“…and they all trusted Bilbo. Just what Gandalf had said would happen, you see. Perhaps that was part of his reason for going off and leaving them” (162)

            From the beginning, Bilbo has had a lot to prove to the dwarves. The question has always been which side of himself would he surrender to, the Took side or the Baggins side. Seeing as he had to rescue his friends at least two times before this passage, one could assume that the Took side is taking over despite the fact that he says he doesn’t want people depending on him. The dwarves began to trust Bilbo after he rescues them from giant spiders. During the time of this commentary, the dwarves are currently prisoners of the Wood-elves. He could have left them in both scenarios, but he didn’t. Of course, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he chose that option, so risking his life is the only option. Bilbo has no more confidence in himself than the dwarves did. In the beginning, they all depended on Gandalf to get them out of trouble because that’s what he always did with his magic. However, when he leaves, the responsibility of getting the group out of trouble always seems to land on Bilbo. Before we got to page 162, I made a note that he was taking the place of the old wizard. It looks like that was an deduction. Rescuing his friends from the Wood-elves is probably not the last time they will get in trouble and need Bilbo’s help since they are going after the dragon’s treasure. The narrator is trying to remind the reader that Gandalf chose Bilbo for a reason. From the start, the wizard believed that he would make a great addition to the expedition as a burglar. I think that the audience, which are children, would have been persuaded by this quote. It is a great reminder that Gandalf predicted that they would need Bilbo, and he was correct.