[Shelob]

I can't help it, my teacher trained me well, but whenever I get a chance to edit something I will--and I always do the first thing our teacher taught us: Eliminate 'to be' verbs! This being the case I hope you don't mind that I went over the essay and, keeping the same ideas as much as possible eliminated 'to be's. The Result is as follows:

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Reading 'The Hobbit', one of many novels by the author J.R.R. Tolkien, I found myself transported to distant lands. THis books, along with the following tilogy 'The Lord of the Rings', depict the world of Middle Earth. Unlike our mundane world Elves, Wizards, Dragons, Dwarves and of course Hobbits all inhabit and co-exist in this fantastic land.'The Hobbit' itself tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, "Expert Treasure-hunter", as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf and the Dwarves of Thorin and Co. to reclaim the treasure and mountain taken by "a most specially greedy, strong and wicked worm called Smaug". Beyond simply transporting its reader and giving them a good story this novel, as well as those following it, portrays the ever-going dilema of good versus evil in a myriad of interesting ways.

Tolkien does not, as so many do, relate to his reader the common fantasy story, instead he elevats his writing, and therefore his readers, into a fantasy world of more depth and reality than, sometimes, the real world. No detail or action remains unmentioned so that readers often find they can picture the characters as clearly as their closest kin. In 'The Hobbit'the reader catches glimpses of a land where dark and trouble brew, but while Smaug serves sufficiently for an enemy here the true 'dark ages' of Middle Earth come in the following tilogy. Bilbo does not feature as a main character in this tilogy but because of one of his adventures from 'The Hobbit' one Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's nephew, must take up the fate of Middle Earth and face the Dark Lord Sauron. While a formidable story on its own the Lord of The Rings tilogy also seves to give further life to the beloved lands and characters of 'The Hobbit'.

While one can enjoy this novel simply at the level of 'good story' it also imparts upon its reader many important lessons. Firstly it teaches that one must live while one has the chance for life does not last forever. Secondly it demonstrates the importance of Friendship and the need to accept others no matter how much they differ from you. Thirdly, and while this does not qualify on its own as a lesson, 'The Hobbit' gives its readers hope and the motivation, hopefully, to try and change the world by showing that yes, Good does triumph over Evil. Truely, this novel inspires on many levels and continues as a well loved classic not only for it's magic and fantasy but also for its relevance and connection to everyday life.
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Beyond that I agree with you Elianna, if the first sentence gives us the thesis the rest of the essay does a poor job supporting it. Regardless of if the author saw the imagery/power of the words or the plot as the main transporting device their arguments lack strength and orginization. To speak of orginization, their entire essay lacked this asset most noticably.

As to the phrase " Life is short and one must life while alive.". Firstly it doesn't even make sense, 'one must life while alive'? But secondly, and more importantly, since the author spoke of 'The Lord of the Rings' as well I figure this statement stemed more from those novels than from The Hobbit itself. This second theory draws support also from the fact that when speaking of how 'The Hobbit' demonstrats the battle of Good v. Evil the author used the example of Sauron who appears in 'The Hobbit' only as 'the Necromancer'.