4/27 the Hobbit chapter 5
Chapter 5 - Riddles in the dark
When Bilbo became conscious again, he opened his eyes to pure darkness. It was so dark and silent he didn't know if he was awake or asleep. He crawled without knowing where he is going for a while and found a ring that was on the stone floor. It was the ring of power which was very important and powerful. Not realizing what the ring was, Bilbo puts the ring in his pocket without thinking anything. He finds out that his sword he took from the trolls was shining in the darkness (it was an elvish sword that shines when any goblins were near him). Thinking that there's no meaning staying at the place he was, he went forward until he was at the edge of an underground lake.
There lived Gollum, a slimy, small creature with two big eyes. He talked to himself because he never had anyone else to talk to. He hisses creepily and talks in weird grammar. He ate fish and meat, now he was looking at the prey (Bilbo) that came to his lake. However, he was afraid of Bilbo's sword so instead of attacking Bilbo, he decides to play riddles with him. They made a deal: if Bilbo can answer all of Gollum's riddles, Gollum will take Bilbo outside of the mountain, but if he cannot, Gollum will eat Bilbo.
I thought that even if Bilbo couldn't answer Gollum's riddles, he can kill Gollum and not get eaten. However, Bilbo agrees with this and they ask each other riddles. After several riddles, Bilbo can't think of a good riddle so he just asks "what have I got in my pocket?" which is not a riddle at all but a simple question. The answer, of course, was "a ring"). Although this was not a riddle, Gollum thought it was, and gets it wrong. Although they had made a deal and since Gollum lost, he had to take Bilbo to the exit, but he was not going to let a prey slip away. Gollum went to the island in the middle of the lake to get his "precious", a golden ring he got on his birthday that makes the wearer invisible. He was planning to put that on and kill Bilbo when he became invisible. It was then that Gollum realizes that he had lost it. He suspects that the "precious" was in Bilbo's pocket (which was actually true) and tries to kill Bilbo. Bilbo sensed the danger, ran away from Gollum and accidentally slips the ring on. Thinking that Bilbo was already running away towards the exit, Gollum chases Bilbo, but in fact, Bilbo was behind him and was following Gollum to the exit. Gollum stops when he thought he had gone too near to the goblins and blocks the narrow path to the exit. Bilbo thought of killing Gollum with his sword (he was still invisible), but the pity that he felt toward pathetic Gollum stopped Bilbo. He leaps over Gollum and escapes. Around the exit door, he gets seen by some goblins because somehow he was not wearing the ring (or the ring took itself off from Bilbo because it seems to have a will of its own). Luckily Bilbo escapes from the goblins too and was finally out of the mountain.
There lived Gollum, a slimy, small creature with two big eyes. He talked to himself because he never had anyone else to talk to. He hisses creepily and talks in weird grammar. He ate fish and meat, now he was looking at the prey (Bilbo) that came to his lake. However, he was afraid of Bilbo's sword so instead of attacking Bilbo, he decides to play riddles with him. They made a deal: if Bilbo can answer all of Gollum's riddles, Gollum will take Bilbo outside of the mountain, but if he cannot, Gollum will eat Bilbo.
I thought that even if Bilbo couldn't answer Gollum's riddles, he can kill Gollum and not get eaten. However, Bilbo agrees with this and they ask each other riddles. After several riddles, Bilbo can't think of a good riddle so he just asks "what have I got in my pocket?" which is not a riddle at all but a simple question. The answer, of course, was "a ring"). Although this was not a riddle, Gollum thought it was, and gets it wrong. Although they had made a deal and since Gollum lost, he had to take Bilbo to the exit, but he was not going to let a prey slip away. Gollum went to the island in the middle of the lake to get his "precious", a golden ring he got on his birthday that makes the wearer invisible. He was planning to put that on and kill Bilbo when he became invisible. It was then that Gollum realizes that he had lost it. He suspects that the "precious" was in Bilbo's pocket (which was actually true) and tries to kill Bilbo. Bilbo sensed the danger, ran away from Gollum and accidentally slips the ring on. Thinking that Bilbo was already running away towards the exit, Gollum chases Bilbo, but in fact, Bilbo was behind him and was following Gollum to the exit. Gollum stops when he thought he had gone too near to the goblins and blocks the narrow path to the exit. Bilbo thought of killing Gollum with his sword (he was still invisible), but the pity that he felt toward pathetic Gollum stopped Bilbo. He leaps over Gollum and escapes. Around the exit door, he gets seen by some goblins because somehow he was not wearing the ring (or the ring took itself off from Bilbo because it seems to have a will of its own). Luckily Bilbo escapes from the goblins too and was finally out of the mountain.
I was surprised that Bilbo picked up the ring so easily because this ring is actually so important that it has three books about it (the Lord of the Rings). I think the author doesn't want the readers to think so deeply about it right now. In that way, it'll be more interesting and surprising for the readers later. Also, the ring is written as though it has consciousness (for example "...or a last trick of the ring before it took a new master"). I believe that at this point the author was already thinking about writing "the Lord of the Rings". Similar to this, I think there are other hints in "The Hobbit" that sets up "the Lord of the Rings" too. Furthermore, Gollum appeared in this chapter. This chapter has left me many questions about him, for example, what does Gollum look like more specifically? Is he a goblin (perhaps not) or another race? Why does he live in the dark underground with the goblins if he hates them so much? Moreover, another important part of this chapter is the dwarves and Gandalf not being with Bilbo. This is the first time he was alone without any help from anyone. I think this part changed something inside Bilbo.
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