 Shippey writes that in chapters 6–8 of "The Hobbit", Tolkien explores "with delight that surly, illiberal independence often the distinguishing mark of Old Norse heroes".The philosophers Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson contrast the way Tolkien introduces hobbits, as "plain, quiet folks who never do anything unexpected", with how Thorin would have "introduce[d] himself, with aristocratic titles and songs of ancient lineage.We do not open the book to read of the wrath of Thorin the way we learn of the wrath of Achilles in the opening lines of "The Iliad"."