The Hobbit, Chapter 11: On the Doorstep quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why will the men of the town not stay with the company at the riverbank camp?

   • They must hurry home before the lake freezes over
   • Correct answer: They fear being so near the shadow of the Mountain
   • Thorin orders them back to guard the town's gates
   • They quarrel with the dwarves over the shared stores

   None of the men would stay even for the night so near the shadow of the Mountain; they believe in the Dragon more easily than in Thorin.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Which dwarves does Thorin send with Bilbo to scout toward the Front Gate?

   • Fili, Kili and Bifur
   • Balin, Dori and Nori
   • Correct answer: Balin, Fili and Kili
   • Dwalin, Bofur and Bombur

   Thorin chooses Balin, Fili and Kili for the scouting trip, and Bilbo goes with them.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What makes Bilbo think the dragon is still alive inside the Mountain?

   • Correct answer: Steam and dark smoke drift out of the Front Gate
   • The crows croak a warning that the dragon is near
   • He hears a deep rumbling roar from the open gate
   • He spots fresh claw marks in the ruins of Dale

   Bilbo judges from the smoke and steam coming out of the Gate; Balin agrees, though he says it does not prove it.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Why does Balin look both sad and grim when he points out the ruins of Dale?

   • He was born in Dale and lost his family there
   • He blames the men of Dale for the dragon attack
   • He fears the crows will warn the dragon of them
   • Correct answer: He was with Thorin on the day the Dragon came

   Balin had been one of Thorin's companions on the day the Dragon came, so he remembers the valley when it was green and rich.

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5. 5

   Question 5. How does the company manage the dangerous ledge to set up its third camp in the bay?

   • Bilbo uses the ring to find a hidden inner stairway
   • They climb down to the bay from Ravenhill's summit
   • They cut new steps into the cliff with their picks
   • Correct answer: They wind rope round their waists and haul supplies up

   The ledge is too narrow for packs, so each dwarf wears a coil of rope round his waist, and they haul what they need up from below.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What happens when the dwarves use their picks and tools on the smooth rock wall?

   • They chip a small crack that closes again by morning
   • Correct answer: The handles splinter and the steel heads break or bend
   • They work, but the rock is too thick to break through
   • Bombur drops them over the cliff onto the rocks below

   The handles splinter and the steel heads break or bend like lead; mining is no good against the magic that shut the door.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why does Bilbo spend a miserable, nearly sleepless night after hearing Dwalin complain?

   • He feels guilty for hiding his magic ring from them
   • He believes the dwarves are planning to leave him
   • Correct answer: He fears he will be sent to spy through the Front Gate
   • He is sure the thrush is a spy sent by the dragon to watch the bay

   Dwalin suggests the burglar should go through the Front Gate, and Bilbo cannot bear the thought of the unhappy valley and that steaming gate.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What happens right after Thorin turns the key in the key-hole?

   • Correct answer: They push together and the door slowly swings inward
   • The thrush flies through the hole into the darkness
   • Smoke pours out and the dwarves flee along the ledge
   • The door bursts open with a crash that echoes inside

   The light goes out, and when they all push, a door is outlined in the rock and swings inward without a sound.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually happen in Chapter 11?

   • Balin points out the ruins of Dale from the riverbank.

     Happened

     From the high bank of the river the scouts saw the grey ruins in the valley, and Balin told them this was all that was left of Dale.

   • Bilbo climbs Ravenhill to look out from the old watch-post.

     Didn't happen

     The company camped on the spur that ends in Ravenhill, where there had been an old watch-post, but they dared not climb it yet because it was too exposed.

   • Bombur refuses to come up to the higher camp by rope or path.

     Happened

     Bombur would not come up either the rope or the path, saying he was too fat for such climbing and the ropes too slender for his weight.

   • Gandalf returns to the camp on the last day of autumn.

     Didn't happen

     Gandalf does not come back in this chapter; Bilbo only thinks that perhaps the wizard will suddenly return, and the thrush comes instead.

   • Bilbo finds rough steps behind a stone standing like a pillar.

     Happened

     Creeping behind a great stone that stood alone like a pillar, Bilbo came on what looked like rough steps going upwards.

   • The dwarves drive off a flock of crows at the Front Gate.

     Didn't happen

     The scouts only watched the Front Gate from behind a rock, and the croaking crows followed them all the way back to camp.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'ominous' mean as used in: "Nothing moved in the waste, save the vapour and the water, and every now and again a black and ominous crow"?

    • Rare and difficult to spot from far away
    • Tired, slow-moving and weak with hunger
    • Loud, quarrelsome and always calling out
    • Correct answer: Threatening that something bad is coming

    Ominous means threatening or warning of harm; Balin even says the dark birds look like spies of evil.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'implored' mean as used in: "they thrust and pushed at it, they implored it to move"?

    • Correct answer: Begged earnestly
    • Ordered sharply
    • Tested carefully
    • Cursed angrily

    Implored means begged earnestly; the desperate dwarves plead with the rock when force does not work.

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