🦋 What do Hobbits look like?
In tonight's reading (Bilbo and company are captured by, escape from, and are recaptured by the goblins who live under the Misty Mountains), Sylvia happened on the question of how tall are Hobbits -- I know Tolkien lays out somewhere in this book their approximate dimensions, but I've forgotten what they are now -- my rule of thumb has been thinking that dwarves  are about Sylvia's height, hobbits about a foot shorter. Sylvia hazarded some guesses and I told her what I thought. Toward the end of the reading, as we were hearing about how Bilbo was better off making his way through the goblins' cave than someone like you or I would be, because hobbits are used to tunneling, when Sylvia asserted that hobbits should look like rabbits. --"But I think they are shaped more like people, just shorter." --"But it's ugly if they look like people. I think they look like rabbits." Hm, well, interesting... and shows that she hasn't got exposed to the cartoon image of Bilbo that is fixed in my head. So we finished the reading, and as I was saying goodnight I asked her what about dwarves, do they look like people or like rabbits? -- And got in response a long, elaborate description of a cartoon dwarf à la Snow White. I'm finding this kind of funny -- a word gets fixed in our heads with the cartoon we watch describing it.
 Update: This is kind of funny -- the eagle that carries Bilbo from the ærie to the Carrock, also says he thinks the hobbit looks like a rabbit. "Don't pinch!" said his eagle, "You need not be frightened like a rabbit, even if you rather look like one. It is a fair morning with little wind. What is finer than flying?"
posted evening of Sunday, April 5th, 2009
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Hobbits look like Elijah Wood.
posted evening of April 5th, 2009 by cleek
Heh -- the cartoon or film we watch describing it I mean. (I haven't watched the LOTR films so haven't got that image fixed in my brane.)
Funny how strongly I think of Frodo as an adolescent though, and of Bilbo as a middle-aged man, when they are both the same age at the time of setting out on their respective quests.
posted evening of April 5th, 2009 by Jeremy
I think of Frodo as an adolescent
More specifically, when I picture Frodo the image that comes into my head is of my friend Wes in high school. Weird, I wonder why that is.
posted morning of April 6th, 2009 by Jeremy
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Uncle Eddie 