This The Hobbit test includes 50 questions ranging from simple recall to literary analysis. If you want to limit your exam to multiple-choice, omit the final section. Scroll down to print, download, or select test questions individually.
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The Hobbit Test Questions: COMPREHENSION
1) Why does Gandalf choose Bilbo to join the quest of Thorin and Company?
A. Bilbo has previous adventure experience.
B. Bilbo owes Gandalf a favor.
C. Gandalf actually meant to invite Frodo.
D. Gandalf believes Bilbo has hidden qualities.
2) The incident with the trolls shows that…
A. Bilbo is a gifted burglar.
B. Bilbo is a terrible burglar.
C. Bilbo can save the day when he must.
D. Bilbo has no courage at all.
3) Why does Gandalf leave the company for the later part of the journey?
A. He must attend to other wizard business.
B. He grows angry with Thorin Oakenshield.
C. He has injured himself and must recover.
D. His magic does not work in Mirkwood.
4) How does Bilbo save the dwarves from the spiders in Mirkwood?
A. He distracts and battles the spiders.
B. He leads spiders into traps.
C. He scares them and tricks them into leaving.
D. Trick question! He does not save the day.
5) Why does the company leave the set path through the forest of Mirkwood?
A. A group of trolls has set a trap for them.
B. A group of elves are having a feast.
C. They find a map to buried treasure.
D. An enchanted fog leads them off course.
6) How does Bilbo free the dwarves from jail?
A. He uses the magic lamp.
B. He bribes the guards with gold.
C. He sneaks them out in barrels.
D. He starts a fire as a distraction.
7) How do the Lake-town people react to the arrival of Thorin Oakenshield?
A. They imprison him.
B. They celebrate his arrival.
C. They ignore him completely.
D. They force him to leave.
8) Which of these helps Bilbo discover the secret of entering the Lonely Mountain?
A. Snails
B. Fog
C. Toenails
D. Umbrellas
9) One weakness of dragons is…
A. They are extremely hard to wake up.
B. They have soft underbellies.
C. They are simple and easy to fool.
D. They cannot fly in cold weather.
10) What secret does Bilbo keep from Thorin?
A. The location of the Arkenstone
B. A message left behind by Smaug
C. What happened in the haunted chamber
D. The recipe for his grandmother’s biscuits
11) Who kills Smaug the Tremendous?
A. Thorin Oakenshield
B. Bard the bowman
C. Gandalf
D. Trick question! Smaug dies of old age.
12) What does Bilbo do in a desperate final attempt to prevent a war?
A. He tries to assassinate (murder) Thorin.
B. He tries to use one of Gandalf’s spells.
C. He gives part of the treasure to Bard.
D. He tells Smaug about the secret entrance.
13) What creatures join the Battle of Five Armies to save the day at the last moment?
A. Eagles and Beorn
B. Trolls and dragons
C. Wolves and Roäc
D. Ents and entwives
14) What problem does Bilbo discover upon returning home to the Shire?
A. His home is destroyed.
B. His belongings are being sold.
C. His friends refuse to speak to him.
D. The sheriff arrests him at the border.
15) At the closing of the novel, Bilbo…
A. Is eager for another journey.
B. Is satisfied but forever changed.
C. Regrets going on the adventure.
D. Rages angrily that no one believes him.
The Hobbit: LITERARY KNOWLEDGE
16) Which choice relates LEAST to the quote?
“Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.” (24)
A. Motivation
B. First-person point of view
C. Characterization
D. Internal conflict
17) Bilbo is the hero, but he is not physically special or morally (right and wrong) perfect.
A. Villain
B. Antihero
C. Antagonist
D. Foil character
18) The giant, fantastic, man-eating trolls have ordinary names like Bert, Tom, and William.
A. Tragedy
B. Tension
C. Irony
D. Imagery
19) Detailed descriptions of the sights, sounds, surfaces, and smells of Rivendell.
A. Foreshadowing
B. Imagery
C. Theme development
D. Symbolism
20) Which of the following is a genre?
A. Bard the bowman
B. Climax
C. Fantasy
D. The Arkenstone
21) “Dwarves had not passed that way for many years, but Gandalf had, and he knew how evil and danger had grown and thriven in the Wild, since the dragons had driven men from the lands, and the goblins had spread … Even the good plans of wise wizards like Gandalf and of good friends like Elrond go astray…” (57)
A. Imagery / sensory details
B. Foreshadowing / suspense
C. Metaphor / figurative language
D. Revelation / resolution
22) “I imagine you know the answer, of course, or can guess it as easy as winking, since you are sitting comfortably at home and have not the danger of being eaten to disturb your thinking.”
A. Indirect characterization
B. Figurative language (metaphor)
C. Direct address (point of view)
D. Symbolism
23) Which motif throughout The Hobbit suggests the idea of fate or divine influence?
A. Songs and correspondence (letters)
B. Dragons and goblins
C. Magical doors and streams
D. Luck and unlikely escapes
24) The ancient and universal (for all people) idea of a character having to play a game with life-or-death consequences is an example of…
A. An archetype.
B. A theme.
C. A played-out device.
D. Character motivation.
25) Some details suggest that Gandalf is powerful and all-knowing. Some details suggest that he is just a clever and tricky old man.
A. Ambiguity
B. Tension
C. Climax
D. Resolution
26) Tolkien includes maps, runes (written symbols), song lyrics, and invented languages.
A. Reader’s tone
B. Theme
C. World-building
D. Verbal irony
27) Which choice accurately describes the point of view used in the telling of The Hobbit?
A. First-person, limited
B. Second-person, unreliable
C. Third-person, omniscient
D. Personal autobiography (by Bilbo)
28) Which statement is true regarding the narrator of The Hobbit?
A. The narrator often interrupts the story to talk to the reader and give commentary.
B. The narrator is an elderly Bilbo looking back on his greatest adventure.
C. The narrator sticks to the facts, remains detached, and offers no personal views.
D. The story is told collectively (together) by a group of Elvish historians.
29) Which choice best describes the narrator’s tone for much of The Hobbit?
A. Disrespectful and sarcastic
B. Good-natured and humorous
C. Bitter and nostalgic (lost in memory)
D. Cold and detached (unfeeling)
30) Which choice accurately reflects the mood Tolkien creates surrounding Mirkwood?
A. Eerie and threatening
B. Joyful and fanciful
C. Calm and tranquil (peaceful)
D. Comical and absurd (silly)
31) Which moment marks Bilbo’s “crossing of the threshold” in the hero’s journey?
A. When he leaves the Shire
B. When he meets Gollum
C. When he slays the spider in Mirkwood
D. When he steals a cup from Smaug’s hoard
32) Which choice reflects onomatopoeia?
A. The clink and clank of the prison lock
B. Barricade of bouncing baskets
C. Elf-friend, dwarf-friend, hobbit-friend
D. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire”
33) “Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back…” (137)
A. Figurative language
B. Epithets / flashback
C. First-person, limited point of view
D. Character turning point
34) What archetype best fits Gandalf?
A. The trickster
B. The reluctant hero
C. The wise mentor
D. The threatening shadow
35) Bilbo’s success with the secret door tells the reader to use patience and observation when problem-solving. This type of message is a(n)…
A. Archetype.
B. Allegory.
C. Malapropism.
D. Moral.
36) What is the purpose of Tolkien’s use of songs and poems throughout the novel?
A. They slow down the plot.
B. They reveal the author’s personal views.
C. They establish setting and mood.
D. They purposefully confuse the reader.
37) Which of the following is an epithet?
A. Gandalf as a guardian of the company
B. Comparing the Arkenstone to a bright star
C. Doubt over whether or not Thorin will regain his sense of reason and his honor.
D. Smaug the Unassessably Wealthy
38) The motivation of Bilbo as compared to the motivation of Thorin is best shown by…
A. How they show appreciation to the eagles.
B. How they react to the treasure hoard.
C. How they want to take revenge on the people of Lake-town.
D. Where they want to be buried.
39) Which choice relates LEAST to the quote?
“A sound, too, began to throb in his ears, a sort of bubbling like the noise of a large pot galloping on the fire, mixed with a rumble as of a gigantic tom-cat purring. This grew to the unmistakable gurgling noise of some vast animal snoring in its sleep down there in the red glow in front of him.” (187)
A. Internal conflict
B. Imagery
C. Figurative language
D. Simile
40) Which choice is an example of a proverb?
A. The trolls literally argue to death.
B. Don’t laugh at live dragons.
C. There and Back Again, a Hobbit’s Holiday
D. Rivendell means “divided valley.”
41) Bilbo calls himself an “honest burglar.”
A. Unreliable narrator
B. Literary symbol
C. Direct address
D. Oxymoron
42) Which historical event most influenced Tolkien’s views on war and desolation?
A. World War I
B. The Crusades
C. The Great Depression
D. The Cold War
43) Which choice reflects situational irony?
A. Bard the bowman can understand birds.
B. The prophecies were correct about the return of dwarves to Erebor.
C. Bilbo turns out to be the most valuable member of the company.
D. The eagles repay Gandalf by saving him and Thorin and Company.
44) When it comes to mapping the plot, the Battle of Five Armies is the…
A. Allegory.
B. Point of view.
C. Inciting incident.
D. Climax.
45) The sudden appearance of the eagles to save the forces of good is an example of …
A. Foreshadowing.
B. Deus ex machina.
C. Flashback.
D. Extended metaphor.
46) Which choice describes the plot structure?
A. Linear (beginning, middle, and end)
B. Reverse (Ending and then flashbacks)
C. Fractured (told from many points of view)
D. Parallel (several stories told together)
47) “‘There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom… If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell!’” (247)
A. Imagery
B. Archetype
C. Theme development
D. Extended metaphor
The Hobbit Unit Test: SHORT ANSWER
48) Describe Tolkien’s use of imagery. Use one or two illustrative examples in your explanation.
49) Identify and explain ONE literary symbol in The Hobbit.
50) Analyze this quote in terms of the relevant literary elements:
All the same Mr. Baggins kept his head more clear of the bewitchment of the hoard than the dwarves did. Long before the dwarves were tired of examining the treasures, he became weary of it and sat down on the floor; and he began to wonder nervously what the end of it all would be. “I would give a good many of these precious goblets,” he thought, “for a drink of something cheering out of one of Beorn’s wooden bowls!” (208)
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The Hobbit Final Exam Maker:
Select from three The Hobbit test banks (comprehension, literary knowledge, and vocabulary) or use the Test Maker file. The Hobbit Test Maker has all of the questions numbered in one document. Simply delete the questions that you don’t want, and that’s it. Your final exam is ready.
The Hobbit Test Maker questions / prompts:
- Comprehension / recall – 48 multiple-choice, 4 short answer, 1 essay
- Literary knowledge – 68 multiple-choice, 17 short answer, 3 essay
- Vocabulary – 80 questions total (matching, completion, identification, etc.)
The Hobbit Test Maker files:
- TEST MAKER all questions (DOCX and PDF)
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- Comprehension Questions (DOCX and PDF)
- Comprehension Questions ANSWER KEY (DOCX and PDF)
- Literary Questions (DOCX and PDF)
- Literary Questions ANSWER KEY (DOCX and PDF)
- Vocabulary List (DOCX and PDF)
- Vocabulary Test (DOCX and PDF)
- Vocabulary Test ANSWER KEY (DOCX and PDF)
NOTES:
- The vocabulary section is the last of the test maker, so it is easy to leave out.
- You might make the answer key first. Then you can remove the highlighting from the entire document (and the written responses) to have the student version.