[Lalwendë]

First of all, which editions are people reading for this? I like to picture what everybody is reading; I am using this edition, much battered, but well-loved.

The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats - the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill - The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it - and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, diningrooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left-hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep-set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river.

Reading this chapter now, I was immediately taken with the descriptions of Bag End and of Bilbo's lifestyle. This Hobbit hole is a bungalow! British readers will all know that bungalows are something of a symbol of comfortable suburban life, and what's more, he lives in what seems to be a between the wars period bungalow - complete with tiled hallway covered by carpet and lots of hat pegs. Bag End even has rooms 'for best'. Looking at Bag End this way, only one point sticks out as odd, Bilbo's wardrobes; this could pinpoint him as having secretive dandyish tendencies...

The first conversation between Bilbo and Gandalf is also very amusing and I think again places Bilbo as similar to a very particular type of English person. He is most polite and congenial with this stranger, he even ignores Gandalf's slightly sarcastic rumination on the meaning of "good morning", but as soon as Gandalf mentions something he does not approve of, he beings to act dismissively:

"I should think so in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them," said our Mr. Baggins, and stuck one thumb behind his braces, and blew out another even bigger smoke-ring. Then he took out his morning letters, and began to read, pretending to take no more notice of the old man. He had decided that he was not quite his sort, and wanted him to go away.

But the old man did not move. He stood leaning on his stick and gazing at the hobbit without saying anything, till Bilbo got quite uncomfortable and even a little cross.

"Good morning!"he said at last. "We don't want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The Hill or across The Water."By this he meant that the conversation was at an end.

"What a lot of things you do use Good morning for!"said Gandalf. "Now you mean that you want to get rid of me, and that it won't be good till I move off."
"Not at all, not at all, my dear sir! Let me see, I don't think I know your name?"

But Gandalf can see right through his act, and instead of simply moving on, as a Hobbit might, put in his place by Bilbo's dismissive manner, Gandalf continues to talk. I wonder if he does know how to react against Bilbo's behaviour or if Gandalf simply does not know the subtleties of the social code in The Shire? I like to think it is the former, as he immediately has an effect on Bilbo's sense of embarrassment, and so gets a foothold.

The whole chapter is something of a struggle between Bilbo's sense of reserve and wanting to appear polite. He allows Gandalf and the Dwarves into his life due to his wanting to appear polite and not to simply say "no, clear off" - it reminds me of when we cross someone in the street and both people seem to do a little dance trying to step aside, all the while apologising.

Bilbo's agreeing to go on this adventure is eventually brought about partly by appealing to a hidden sense of adventure, that we do know, but I think this is also brought on by his indignance at being thought of as foolish. Tolkien uses a nice phrase for this:

this is what he called being on his dignity

There's a lot to pick up on in this chapter! I wholly disagree when it is said that The Hobbit has not got depth! Aside from the wonderful way it is written and the characters are introduced so cleverly, there are many intriguing sections in this chapter. Gandalf knew the Old Took (why?), he has taken many Hobbit 'lads and lasses' on adventures, what was Gandalf doing in Dol Guldur? I could go on, but the point is, there are plenty of references to a bigger world here.

The structure is interesting too. I don't know if this is in every edition, but mine begins with a one page foreword; this is mainly about the Runes, and it sets them up as a kind of 'puzzle'. This can be solved once you read on and find out what each rune corresponds to; very tricksy, as once you have read on a little further you may very well be hooked.