Having just finished reading The Hobbit, I’m surprised by the many parallels between it and Moby Dick. This is what I mean:
In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins joins Thorin and his kin on a journey whose goal is to slay a terrible beast named Smaug. In Moby Dick, Ishmael joins Ahab and his crew on a journey whose goal is to slay a terrible beast named Moby Dick.
Thorin and Ahab both behave like royalty and neither recognizes any power greater than themselves. They secure the allegiance of their followers through strength of will and the promise of gold.
Thorin receives counsel and assistance from Gandalf, a white-haired wizard who appears and disappears throughout the story. Ahab receives counsel and assistance from Fedallah, a white-haired Parsee who also mysteriously appears and disappears. Gandalf and Fedallah both have preternatural abilities, particularly when it comes to prophesy. Despite this, neither is much help in the final conflict.
Obsessed with gold, Thorin refuses Bard’s plea for assistance after Smaug’s attack on Esgaroth. Obsessed with vengeance, Ahab refuses Captain Gardiner’s plea for assistance after Moby Dick’s attack on the Rachel.
Bilbo survives his encounter with Smaug because of a ring he took from Gollum. Ishmael survives his encounter with Moby Dick because of a coffin he took from Queequeg. Gollum and Queequeg both speak in barely-intelligible English and both are experts at hunting aquatic life.
Given these similarities, one might suspect Tolkein of plagiarism. But after careful consideration, I’ve decided that the two novels are distinct. For one thing, Bilbo is more selfless than Ishmael, though less contemplative. And despite their similarities, Thorin isn’t worthy of being kicked in the ass by Ahab’s ivory leg.
What say you Dopers? Did I miss any major parallels?
Each Ahab and Thorin are completely aware that they are mightily obsessed, and each one is totally fine with that. That’s because each one sees himself as special.
Both are greatly given to speech-making as well. (To be totally fair to Ahab I have to note that those ‘thees’ and ‘thous’ are from his Quaker background, not a pompous affection.)
When my son read Moby Dick as a teen he said he really liked all the long passages about whaling, religion, and sailing, etc. He said it was just like being there on a long sea voyage with all the guys ‘shootin’ the shit’ to pass the time. You get a lot of that with "Hobbit’ too. It’s another long journey telling stories and waxing philosophical.
You definitely want to have the ‘it’s a long trip so take it easy’ mentality to really enjoy either one. The, um, maybe atmosphere is the word I mean, the atmosphere is a big part of the enjoyment. Neither is a lean plotdriven machine.
The Hobbit is a very fast read. I don’t know where you guys are getting that they’re longer then they needed to be. The closest thing to a slow part is when they get to Rivendell, and you have a page of stoned Elvish singing.