When Did "Hobbit" Become an Insult?

11-9-2011

1. Changes to title
2. Changes to order of capsules
3. Changes to text - minor

I am wondering why you went to that particular literary image to insult the Tea Party? Why not Captain Ahab? How about The Fall of the House of Usher? You have much more potent metaphors at your disposal and yet you chose to call Tea Party people short? Exactly how is that an insult? Is being a small and industrious people in small villages who only want a snug home, well kept lawns, and full pantries an insult? Our only crime is that we challenged those who would take it away. Are you sure that you meant to insult the Tea Party movement? I believe there was a small hint of admiration in the tone of your Senate speech. Thank you for some lively debates in our pub the last two weeks. Cheers.

J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit around 1937. The novel is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, three novels that are set in a world created by Tolkien. He draws heavily on Anglo Saxon, Germanic, Norse and Celtic mythology to create a world inhabited by humans, elves, dwarves and hobbits. That pretty much describes the cultures influencing his English heritage. The Hobbit is a novel about Bilbo Baggins and his adventure that leads into the epic story of the Lord of the Rings.

For the uninitiated, hobbits are a race of reclusive, agrarian people. In his introduction of hobbits, Tolkien does not start off with a physical description. He describes how they arrange their home, in a nice, comfortable manner inside of a hill. He describes how hobbits like to arrange their lives in a predictable manner. This part of the description feels like an idealized village.

A Hobbit is a short person, about half the size of you and me. They tend toward being round in the middle, a detail the movie Lord of The Rings neglected. They have curly hair on both head and feet. A Hobbit never needs to wear shoes. They are industrious; but, seem to value leisure time and good food over gold. I would not mind being a hobbit, it sounds nice.

The plot of The Hobbit can be described as: one hobbit reluctantly goes on an adventure, shakes up the world, and returns home to lead a quiet and respectable life.

Honestly, I cannot figure out why McCain used the imagery he did. He basically encouraged the Tea Party Hobbits to go out and challenge the dragon. Still, his use of hobbit imagery is a testament to the impact this book has had on the world.

If you are interested in more information about Tolkien, I have included a link to the Wikipedia article about his life:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien.This is a good place to start reading about him; but, if you are going to research him, you need to go read the references.

The song actually grows on you. This video was pre MTV, so it's kind of visionary. The Hobbit has inspired a lot of people over the years. I hope the movie is good.

Mr. Nimoy has at least one album that you can purchase online, that I know about.