He knew that they had a hidden sense of cunning and cleverness. Hobbits also get along with other races quite well, as they are free of prejudices. This is why he chose Bilbo as a burglar and also why he had faith in Frodo and Sam, as he knew that only a hobbit had the inner strength to bear the ring.

The Hobbit is set within Tolkien’s fictional universe and follows the quest of home-loving Bilbo Baggins, the titular hobbit, to win a share of the treasure guarded by Smaug the dragon. Bilbo’s journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory.

The Hobbit’s main theme is Bilbo’s development into a hero, which more broadly represents the development of a common person into a hero. At the beginning of the story, Bilbo is timid, comfortable, and complacent in his secure little hole at Bag End.

The Quest of Erebor was the quest taken by Thorin and Company, accompanied by Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf, to reclaim the Dwarven kingdom of Erebor in the Lonely Mountain from the Dragon Smaug in T.A. 2941. It makes up the central story of The Hobbit, and also inadvertently led to the War of the Ring.

In the trilogy’s first film, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” hobbit Bilbo Baggins departs the Shire to join the Company of adventurers — Gandalf the Grey, head Dwarf Thorin, and 12 other Dwarves — on their quest to retake their kingdom of Erebor in The Lonely Mountain and defeat the dragon Smaug.

Gandalf’s most important role in The Hobbit is as a tutelary or wisdom figure to Bilbo. He persuades Bilbo to go on the adventurous journey with the dwarves because he knows that Bilbo, without realizing it, is an essential player in the drama that will result in the death of Smaug.

Creeping Death. Gandalf met Bilbo when he was young hobbit. This is said in the book. Bilbo is Took and that`s why Gandalf the Grey like him.

Gandalf obviously did know about the Goblins and the Balrog. And he certainly knew all about Balrogs since he was a Maia, who had presumably participated in the War of Wrath when the Balrogs were mostly destroyed. He recognized the Balrog instantly when he saw it, as did Gimli and Legolas.

No. Gandalf certainly did not realise that Bilbo’s ring was the One Ring at the end of The Hobbit, or indeed by the start of The Lord of the Rings. The realisation came upon him slowly, and he only fully worked it out years after the start of The Lord of the Rings. “How long have you known all this?” asked Frodo again.

Gandalf began to suspect the Ring was more than it seemed only on the night of Bilbo’s party. Bilbo’s behavior that night concerned him. So he didn’t stay in the Shire for 17 years, he LEFT the shire for 17 years (after cautioning Frodo not to use the Ring, and to keep it secret and safe).