In this course, Joseph Pearce shows that Tolkien's own words about The Lord of the Rings being a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work" also apply to The Hobbit. Some readers mistakenly believe that J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, The Hobbit, is just a simple children's story. Tolkien might have written the book for his children's entertainment, but the best children's literature always has a deep level of meaning, and The Hobbit is no exception.

Professor Pearce gives you three keys to a true understanding of The Hobbit's applicability to everyday life:

• Bilbo grows in maturity, wisdom, compassion, self-sacrifice, and heroism over the course of his journey to the Lonely Mountain. At the end of the novel, Gandalf proclaims that Bilbo is no longer the hobbit he was; and we know that he is changed for the better. The meaning of life is to grow in virtue and holiness by learning the lessons of our adventures so that we can return "home" to God in Heaven.
• In The Hobbit, Bilbo is time and again protected and rewarded by "luck" or "good fortune." The "luck" present in The Hobbit is nothing other than the hand of providence and grace. In order to survive our life's journey like Bilbo, we need the supernatural assistance of grace and providence.
• Over and over again in the book, Tolkien presents characters who have fallen prey to dragon-sickness: pride and the lust for gold and material possessions. The Hobbit serves as a cautionary meditation on Matthew 6:21: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."