Mr. Sudol
4/4/11- 4/12/11 (Days 107-113)
LESSON PLAN (SOPH): THE HOBBIT UNIT #1: THE QUEST AND FANTASY ARCHETYPES
OBJECTIVE: To understand The Hobbit through the lens of traditional fantasy literature archetypes, as well
as to explore how the novel transcends those archetypes (especially the character of Bilbo Baggins).
PRAYER
DISCUSSION/ACTIVITY
4/4
Students will begin by deciding upon (if they have not done so already) separating into their “parties” (between 5
and 6 students each).
The teacher will begin with a general discussion of the novel and the fantasy archetypes embodied in it vis-à-vis the
“Common Fantasy Archetypes” handout. The first part of the discussion will involve identifying said archetypes
within the novel:
 The Quest: To defeat Smaug and regain the dwarves’ gold
 The Hero: Bilbo Baggins
 The Family/Party: The dwarves (and Gandalf to a lesser extent)
 The Old Man: Gandalf
 The Villain: Smaug
 The Monsters: the goblins, wargs, spiders, and Gollum
 The Animals: the Eagles, Beorn, the thrush, and the ravens
 Others: the men of Laketown and the Wood Elves (who could arguably fit either the party or animals archetype)
Literary Concept: Foil
 A “foil” is any person, creature, object, event, or personality trait that prevents a character (typically the
protagonist) from accomplishing his or her goal. What foils exist in the novel that prevent Bilbo and the dwarves
from completing their quest and how do they do so? Discuss this question in your groups and try to come up
with at least three answers. [The teacher will allow students time to discuss, moving from group to group. For
this exercise, each group should be able to articulate one original foil from the novel; the teacher’s purpose in
this case will be to inform groups if other groups have selected answers that other groups have already selected.
Each group with an original answer will receive 1 quest point for this unit; the group that finishes first will
receive an additional quest point] Possible answers include:
o The trolls (chapter 2)
o The goblins and wargs (chapters 4, 6, and 17)
o Gollum (chapter 5)
o The spiders (chapter 8)
o The wood elves (chapter 9)
o The combined armies of the wood elves and men (chapters 15-17)
o Smaug (chapters 12-14)
o The dwarves greed/stubbornness (chapters 9, 15-17) [= 2 quest points]
o Bilbo’s doubting of his own character/abilities [= 2 quest points]
4/5 – 4/7
Fantasy archetype discussion sets: students will be given discussion (listed below) sets on 4/5 and will answer these
out loud in class on 4/6 and 4/7
4/8; 4/11
General Discussion: How The Hobbit approximates classic fantasy literature.
The thing about most classic fantasy literature is that the issues are very black-and-white in nature; the good guys are
obviously the good guys and vice versa, the story progresses at a fairly regular pace toward a certain end, the situations in
the story get more and more dangerous leading up to the final conflict before everything gets resolved neatly at the end,
etc. I’d like to discuss how The Hobbit does all of these things.
First of all, every character or group of characters in the story is defined by a fairly narrow set of attributes and/or needs.
For each of these, I’d like you to generate at least one adjective for that character. Feel free to call out your answers.
Possible answers include:
 Hobbits = resourcefulness/courage
 Dwarves = covetousness/stubbornness
 Wizards = wisdom
 Trolls = thuggishness/stupidity
 Goblins/Wargs = hatred/destruction;
 Gollum = sneakiness/corruption
 Eagles = nobility
 High elves = wisdom/nobility/innocence
 Spiders = creepiness/hunger
 Wood elves = reticence/fighting spirit
 Humans = hardiness/straightforwardness
 Dragons = arrogance/greed/rage
As you can see, the qualities demonstrated by these characters tend to carry over from story to story with typically minor
variations, and it is easy to sum up each of the major characters and character groups in the story with only a few words.
Literary Concept: Bildungsroman
Moving along, I’d like to reiterate how much this novel is a journey of self-discovery for Bilbo Baggins. As such, it is
necessary to examine the concept of bildungsroman: this is any story in which the protagonist, who is usually a child
living a comfortable lifestyle, gets kicked out of that lifestyle (and typically his home) through some sudden and/or tragic
event, then learns and grows as a person as a result of the experiences he or she has had in the story. Let’s look at specific
examples from the novel; for each of these, explain how Bilbo Baggins exemplifies a bildungsroman-style hero:
 Chapter 1: Bilbo is recruited to be a burgler by the dwarves and Gandalf
 Chapter 2: Bilbo’s interactions with the trolls
 Chapter 4: Bilbo’s interactions with Gollum
 Chapter 8: Bilbo’s interactions with the spiders
 Chapter 9: Bilbo’s rescuing of the dwarves from the wood elves
 Chapter 12: Bilbo’s interactions with Smaug
 Chapter 15: Bilbo’s theft of the Arkenstone and betrayal of the dwarves
So, in total, how has Bilbo broken from his sheltered nature and become a more confident, adventurous sort?
Lastly, I’d like to discuss the story structure of The Hobbit. Firstly, it is episodic: there are several “mini-conflicts” within
the story that foreshadow the story’s ultimate conflict but do not contribute directly to it. Secondly, the story tends to get
darker and more dramatic as it progresses before good wins out and everything is resolved at the end. What are some of
the “conflict episodes” within the story and how do these episodes make the story “darker” before the “good guys” win
out in the end? (Students discuss. Possible answers include run-ins with the trolls, goblins, Gollum, spiders, wood elves,
and the Battle of Five Armies).
4/12: Adventurer’s Store Visit and Quest Review
Students will review for their Unit 2 quest and select items from the Adventurer’s Store to assist them on this
day; they will take their quest on the following day.
HOMEWORK
 4/5: SAT Vocab worksheet # 17
 4/6: Essay: for the fantasy archetype your group has decided to discuss, select any story outside of The
Hobbit you have experienced (including movies, television, and video games) and explain how one element
of that story mirrors that archetype.
 4/7: For the example you selected in your essay yesterday, compare and contrast it with an example of that
archetype from The Hobbit itself.
 4/8: Essay: Explain how any character in story outside of The Hobbit you have experienced (including
movies, television, and video games) can be defined by one central attribute and why.
 4/11-4/12: Study for your first “quest.”
COMMON FANTASY ARCHETYPES
Archetypes infuse fantasy writing, as well as all other genres, with life and meaning. Many famous fantasy
stories include them. Carl Gustav Jung, a psychoanalyst who learned from Sigmund Freud and then branched
off to form his own theories, claimed that all human beings share a “collective unconscious”, a kind of inherited
pool of psychological experiences that influence us without our consciously being aware of them. Within the
collective unconscious are important “archetypes” that have risen out of our common human experience.
Common fantasy literature archetypes and their definitions are listed below:
The Quest: The main objective that the hero and his party/family must accomplish in the story. In most
fantasy stories, the typical objective in any quest is to defeat a great evil, right a wrong, or restore order to a
chaotic situation, but in any case, the fight of good (represented by the hero/party) against evil (represented by
the monster or villain) is key. Lastly, the quest is epic in proportion: the need to succeed in the quest dominates
the story, and the characters (and audience) are frequently reminded of this, and doing so will usually involve a
long journey (both in time and distance) packed with hardships, close-calls, and battles.
The Hero: The protagonist of the story who others rely upon to succeed in the quest. The hero usually has
special abilities (strength, intelligence, resourcefulness, etc.) that make him/her the only person who can truly
succeed in the quest. The hero also frequently grows and matures personally as a result of the experiences
he/she has had during the quest, especially when the hero is a child or displays childlike qualities.
The Party (or Family): The party is a group of secondary characters that assist the hero in succeeding in the
quest. They frequently allow the hero to unlock his/her true potential and discover things about him/herself that
the hero had no idea about, either by sharing their own feelings and experiences with the hero, or else by putting
the hero in situations that forces him/her to rise to the occasion. Additionally, the party members will
frequently learn things about themselves and progress as characters as a result of their interactions with the
hero.
The Old Man: A character that may or may not join the hero’s party, but who still helps the hero to succeed in
the quest by offering wisdom, advice, and knowledge that the hero otherwise would not have access to. The old
man character in fantasy stories frequently has magical powers.
The Villain and Monsters: The antagonist of the story that prevents the hero from succeeding in the quest.
The villain may be humanoid or a monster, but in fantasy literature the villain’s evil is usually noticeable in
their appearance as well as their actions (in other words, they will look ugly, deformed, or monstrous as well as
acting that way). Typically, what sets a villain apart from regular monsters in fantasy literature is their
intelligence - regular monsters are defined by simple emotions like greed, hunger, or anger and exist only to
satisfy those needs by robbing, eating, and killing; on the other hand, villains can create many complex plans
and can patiently execute these over time, many of which are designed to trick the hero into failing or
destroying him/herself.
Animals: In fantasy literature, animals play an important role. In most classic works of fantasy literature,
animals assist the hero and party in succeeding in their quest and are usually on the “good” side of the good vs.
evil conflict. However, this is usually because they are against the evil characters in the story, not because they
like or care about the hero. In fantasy literature, animals (which may have magical abilities) represent nature
and the villain and monsters in these stories tend to corrupt and destroy nature; as a result, the animals assist the
hero in succeeding in the quest as a reaction to the evil villain and monsters and out of their own self interest.
FANTASY ARCHETYPES DISCUSSION SETS (4/5 – 4/7)
The Quest:
 Explain how Bilbo’s objective in the story demonstrates the qualities of a quest. (1 quest point)
 Give two reasons why the events in the story can be seen as a fight of good vs. evil. (2 quest points)
 Give two specific examples from the story (including the pages numbers on which your example is found)
that demonstrate the story’s epic nature. (2 quest points)
The Hero:
 Explain what makes Bilbo Baggins the hero of this story (besides being the main character), including the
special abilities (strength, intelligence, resourcefulness, etc.) that make him the only person who can truly
succeed in the quest. (1 quest point)
 Explain two ways in which Bilbo displays “childlike” qualities in the novel. (2 quest points)
 Explain how Bilbo grows or matures as a result of his experiences in the story. (2 quest points)
The Party (or Family):
 Name at least three other members of Bilbo’s party excluding the dwarves. (1 quest point).
 Give a specific example from the book in which you explain how Bilbo’s party helps him to grow or mature
in the story. (2 quest points)
 Give two examples from the story showing how Bilbo helps the members of his party to learn or progress as
characters. (2 quest points)
The Old Man:
 Explain what purpose Gandalf serves in the story. (1 quest point)
 Give one specific example of a piece of advice, knowledge, or property Gandalf gives the party that allows
them to complete their quest, then explain how the party could not have done so without it. (3 quest points)
 Give one example of Gandalf’s use of magic in the story, explaining how he used his powers to assist the
party. (1 quest point)
The Villain and Monsters:
 For any of the monsters in the story, give one specific quality for that monster (from the book itself) that
makes it “monstrous.” (1 quest point)
 Explain how and why Smaug represents the story’s villain, using two specific examples from the book. (2
quest points)
 Contrast any one of the monsters in the book with Smaug; explain what separates them and why the monster
you selected is not also the story’s villain. (2 quest points)
Animals:
 Select one animal from the story and give an example that shows them to be on the “good” side of the
story’s conflict. (1 quest point)
 Give a specific example anywhere from chapters 14-19 in the story where an animal helped to turn the tide
of any of the numerous conflicts described in these pages in favor of the “good guys.” (2 quest points)
 For any of the animals in the story, find proof from the novel that they are helping Bilbo and his party
primarily as a reaction to the monsters that threaten to corrupt or destroy their home. (2 quest points)
Adventurer’s Store
Welcome to the store! Below you will find a list of items that will help you on your quest and how many quest
points they cost. You will also find the number of quest points available for your team to spend. Please write in
the number of each item you would like to purchase on the line next to the item itself. Remember, you cannot
spend more points than your team has. SPECIAL NOTE: You are not required to spend all of your total points
here; unused points will be stored for use on future quests. However, items that go unused on tomorrow’s quest
will disappear once the quest is completed, so use them or lose them.
Team:__________________________
Quest Points:_______
Quantity
Item
Cost
____
Small Health Potion
1 quest point
____
Large Health Potion
4 quest points
____
Crystal Ball
4 quest points
____
Luckstone
2 quest points
____
Dwarven Armor
3 quest points
____
Dwarven Sword
3 quest points
Item Descriptions
 Small Health Potion: Restores 1 life point.
 Large Health Potion: Restores 5 life points (limit 1 per party).
 Crystal Ball: Automatically solves one quest scenario (includes adding 1 life point).
 Luckstone: Provides a 50/50 chance of solving one quest scenario (with 1 life point added if solved).
 Dwarven Armor: Automatically solves either scenario 2 (The Foil) or 6 (The Villain) (includes adding 1 life
point).
 Dwarven Sword: Automatically solves either scenario 1 (The Quest) or 7 (The Monsters) (includes adding 1
life point).