Book I, Chapter One: A Long Expected Party The story begins with the eleventy-first birthday party of Mr. Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who has been a bit of a celebrity in the shire for many years. He is a wealthy hobbit and he has many friends and admirers. One of his younger cousins is Frodo Baggins who Bilbo has adopted as an heir. Since Frodo and Bilbo have the same birthday (September 22) they plan to …showed first 75 words of 5409 total…

…showed last 75 words of 5409 total…ople" (humans) in this part of the story. Strider's character is introduced here and he only grows in importance, in chapter ten. Frodo is fearful of Strider and Tolkien adds an element of suspense to the story, until Chapter Ten confirms Strider's honor. Frodo and his friends are always getting themselves into trouble and there is irony in the fact that in the process of trying to repair the situation, Frodo only makes everything worse.