Read the excerpt from The Fellowship of the Ring. That was Gandalf’s mark, of course, and the old man was Gandalf the Wizard, whose fame in the Shire was due mainly to his skill with fires, smokes, and lights. His real business was far more difficult and dangerous, but the Shire-folk knew nothing about it. To them he was just one of the "attractions” at the Party. Hence the excitement of the hobbit-children. "G for Grand!” they shouted, and the old man smiled. They knew him by sight, though he only appeared in Hobbiton occasionally and never stopped long; but neither they nor any but the oldest of their elders had seen one of his firework displays—they now belonged to the legendary past. How is Gandalf characterized in this excerpt?
Gandalf is characterized as intriguing because the hobbits know him mainly for his remarkable fireworks, while his real work is mysterious and unknown to them. The children are excited to see him, and his displays belong to a “legendary past,” which makes him seem fascinating. Although his work is described as dangerous, the excerpt does not portray Gandalf himself as irritable or primarily as dangerous.
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