It's hard to know why one is what they are now, as a emotional being, as a friend, as patron of culture or any of the other million categories. The ineffable mystery of what influenced us when or where we can trace the origins of our character back to is a well of introspection that can never really run dry. "Do I enjoy the song "Blackbird" a little more because Mom sang it to me as a baby?" "Do I have a penchant for Scrabble because that's the only thing we played on Friday nights growing up?" "Did seeing The Blob render me incapable of not being terrified of extraterrestrial contamination at every waking moment?"*
A piece of culture from my childhood, and many others since the 1930s, The Hobbit, came across my proverbial desk recently. Re-familiarizing with it, it became clear that it still holds water.** It stands as a fantastic, still thoroughly modern, Odyssey accessible and valuable to all walks and ages.
With all due love to Peter Jackson, The Hobbit is not about the spectacle of war and conflict. It is about the maturation of one's character in an ever so complicated world. It has very precise and poignant lessons about the of paltry dividends paid out by greed and armed conflict.
Spoiler warning for probably no one. Hobbit spoilers to follow
'Victory after all, I suppose! Well, it seems a very gloomy business.'- Bilbo declares after the terrible Battle of the Five Armies. A man who lived through 'The War to End All Wars' wrote that, after seeing the sheer indescribable horror that he and his fellow human beings had wrought upon each other. Bilbo has realized that tall tales, poems, and songs left out the suffering that a desire for adventure can bring in times of war.
This lesson was read to me by father*** at a young age and I don't think I can ever properly express my gratitude to him for passing it on to me.
War is not romantic.
Avarice doesn't pay.
The world is a lot bigger than you.
Adventure is not to be taken lightly.
Always bring plenty of friends for your journeys.
If you have children, don't be afraid to give them these lessons early, and I can't think of a better delivery than The Hobbit. Cheers to another 91 years.
*True story.
**Add to the list of revelations that came as a surprise to no one.
*** The same father that showed me The Blob, nobody's perfect.
