Ross Raymond Nunamaker

Have you been “Struck by Lightning”?

If you know me, you are aware of my Tolkien affliction. 

I am currently participating in the Tolkien Society’s Big Read, which happens every other Monday evening with two groups one in Europe and one in the Americas. This week we were wrapping up the Hobbit and one of the questions was your favorite moment or line.

I always found the line “Struck by lightning” to be amusing. Here it is and for context, Bilbo has had a rough day, waking to a normal one, being visited by thirteen dwarves and a wizard and now being told that the journey they are embarking on would likely lead to death for some.

At may never return he began to feel a shriek coming up inside, and very soon it burst out like the whistle of an engine coming out of a tunnel. All the dwarves sprang up, knocking over the table. Gandalf struck a blue light on the end of his magic staff, and in its firework glare the poor little hobbit could be seen kneeling on the hearth-rug, shaking like a jelly that was melting. Then he fell flat on the floor, and kept on calling out “struck by lightning, struck by lightning!” over and over again; and that was all they could get out of him for a long time. So they took him and laid him out of the way on the drawing-room sofa with a drink at his elbow and they went back to their dark business.

“Excitable little fellow,” said Gandalf, as they sat down again. “Gets funny queer fits, but he is one of the best, one of the best – as fierce as a dragon in a pinch.”

Yes, some will say how could there be a train, but remember, there is a narrator telling the story to a child as it is a children’s book. Of note, ‘little fellow’ was changed in 1951 edition from the original ‘little man’, but that is not relevant here.

Bilbo was stressed and broke momentarily. He is literally put aside, given a drink for when he wakes, and business continues with Gandalf’s reassurance to the dwarves that he has his quarks but is the right ‘fellow’ for the job.

In thinking more about the passage as I wrote a post about the Big Read, I thought how true this is of life in general.

A person is confronted with something overwhelming to themself and they lose it. What is the response of peers, family, friends? Oh, they’ll be alright, just put them aside for a moment and let them come to their senses.

Of course it is straightforward in a children’s book and much more complex in life.

Today, it is recognized that this is not good practice in general and it is acknowledged that it was how many issues were treated in the past.

So what have we done? We’ve gone the other way entirely.

If I read it through today’s lens, Bilbo has been taken advantage of, traumatized, and not only solicited to engage in illegal criminal activity, but strongly encouraged to do so by a powerful figure who makes him uncomfortable, remember his good morning discussion, and is known to be off-kilter and dangerous. The man has vandalized his door and spread word that he is a for hire burglar.

Regardless, what I take from the scene as I read it, is that sometimes we get overwhelmed and simply need a moment to collect ourselves. We need perspective, and yes encouragement. The story of Bilbo is one of discovery. He discovers while enjoying the comfort of home, there is a zest in adventure and a bond found through camaraderie of a shared journey that persists long after the journey ends. 

What is overwhelming at first in its entirety, is manageable in pieces with support along the way coming when expected and unexpected from places known and unknown. One must trust.

Trust is not always of past experience. Trust is also embedded in us, or some of us, and that form of trust gives us hope. Hope is the belief that good will come.

It is very much circular as well and that might be a flaw. If I am struck by lightning, I trust in hope and know good will follow, maybe not how I expect it, but it will come in its time.

So if you feel as though you’ve been struck by lightning, think of Bilbo and his journey, and then consider your own. Reflect on what you’ve done, where you are, and where you want to go and why? Answers are not always easy and sometimes the biggest step is the one out your front door after you’ve been put aside.