Chapter 4

Under Gandalf’s guidance, the group begins to ascend the mountains. The weather is cold and the path is dangerous. As the journey begins to get difficult, Bilbo thinks about his home and pleasant summer days. The dwarves are hopeful that they will reach the Lonely Mountain by Durin’s Day, but Gandalf is unsure because he is aware of the dangers that lie ahead of them.

The group gets caught in a thunderstorm and decides to take shelter in a cave. Bilbo dreams that and there is a crack in the cave and they are all slipping away. To his shock, he wakes up to find that the crack is real and that the ponies have disappeared. The Goblins, too, have entered. Bilbo yells and wakes up Gandalf, who uses magic to kill some of the goblins.

However, Bilbo and the dwarves are captured by the goblins and presented before the Great Goblin. The Great Goblin is angered to discover Thorin’s sword, Orcrist or Goblin-cleaver, which has killed many Goblins in the past. They know it as Biter. The Great Goblin orders that the dwarves be killed. Suddenly, the lights go off and a flashing sword kills Great Goblin.

Gandalf’s voice asks the dwarves and Bilbo to escape. Goblins sneak up behind Dori, who is carrying Bilbo. Dori falls and Bilbo hits his head on a rock and loses consciousness.

In this chapter, the group encounters its first real danger and engages in a battle. The journey itself begins to get difficult and dangerous. Elements of fantasy can be seen in this chapter: the Goblins, the magic performed by Gandalf, and so on. At the end of this chapter, Bilbo becomes a burden to the dwarves.