Question

Time wore on, but it seemed to have little effect on Mr. Baggins. At ninety-nine they began to call him well-preserved; but unchanged would have been nearer the mark. There were some that shook their heads and thought this was too much of a good thing; it seemed unfair that anyone should possess (apparently) perpetual youth as well as (reputedly) inexhaustible wealth.

–The Fellowship of the Ring,
J. R. R. Tolkien

How is Bilbo Baggins characterized in this passage?

as strangely youthful
as cruelly unfair
as always changing

Answer 1

as strangely youthful

The passage emphasizes that time has little effect on him—he's "well-preserved" and "unchanged," appearing to have "apparently perpetual youth," so he’s portrayed as unusually youthful rather than changing or cruel.