Hobbit2 - Chapter 02 - Roast Mutton

[Boromir88]

I agree with the previous discussions that this is a bleak and dreary chapter. It starts off light and humorous. Bilbo gets his handkerchief after all, and the beginning of the adventure Bilbo thinks adventuring isn't all that bad. But then things take a turn for the worst, when the weather turns and they can't find a dry place to get cover from the rain. Gandalf mysteriously disappears and I wonder is this going to be a recurring thing for the wizard?

I do think Bilbo is mostly to blame for the plight with the trolls in this chapter. It is in the previous chapter when we learn about a hobbits ability to conceal and get past trouble unnoticed:

There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off.~An Unexpected Party

And Bilbo (as do all hobbits it seems) takes pride in being able to move through woods quickly and quietly.

Off Bilbo had to go, before he could explain that he could not hoot even once like any kind of owl any more than fly like a bat. But at any rate hobbits can move quietly in woods, absolutely quietly. They take pride in it, and Bilbo has sniffed more than once at what he called "all this dwarven racket," as they went along, though I don't suppose you or I would have noticed anything at all on a windy night, not if the whole cavalcade had passed two feet off. As for Bilbo walking primly towards the red light, I don't suppose even a weasel would have stirred a whisker at it. So, naturally he got right up to the fire -...~Roast Mutton

Thorin just asks Bilbo to find out about the fire and come back after doing so. After all, it is how Bilbo fits/the services as the company's burglar. He quite successfully gets right up to the fire and the trolls. It's entirely his fault he gets over confident to try his hand at showing the dwarves that he's an excellent burglar.

Now yes, it is the dwarves fault that they themselves get captured too, as the only one that finds something off and prepared for trouble was Thorin.

The continuing log of dwarves...

Balin is always the look out dwarf, he's the oldest dwarf, but must have the sharpest eyes. He is the first dwarf to come into the campfire and get captured by the trolls. It's also noted that his concern is to find where Bilbo is in the commotion of the trolls fighting each other. This is I believe the first dwarf to show concern for our hobbit.

Oin and Gloin can build the best fires, and quarrel a lot. Twice in this chapter it mentions the two arguing/quarrelling.

Dori and Nori shared Bilbo's opinion of meals "plenty and often."

Thorin, his leadership so far appears to be he's too important to risk himself on tasks of the common folk...he doesn't cook the meals, he doesn't start fires, he doesn't investigate the fire. However, he is the only one who approached the fire cautiously, wasn't caught off guard and put up a fight with a tree branch until he gets sacked.