Everyone has a friend or companion they feel very close to, and sometimes you see how your friendships get tested when you’re forced to make a decision to either help yourself, or stay with your friend. By the end of both books, “The Hobbit” and “Ranger’s Apprentice the Burning Bridge,” you see how the characters Bilbo and Will have created new friendships and how those friendships were tested as they were faced with consequences in which they had a decision to either help themselves, or stay with their friends. Though written in the two different settings of Middle Earth and Araluen, J.R.R Tolkien and John Flanagan both use the ideas of close friendships and sacrifice together to show how character friendships have developed through their adventures. In both “The Hobbit,” and “The Burning Bridge,” we learn that strong friendships can lead to a point where one is willing to make sacrifices for the other. “The Hobbit,” takes place in the mystical land of Middle Earth where dwarves, goblins, and dragons (and Hobbits) reside. Though it may look different from the world we are living in, the feelings, interactions, and thoughts the characters have are not that different from ours. Throughout the book you see the main character Bilbo going on an adventure with 13 dwarves to rescue their home, but you can also see the friendships that are grown between them as they went through each problem they faced. But then you see the point where Bilbo made that choice of sacrifice to help protect the dwarves. As you approached the final climax of the story, you would have spotted the scene where Bilbo was paying a harsh cost of the respect he had gotten from the dwarves by handing the Arkenstone (the most important jewel to Thorin) to Bard, his rivermen and the elves, just so they could bargain for a share of the dwarves gold. Bard had even questioned him, asking why he was doing this, and Bilbo had replied saying he wanted for everyone to be well. I believe this is a very key moment relating to my claim; as Bilbo is willing to pay his own friendship and the respect he had gotten from the dwarves, just to make sure they were ok. By they, I mean the dwarves of course. Some of you may argue here, saying that he had wanted everyone to be ok, but if you read a bit closer, you will see why this choice he made was more for the dwarves sake. Right after handing over the Arkenstone, Bard and the elves wanted him to stay with them, knowing that the dwarves would be furious with him, but Bilbo responded saying, “I don’t think I ought to leave my friends like this, after all we have gone through together.” That line right there shows that this action was more about the dwarves than anyone else. He knew the dwarves wouldn’t survive in their mountain much longer as they were running out of food, and it was almost winter. He knew he had to do something to protect them, which led him to this decision. As you read through “The Burning Bridge,” you go through the exciting adventures of Will, Horace, and Gilian as they travel to Celtia in order to gain allies in the coming war. But they end up being in more danger than they had thought, as they go to a land taken over by the enemy. Throughout this book you see sections of the story where the main character Will had made sacrifices to protect his friends. An example of this came as you closed in on the climax of the story. Will and Evanlyn were burning a bridge so the enemy wouldn’t be able to attack their kingdom from behind. Wargals, disgusting dark creatures were starting to chase them, and Will had stayed back and told Evanlyn, “I’ll stay and hold them off.” You see very clearly from that line that he is wanting her to be safe and how he was willing to take that risk to stay and fight. Though this was a small example, more like these appeared throughout the book. As the book reached its final pages, Will and his friend Evanlyn were being taken away on a ship. The narrator quoted that “Will was thinking of escaping himself, but then realized he would be leaving Evanlyn behind. Then he hesitated, thinking of Evanlyn. He knew he couldn’t abandon her.” You see here that Will could have easily left by himself, but he just couldn’t leave his friend behind. I believe he felt a desire to stay with her after all they had been through, just like Bilbo felt when he had the choice of leaving the dwarves. They had both sacrificed their safety in order to protect their friends. Though both books do share the same theme of friendships leading to sacrifice, the authors show this in different ways. It seemed that John Flanagan was a bit more explicit when describing segments of the story where Will was sacrificing his own life to stay and protect his friends. He usually had quotes or narrator lines which clearly told us what the characters were feeling and thinking at that moment, like when Will wanted to stay and hold of the Wargals. However, J.R.R Tolkien shows this theme in a more implicit way. As you look at the way he wrote the scene where Bilbo was handing over the Arkenstone, you see that he doesn’t write about Bilbo’s sacrifice for his friends explicitly. It takes a while for the reader to go through the scene and figure out why Bilbo was supposedly ‘betraying’ his friends but then wanting to go back to them in the end. But even though they both show the theme in different ways, it all relates back to the same thing. In both “The Hobbit” and “Ranger’s Apprentice The Burning Bridge,” the authors show how the cost of close bonds in friendships could lead to some very big sacrifices. After looking through both stories, the authors show that the theme in very different ways; Tolkien being implicit while Flanagan was being quite explicit. Ultimately, its up to us to chose whether it is a fact that there are sacrifices made in close friendships or not, as you may think fiction books shouldn’t give us facts about real life. But in the end, both author’s do show that there is a point in a character’s life where they have to make those decisions.
****spoiler Alert**** He just became a ranger but now he has to face the most horrible battle that is starting that could change everything the rangers have built.This book is a adventure,action,and medieval type of era.I give this book 5 out of 5 stars cause it's so awesome. The setting takes place in castle Redmount But some of it is also in Celtica. A year has pass since Will became a Ranger's Apprentice and war is starting and the king is worried so Halt and Will kill Morgaraths men and retrieve a plan of tactics but later find out it's false so halt sends Will, Horace, and Gilan to Celtica to see how far Morgaraths men are close. Horace with them plans to train since a war is starting then when they make it to Celtica they find out that everyone is gone. Then when training bandits pick a fight with Horace and Will while gilan goes on a head But Horace defeats them easily and they meet a girl. Which they find out her name is Evanlyn with blond hair, but later find out that she's the princess. Then Gilan wants to report that no one is here in this place and leaves Will in charge and leaves. Then while getting back to Araluen warriors of Morgarath come up suddenly and have slave's,Will wanting to know why they have slave goes after them only to find out that they were building a bridge and the plan they had before then was false. Gilan after barely making it to the king reports to him but the king is sad because he hears that his daughter never made it to the place he sent her and her maid with red hair is with them, later after Gilan wakes up he says wait a minute she doesn't have red hair she has blond hair. Will plans to burn the bridge and does but half of it is not burning and goes to fire up the other half and Evanlyn also helps but get captured. Horace goes to warn them but it's to late the war has started and Halt is now afraid to hear that his apprentice is capture. While in battle Will and Evanlyn go with the Skandians which they are leaving to sea and Horace battles Morgarath and wins but Will and Evanlyn go to sea but tries and runs for them and fails and say's farewell to Will and promise's to get him back home. I was surprised when Halt failed to save Will which Halt never fails and always succeed no matter what happens. I was satisfied with Horace winning with Morgarath but took forever to end with "Horace used a back hand and used a perfect stroke to hit him. I wished that Halt saved the princess because it would have been more of a story then.I was angry when Evanlyn went to help will with the burning bridge even when Will said "I'll go you stay here and leave it to me". I give this book a 5 out of 5 because it's really amazing so why not read this book. If you love story's with action,adventure.and that good old Medieval story's read this book. This book is not over so you better not stop reading these awesome series.
What do You think about The Burning Bridge (2006)?
This book is very well written, not only grammatically, but in the emotion that the author can draw out of the reader. The story plot line is exceptional, and creates a world you can truly believe exists. This atmosphere in the book is so realistic, you become immersed in the world inside the book. The book is actually the second in a series. However, in the first two pages it explains the background, and then dives right in, not wasting time on lengthy unnecessary explanations. The story begins in an exciting manner, with a chase, a capture of battle plans, and the beginning of a war. The story continues, growing in excitement, and subterfuge. Though the plot thickens, it does not become over complicated and it creates an almost perfect balance of characters, emotions and plot lines. Everything that happens to the characters pulls at you, compelling you to feel what they feel.This book is excellently written and I would recommend it for anyone at any age. It is a book that many, no matter what age will find enjoyable to read.I loved reading this book because this book created one of the most realistic worlds I have encountered in a book. This book also balanced all of the elements, ensuring I wouldn't get confused, while also adding depth.
—Olivia
Finished in 4 hours.Love the character development, especially the bond between Horace and Will.I read about 3/4 of the book and the (view spoiler)[ battle still hasn't begin (hide spoiler)]
—Jolly
This book strongly reminds me of winter and all the good things it used to bring some years ago when I read it: peace, cocoa, pine nuts and blankets. This is the second book in this series and I enjoyed it just as much as the first one, which was great given that series tend to go down the hill more often than not. The strong messages about friendship that were so well developed previously were carried into this book as well.I really enjoyed getting more insight into the Rangers' world, their rites and general lifestyle. Gilian was a welcome addition to the main group and it was entertaining watching him guide and sometimes teach the younger characters. The author lets Halt out of the main story line on this book, which was somewhat disappointing for me, since I like him so much, but oh well.This story is once more following the adventures of Will and Horace who, despite having developed and matured considerably, are still innocent and thus unaware of some dangers that the world may bear. The most dangerous enemy out there is Morgarath and his army, which have for years tried to find a way into the Kingdom of Araluen, being kept at bay by the protection of the mountains. Eventually, though, rangers have to check the villages near the boarders of said mountains to check is everything is all right.So Will and Horace are asked to join a seasoned ranger and visit a neighboring village. When they arrive they discover that the villagers are no where to be found. In their quest to find out what has happened, they find a girl who is able to tell them the towns’ fate. Together they must investigate and, ultimately, try to save their kingdom, but doing so may require sacrifices.This book was full of thrilling action and suspense, but there's also a lot of fun and maybe nostalgia. Constant conflicts and tense situations kept me turning the pages like crazy. My only complaint would be that I didn't get to see that much of Halt and Will doing stuff together. Interesting quotes that I didn't include in the review: Sarcasm isn't the lowest form of wit. It isn't even wit at all. One man may be deceit. Two can be conspiracy. Three is the number I trust. The Last Passage(view spoiler)[ As the ship began to gather way, Will stared at the mounted figure in the surf, buffeted by the waves. Halt was so near and yet now so impossibly out of reach. His eyes stung with tears and, faintly, he heard Halt’s voice.“Will! Stay alive! Don’t give up! I’ll find you wherever they take you!”Choking on tears, the boy raised his arm in farewell to his friend and mentor.“Halt!” he croaked, but he knew the Ranger would never hear him. He heard the voice again, carrying over the sounds of wind and sea.“I’ll find you, Will!”Then the wind filled the big, square sail of the wolfship and she heeled away from the shore, moving faster and faster toward the northeast.For a long time after she’d dropped below the horizon, the sodden figure sat there, his horse chest-deep in the rolling waves, staring after the ship.And his lips still moved, in a silent promise only he could hear. (hide spoiler)]
—Ademilson Moraes
