Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Get
these
(/)
CliffsNotes
as
a Search CliffsNotes
PDF
The
Hobbit Literature Notes (/literature)
Download
Test Prep (/test-prep)
The
Hobbit Study Guides (/study-guides)
instantly.
Download Log In (/users/log-in)
(/subscribe/plans/the-
Sign Up (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-9/download)
hobbit/summary-
and-
analysis%2Fchapter-
9)
The Hobbit
:
J.R.R. Tolkien
BUY (https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Hobbit-Cliffs-Notes/dp/0822012863)
BUY (https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Hobbit-Cliffs-Notes/dp/0822012863)
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-1)
Chapter 2 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-2)
Chapter 3 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-3)
Chapter 4 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-4)
Chapter 5 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-5)
Chapter 6 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-6)
Chapter 7 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-7)
Chapter 8 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-8)
Chapter 9 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-9)
Chapter 10 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-10)
Chapter 11 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-11)
:
Chapter 12 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-12)
Chapter 13 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-13)
Chapter 14 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-14)
Chapter 15 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-15)
Chapter 16 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-16)
Chapter 17 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-17)
Chapter 18 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-18)
Chapter 19 (/literature/h/the-hobbit/summary-and-analysis/chapter-19)
Gandalf (/literature/h/the-hobbit/character-analysis/gandalf)
Smaug (/literature/h/the-hobbit/character-analysis/smaug)
Gollum (/literature/h/the-hobbit/character-analysis/gollum)
Quiz (/literature/h/the-hobbit/study-help/quiz)
Trying to find their way out of the forest of Mirkwood, the dwarves are captured by armed Wood-
elves; Bilbo avoids capture because he is wearing the ring. Invisible, he follows the dwarves, who are
taken by the elves across a bridge to the cave palace of the Elvenking. The Elvenking has them thrown
them into separate prison cells. Bilbo remains invisible, hiding in the Elvenking's palace for a week or
two, until he finds the dwarves; he also finds Thorin.
Bilbo carries a message from Thorin to the dwarves not to reveal their mission to the Elvenking.
Thorin's respect for Bilbo grows. Bilbo discovers that a stream flows under the palace out to the river
beyond the cave, and that empty wine barrels are dropped through trapdoors under the palace to
float down the river to Lake-town. He steals keys from the prison guard who has fallen asleep drunk
and releases the dwarves one by one. He presents them with an escape plan: If they will hide in empty
wine barrels, they will be dropped through the palace floor into the underground stream where they
may float down the river to Lake-town. They object to the danger of the plan, but finally agree to it in
desperation. Bilbo packs the dwarves in the barrels and they are tossed through the trapdoors into
the stream below. Bilbo, still invisible, clings to one of the barrels and floats with them to the place
where the stream joins the river; there, he wades ashore. The next morning, he sees that the barrels
have been bound together as a raft and he hops aboard as they continue to float toward Lake-town.
Analysis
With Thorin and the dwarves in prison, Bilbo becomes responsible for the fate of the entire group. He
uses the power of the ring to stay invisible and learn what he must to secure their escape. His
resourcefulness grows, and he develops an escape plan that proves to be successful. He also exercises
bravery in stealing the keys from the prison guard. He undertakes a risk in persuading the dwarves to
go along with his plan, and that proves to be a risk worth taking.
You also see further characterization of the dwarves in this chapter when, under the leadership of
Thorin, they refuse to reveal the nature of their journey to the Elvenking. This is part bravery and part
dwarvish greed — refusal to share.
Glossary
portcullis an iron grating hung over a gateway and lowered between grooves to prevent passage.
:
sleeping-draught a sleeping potion.
toss-pot a drunkard.
kine cow.
(/literature/h/the-
hobbit/summary-
PREVIOUS
Chapter 8
and-
analysis/chapter-
8)
(/literature/h/the-
hobbit/summary-
NEXT
Chapter 10 and-
analysis/chapter-
10)
Top
CliffsNotes study guides are written by real teachers and professors, so no matter what
you're studying, CliffsNotes can ease your homework headaches and help you score
high on exams.
(https://www.youtube.com/user/cliffsnotes/videos) (https://instagram.com/cliffsnotesofficial/)
© 2023 Course Hero, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Service (/terms-of-service)
:
Privacy Policy (/privacy-policy) Copyright Policy (/copyright-policy) Disclaimer (/disclaimer)
Sitemap (/sitemap/questions/)
REMOVED
Q+A
Get homework help
Answers as fast as 15 mins
: