![]() ![]() When Bilbo said “Good morning!…We don’t want any adventures here, thank you!” 2 he was using Good morning in its farewell sense, though what he meant in tone and occasion was probably closer to Gandalf’s description when he replied, However, Good morning can be said in various tones to various people on various occasions and can mean any or all of the definitions Gandalf presented. It is largely an abbreviation of “I wish you a good morning,” and other phrases of that sort. ![]() Good morning is, of old, both a greeting and a farewell. When I say Good morning, I typically mean one or both of two things: either that it is a good morning whether the person I am speaking to wants it or not, or that I wish him to have a good morning. I imagine the question goes over Bilbo’s head as he probably has never had to formulate the meaning of his sentences before. Gandalf insists upon being Socratically exact and interrogates Bilbo as to his precise meaning. Bilbo speaks on impulse, an expression of the sunshine and green grass welling up in his heart. It is the first time either character speaks in the book and both lines are faultless examples of their signature personalities. This section of Chapter 1 in The Hobbit makes me smile. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not or that you feel good this morning or that it is a morning to be good on?” But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. “Good morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it. ![]()
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