The Hobbit - Chapter 09 - Barrels Out of Bond

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Bilbo spends almost all of this chapter invisible! The ring continues to be his most important asset as the dwarves are captured to share Thorin’s fate. He truly acts as a burglar, though not for profit, but only to stay alive by stealing food.

Though the capturing seems to be unfortunate, it could possibly be that they were saved in this way, unable as they were to find their way out of the forest on their own - or at least able to continue on to their goal by way of the Elven caves and the river.

Here is a picture of the Elven King's Gate by Tolkien:



What do you think of the Elven underground kingdom? Is the fact that the Wood-elves’ king’s insignia were of natural materials, as compared to the gold and mithril of other kingdoms, significant?

The continuing enmity between Dwarves and Elves is shown in the conversation between Balin and the King – how do you feel about it? Is either side justified in considering itself in the right?

Time passes slowly for all of them, and this is not a safe haven; however, they are given food and drink, so are nourished and kept kindly in captivity.

Bilbo continues his coming-of-age experience in realizing that he has no one else to help him and the dwarves out of their predicament.

...he soon realized that if anything was to be done, it would have to be done by Mr. Baggins, alone and unaided.

He takes action, plans a method of escape, and implements it. As a German proverb says, “Luck is with the hard-worker”; circumstances help him to achieve his goal.

Again we see Bilbo’s pity here – after freeing the dwarves, he replaces the keys to keep the guard from getting into trouble afterwards.

We have two Elven poems – one brief rhyme when rolling out the barrels; it seems rather un-Elven to me, with its colloquial-sounding “Splash plump!” and “bump!” The longer one is more picturesque: “Down the swift dark stream you go”. What do you think about them?

Bilbo shows his bravery in jumping into the water, not usually a favourite element of Hobbits! In this passage, there is some descriptive writing of the landscape through which they pass. There is another tricky situation, when the raft-elves come into the story, but that hurdle is soon passed as well. The story ends with a positive ending, their escape, but with uncertainty as well – are the dwarves dead or alive?

It also ends with one of those mundane annoyances we all know – Bilbo has caught a cold...



Here is Tolkien's own drawing for this chapter, one of my favourites:

[Tuor in Gondolin]

As a German proverb says, “Luck is with the hard-worker”; circumstances help him to achieve his goal.

Or as Branch Rickey said:

Luck is the residue of design.

Bilbo is helped, of course, by having more then the
usual portion of luck (witness the elves not
checking why some barrels are so heavy).

E.T. makes a good point about Bilbo's bravery
jumping into the water. I hadn't considered it
before, but given the fate of his parents, indeed
quite a notable act. This chapter's theme also inspired
some fine, evocative drawings, not just the above
but several later showing the shore curving where
they're caught and organized by elves to be sent
downstream.

Another point, the presentation of the dwarves reasons
for not talking and Thranduil's for wanting information
from them not only give both sides reasoned views but also
presage one of the most remarkable and fascinating
later discussion of the various plusses and minuses of the elves, men,
and dwarves various claims on the treasure of Erebor.

Another echo is Bilbo once again unknowingly almost hitting his
head on the top of the river tunnel, as he almost did when
escaping from Gollum.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Well, I am glad you posted, Tuor! After almost a week without a single response, I was beginning to wonder if my post, like Bilbo, was invisible!

Originally Posted by Tuor in Gondolin

I hadn't considered it before, but given the fate of his [Bilbo's] parents, indeed quite a notable act.

You must be confusing Bilbo with Frodo. It was the latter's parents who drowned. I was just thinking of the general wariness Hobbits had about water and boats.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Originally Posted by Tuor in Gondolin
I hadn't considered it before, but given the fate of his [Bilbo's] parents, indeed quite a notable act.

You must be confusing Bilbo with Frodo. It was the latter's parents who drowned. I was just thinking of the general wariness Hobbits had about water and boats.

Oops! (Well, I guess all hobbits look alike to Nonhobbits.

[Formendacil]

Just when you think you're about to catch up, the CbC threads roar out of sight. Ah well, here's another attempt to catch back up...

For me, in The Hobbit, there are two categories of chapter: the memorable and the fleeting. The memorable include "An Unexpected Party", "Riddles in the Dark", "Flies and Spiders", and other chapters that are the iconic, deeply etched in my mind, parts of the book.

The rest, although fun to read, important to the book, and often full of fun/interesting episodes, are not quite crucial to my mental image of The Hobbit. "Barrels out of Bond" is one of them. The whole episode the Elvenking's palace is given in sparse detail until it's very end: the day when Bilbo and the Dwarves escape. I'd really like a deeper look at Bilbo's survival, although rational thought leads me to suppose that it was every bit as boring as its absence suggests.

The poor Dwarves, being stuffed into the barrels always have my sympathy- and I'm not even claustrophobic! Imagine if one of them was... Poor, poor, poor Nori, Bofur, or whatever poor Dwarf it was.

This chapter contains another piece of The Hobbit's legendary "un-Legendariumish" puzzle: The Drunk Elven butler. Although quite natural seeming from within the context of The Hobbit, serious canonists seem to have some mental difficulty reconciling these silly Woodelves being drunk with the sombre Elflords of the Silmarillion.

Well, I'm having a little time reconciling Fordhim Hedgethistle and the drunk high school kids in my town as being both Canadian, so if those canonists ever figure it out, I'd love to hear how it works.

[deal_with_it]

Was Legolas present at this time? Wouldn't he have recognized Bilbo and Gloin at the Council of Elrond?

[Tuor of Gondolin]

Was Legolas present at this time? Wouldn't he have recognized Bilbo and Gloin at the Council of Elrond?

The short answer is, of course, that Legolas wasn't
yet invented. But one could surmise that he, being young
for an elf and son of the king, was still taking the elf
equifalent of a kind of coming of age, European Grand Tour
in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century upper class tradition.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Well, I'm having a little time reconciling Fordhim Hedgethistle and the drunk high school kids in my town as being both Canadian, so if those canonists ever figure it out, I'd love to hear how it works.

Sure they aren't Fordim's students?