a sword wielding elf,
he placed the fate of all
free people of Middle Earth
in the hands of hobbits,
small but of good girth,
who for all their odd habits,
always had the talent
to rise to the challenge.

dont rember now, dont got ma book, but you can read about that in the unfinished tales i think if i rember correctly

[Child of the 7th Age]

The Unfinished Tales does go into this at length in a chapter that is entitled The Quest of Erebor. Gandalf says he has been "attracted by Bilbo long before , as a child, and a young hobbit." According to Gandalf, he had shown eagerness, bright eyes, and a love of tales and adventures as a youth. However, Bilbo had changed considerably, becoming a much more conventional figure, a fact that dismayed Gandalf when he first met him. Still, it came down to gut feeling. Perhaps we might call it providential intuition (with the benefit of hindsight). Or, as Gandalf says, "I knew in my heart that Bilbo must go with him, or else the whole quest would be a failure--or, as I should say now, the far more important events by the wa would not com to pass."

As to why a hobbit in particular, JRRT does not explicitly discuss that here. However, if one truly wants a burglar rather than a hero, hobbits have those qualities in abundance--ability to move silently with good wits and arts of deception. In both the hobbit and the Ring quest, it is these skills, rather than brute force or primitive heroism, that are needed.

With the benefit of hindsight (since this was written after LotR), the wizard also alludes to the fact that he was troubled in general by the fact that Saruman was hindering all his plans and that Sauron had risen again.

Still, in interpreting all this, we have to remember it was a later 'tidying up' of the story line. Perhaps, if we start at the beginning, rather than the end, we'd have to say it was plain good luck or blind providence that chose Bilbo!

[Arwen Imladris]

Perhaps Gandalf had some foresight, however, it seems like a bit of a stretch for him to guesse all that would happen to Bilbo. Gandalf always liked hobbits, and there smokes, there wasn't many hobbits who could have caught Gandalf's eye by being adventurous. Bilbo was one of very few. Hobbits could be very queit and would be an asset if you were to sneak up on a dragon.

[Kalimac]

Hmm. I think Child said it all, pretty much, but one fact I'd like to point out is that Smaug apparently did not recognize hobbit-smell "and this puzzled him dreadfully" - in other words, it kept him talking instead of trying to just destroy Bilbo right away, which gave Bilbo the chance later to steal the cup and so prompt Smaug's leaving the mountain and eventual death at the hands of Bard. Bilbo confused Smaug, which was the best possible thing that could have happened considering his and the Dwarves' position.

Obviously Gandalf didn't think things out like this; I'm sure at the time he was feeling prompted by a gut feeling but couldn't have said why. This gut feeling may have been partly due to the fact that hobbits were little known and thus a very good stealth weapon - Smaug (and most others, like the Elvenking) would simply not be aware that they existed and thus much more likely to be flummoxed by one. Should also point out that Gandalf wasn't thinking of it as saving ME at that point - and a good thing, since if he had known at that point that that was at stake, he probably would have been in a terror for fear of doing the wrong thing (send him? Don't send him? Don't worry, it's only the fate of the entire world depending on it). In retrospect, of course, it did, but these things tend to be thankfully hidden at the time they are happening.

[NB: Hooray! My title is working [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]. Thank you BW!]

[ December 18, 2002: Message edited by: Kalimac ]

[Raefindel]

I believe there is also much to be said for family history. Gandalf knew "The Old Took" and had an adventrue or two with him. Pleased with the results and seeking similar qualities in another, he would naturally seek them in a relative.

Bilbo's Mother was a Took. It says that they believed a Took, somewhere down the line, had a "fairy wife" and that is the reason given for the tendancy for adventures.

[Thingol1000]

Thank you all, you guys/girls are so hip to this! (I am not worthy)
Karlamac,
Gandolf knew that Suoron had risen again by the time he set up the dwarves/Bilbo. He also knew that a rouge/or evil controlled dragon would be a big thorn in the sidde of the people of free will so to speak.
Thus, I am still amazed that he entrusted this dangerous task, with potentialy horrific repercusions if the dragon was not killed. (can you imagine the LotR tale withna dragon!)
Again, thank you all, I am humbled by your knowledge.

[-Imrahil-]

Gandalf knew hobbits are made of stern stuff, he also found it amusing to send Frodo along on this adventure I think, and he had this feeling that Frodo would be great burgler. Call it instinct.

As he says he is the only wizard who goes itno hobbit-lore...

You can study them for years, and yet they can surprise you in a pinch! (or something like that)

[Haldir]

Gandalf the Grey chose Bilbo Baggins of the
Shire to join the 13 dwarves because he knew
that they don't need another warrior, they're
dwarves, 13 of them, each has his own axe,
they needed a thief, Gandalf knew that from
the map with the key he gave them just after
he joined Bilbo, and he knew Bilbo won't mind
going out of the Shire (like most Hobbits)
because he knew him personaly