Which character is the first speaker in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit?

Bilbo Baggins is the first speaker in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit. The opening conversation begins when the wizard Gandalf greets Bilbo at his home, and Bilbo replies with a conventional polite wish.

This opening exchange introduces Bilbo before the adventure begins. He is presented as a respectable hobbit living comfortably in Bag End, with little interest in the sort of travel and danger associated with his Took ancestry.

Gandalf’s arrival and the subsequent visit of Thorin Oakenshield and the thirteen dwarves disrupt Bilbo’s routine. The contrast between Bilbo’s domestic life and the larger history surrounding the Lonely Mountain drives the novel’s early chapters.

Readers sometimes remember Gandalf as the first speaker because he initiates the conversation and is the first major visitor to appear. However, the question asks for the first character to speak, which is Bilbo. Smaug appears much later, and Thorin’s role begins after the unexpected gathering at Bag End.