What does Bilbo do all day?

[Darth Saruman]

He seems to lead an ideal existence...He's unemployed, but not damned for it. He's rich. He lives in paradise. He can go tramping around and talking with elves all the time. He's always smoking weed under huge oak trees and drinking beer at Hobbiton taverns all night. The only bad thing, it seems, is that he doesn't have internet access. Who cares? Why would you want to visit THE TOLKIEN FORUM when you have the real thing?

[Arda's Bane]

I think that for bilbo there was no need to work, due to him being part of possibly the two richest families of halflings in the west of middle earth. And i dont think hed get much work done after taking down all that weed :p

[Rangerdave]

Dear old Bilbo has the job I have dreamed of all my life. his duties include the following:

1. Reading history and poetry
2. Eating
3. Writing history and poetry
4. Eating
5. being entertained by festive Elves
6. Eating
7. Sleeping

And when he is not busy with his official duties, he enjoys an occasional snack.

RD

[Cian]

He was into a little professional burglary at one point :D

[Camille]

I am curious now... What do we know about the political, or the economic system of Hobbiton? I mean there are the rich people (baggins for example) and the servants (Sam) what kind of servant Sam was, does he get paid? Does anybody know something about it?

[Turgon]

Did you mention eating RD...?
;)

I always envisioned the Shire as a kind of squirearchy - of the kind that was starting to die out in Britain between the wars. I was going to write something about the Scouring of the Shire here and it's relation to the threat industrialization posed to the landed gentry - but I don't really want to open up the whole allegory debate. So I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Actually I'm just too lazy...:p

[Chymaera]

Poor old Bilbo was a gentlehobbit of leisure.
Drawing an income from investments and property and farmland and such:)

Not very fantastic or noteworthy to an Oxford scholar. but I'd be fighting it out with RD to fill the position :D ;)

and don't forget the eating:D

[Camille]

Turgon my friend I hope that you will post your essay soon :), come on open the allegory debate :D

[Flame of Anor]

Bilbo writes in his memoirs of course. He also writes songs and poetry. If I am not mistaken.

-Flame

[Theoden]

I believe we can draw conclusions about Bilbo's lifestyle from how he lead it before he left and how he is leading it in the beginning of LotR. I think it is safe to say he did a lot of eating. And he did a considerable amount of writing. Also, at the age of 78, which ws only about 17 years after he returned from his adventure with Smaug, he adopted Frodo and brought him back to Bag End as his eyre. It seems that he was not really accepted by the Hobbits of Hobbiton once he got back so I asume that unless he was giving a huge birthday party, he was alone writing or teaching Samwise his "letters" or something.

-me

[Flame of Anor]

Originally posted by Rangerdave
Dear old Bilbo has the job I have dreamed of all my life. his duties include the following:

1. Reading history and poetry
2. Eating
3. Writing history and poetry
4. Eating
5. being entertained by festive Elves
6. Eating
7. Sleeping

And when he is not busy with his official duties, he enjoys an occasional snack.

RD

I would have to agree with you on that one RD.

-Flame

[Courtney]

Don't forget pipeweed...that would keep him occupied...

[Gandalf_White]

No one answered Camille's question about Sam. Well, Sam wasn't really a "servant." He just happened to work for Bilbo and Frodo. I mean you could hire someone to take care of your yard/garden for you, but they wouldn't be a servant. Right?

[CyberGhostface]

Bilbo pleads that he wont be damned for stealing the ring.

[Goldberry]

But I think Sam did more for Frodo, and was a servant. In other parts of the trilogy, other people describe him as Frodo's servant. There were other things mentioned, too, that made me think Sam looked after Frodo.

[Samwise_hero]

I reckon he lives a happy and interesting life which consists of reading, writing, eating, drinking, sleeping, some more eating, laughing, smoking his pipe and a litlle more eating. What a wonderful life!!!

[falcolite]

Originally posted by Samwise_hero
I reckon he lives a happy and interesting life which consists of reading, writing, eating, drinking, sleeping, some more eating, laughing, smoking his pipe and a litlle more eating. What a wonderful life!!!

you forgot taking a keen interest in maps :D

[Popqueen62]

And you forgot that he's a neat freak, wasn't he cleaning his house or something when Gandalf/the dwarves came to his house?

[Eledhwen]

Bilbo lived a quietly and happily until the age of 50. His time was his own, and he spent it getting to know the countryside, probably quietly meeting with Elves in the woods under the starlight (very Tookish!). No-one suspected him of being so unrespectable until Gandalf came along and provided him with the adventure of a lifetime - one he couldn't hide.

After that, he seems to have spent much of his time tutoring Frodo and Sam, and probably others besides. Frodo's proficiency in Elvish at the start of his LotR adventure , and Bilbo's translations of Elvish songs indicates that Bilbo had spent considerable time in the company of Elves, not just in conversation, but to master the written language too. Bilbo is a bit like Tolkien himself - studying and writing and taking walks, but whereas Tolkien only met with the Elves in his imagination, Bilbo could meet them 'for real'.

[Celebthôl]

i'll tell you wot he does eats and gets fatter! he does my head in!

[JanitorofAngmar]

Pppfffffssstt!!!!

You guys are all so deluded! Do you really want to know what Bilbo does all day? I was in Rivendell just a short while ago (working) and ran into him yet again working away out in the courtyard with his wonderfull books. His books, his writings...bah!! I've read his stuff and the guy is putting one over one everyone (Elrond included).

The guy spends his whole day reading and writing dirty jokes. Not to mention all the times I've caught him with his nose in a book and lo and behold he's reading the joke page from the magazine "Playboy" inserted into the book!

Actually, if you want to hear THE BEST dirty jokes in Middle Earth, Bilbo is your man! They guy is as raunchy as Sid Vicious when you give him a chance. Just don't tell Elrond or he'll likely kick him out of Rivendell for putting one over on Elrond this whole time (Elrond is a vindictive Bast***!)

But you are right, the guy sleeps like all the time! He eats constantly too! He eats more Doritos than you can imagine. I think it's the munchies from all that "pipe-weed" he smokes - which by the way, I don't know who he gets his stuff from but WOW good weed dude!

He's stopped drinking now though. His liver is just too damn old to be drinkin like an elf anymore.

JoA

[gate7ole]

Maybe Bilbo is trying to figure out some riddles, so that he won;t be caught again unprepared