Part 5 Summary and Analysis

Part five is titled "1925-1949(ii): The Third Age." Chapter one, "Enter Mr. Baggins," talks about the origin of The Hobbit character Bilbo Baggins. In many ways, Bilbo Baggins is J.R.R. Tolkien. Both are somewhat middle-aged, like to dress in comfortable clothes with some splashes of bright color, and like to eat plain food. Bilbo Baggins is the son of Belladonna Took, who is one of three daughters of Old Took, who is descended from the respectable Baggins family. This is much like Tolkien himself, who was the son of Mabel Suffield, one of the three daughters of the remarkable John Suffield.

One of the great mysteries about The Hobbit is that no one is quite sure when the book was started. Tolkien narrowed it down to a five-year period, before 1935, but after 193o when family moved to Northmoor...