Bilbo Baggins: an Unexpected Hero

One of the main themes of the Hobbit is Bravery/ Heroism .The novel begins with Bilbo being content who lives in a hobbit hole. Gandalf invites Bilbo on an adventure and Bilbo reluctantly agrees when he wants to embrace his adventurous “Took” side of his ancestry. Bilbo shows great courage and heroism fighting evil and overcoming challenges. An example would be that “The dwarves looked at Bilbo with quite a new respect ,when he talked about dodging the guards and jumping over Gollum and squeezing through as if it was not difficult or very alarming”. (pg. 93). This quote tells of the dwarves response to Bilbo telling them how he escaped goblins and a horrid creature named Gollum. This instance is significant because it is the first major act

Bilbo showed bravery throughout the story in many ways. Bilbo was willing to play the riddle game with Gollem, which could be a good or bad thing. He took the Arkenstone and hid it, then later used it to repay for Smaug’s damages to the town. Bilbo was really brave when he was going to Smaug. He even said to himself, “Going on from this is one of the bravest things I’ve ever done.”

A hero is somone who is brave and selfless Bilbo Baggins is the epitome of a hero. According to Joseph Campbell “17 Stages of the Monomyth,” there will be a call to adventure. From the very beginning of the novel the narrator makes it clear that going on adventures is something that hobbits don't engage in. However, Bilbo after refusing to at first decided to go on the journey. Going on the journey he left his comfort zone put himself in danger, and potentially lost respect from all of the other hobbits. Like the typical hero in literature he made a sacrifice in order to help the dwarves. In many ways Biblo differs from heroes in Greek and Roman mythology. I noticed the vast majority of the heroes in Greek and Roman mythology tend to be warriors,

Again Bilbo is trying to prove himself to the dwarves, so by trying to get past the goblins in the coming chapters he gets hurtled into a hole and ends up in a dreary under land with Gollum. Here Bilbo has a riddle competition with Gollum in order to try and win his help with getting out of the wet and damp cave. When Bilbo finally tricked Gollum and found the ring that turned him invisible. He now had to escape; in doing this he ended up following Gollum out to the exit and then jumping over him.

Although this may seem like something your typical hobbit would stray away from, Bilbo is not your typical hobbit. In this moment, Bilbo truly becomes a hero. Before Bilbo was needed to save the dwarves, he was all by himself facing off against a spider. Once he had killed the spider with no help from any dwarf or wizard he became very confident. The book says,”Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins.” Bilbo knew that he was capable of being a hero, which aided him in becoming a one. After this, with the help of his magic ring, Bilbo was able to rescue the dwarves from the other evil

When you think of a hero, is the first character to pop in your head a little hobbit named Bilbo Baggins? In most cases, people think of Superman or Hercules, but in The Hobbit, an unexpected hero emerges and changes the name for all heroes to come. The Hobbit is a novel about Bilbo Baggins and his journey, with thirteen dwarves and a wizard, seeking the treasure stolen by the dragon, Smaug. While on this unexpected journey, Bilbo and his companions overcome many obstacles to eventually get to the treasure and retrieve it. Throughout the story, Bilbo develops into a courageous man, who indeed, is a hero. Richard Tyre wrote an article, “You Can’t Teach Tolkien,” and he explains his theory in which he connects multiple story’s plot with six elements. The Hobbit, is assuredly a prime example of Tyre’s theory because it follows all six steps throughout the story simultaneously. The six elements are; “(1) those who hunt for treasure, (2) must go alone, (3) at night, (4) and when they find it, (5) they must leave some of their blood behind, (6) and the treasure is never what they expected” (Tyre 19). These elements are steps in which a character must take to emerge into a hero in the end. Bilbo Baggins is the hero in The Hobbit, but he doesn’t start off as the hero. He has always had heroic traits but throughout the novel, he pursues those six steps and in the resolution, he is transformed into an actual hero.

Bilbo Baggins is one of the main characters of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Being a main character in a story, especially an adventure story, typically comes with some pretty hefty responsibilities. More often than not, the main character is also the hero. A hero is defined as “a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities,” and these are not necessarily qualities readily attributed to Bilbo Baggins (oxforddictionaries.com). This essay will look at three ways in which Bilbo contrasts the traditional characteristics of a hero and what transformations he ends up making to fit the mold more closely. It will examine his lineage, his strength, and his attitude as well as the changes he makes throughout the story.

(Ashton, 92). Specific characteristics come to mind when one envisions are hero, such as extraordinary strength and great courage. Heroes most commonly receive recognition for notable talents and remembered for their astonishing deeds and accomplishments. For example, Superman possesses superhuman strength, speed, and the ability to fly, qualities most frequently associated with heroes. However, not all heroes fit this model. Just a small hobbit from The Shire, Bilbo Baggins does not possess any great strengths or abilities, and many would view Bilbo as the antithesis to Superman. In J.R.R Tolkiens, The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins portrays an unlikely hero due to his small size and stout appearance, his cowardly personality, and his tendency to appear as an onus to the group. However, through his actions of bravery, Bilbo demonstrates that anyone, no matter what size or shape, can perform heroic deeds.

First of all, he gains courage in the story. Before he went on this adventure, he was timid and to himself. This is because hobbits didn’t go on anything dangerous, especially adventures. This all changes as soon as Bilbo goes on this journey with Gandalf and the dwarves. We see our first example of this when he tries to steal from the three huge, nasty

By putting his life in danger Bilbo shows a true example of heroism. Though the dwarves were still skeptical of his abilities, they were starting to take into consideration of what Gandalf had said about this little hobbit. Continuing their adventure the group is attacked by goblins where they are eventually saved by Gandalf. Throughout the turmoil of the attacking goblins Bilbo gets lost in the caves and finds himself alone in the darkness. It is in this event when Bilbo finds Gollum’s ring. Gollum was a sickly looking creature that had been dwelling in the caves for many years. Bilbo used his wits to outsmart the creature by playing a riddle game with him and eventually made it to safety. Having Bilbo win the riddle game shows that his smart and witty mind aids him in becoming the hero. Bilbo wasn’t some tough strong stereotypical super hero, he used his smarts to outwit his foes and to triumph over evil. Though Bilbo at the time did not know the power of the ring that he had retrieved from Gollum’s lair (the power of invisibility), it was his heroic fate that he found it as it assist him in becoming the hero of the story. Fate has it that Bilbo will become a hero, but Bilbo also has the courage on top of his fate to get the dwarves out of life threatening situations.

Not only does the portrayal of Bilbo’s character and underlying courage convey his heroism, but so does his sense of ethics. This is what truly makes him a unique, caring hero. While a typical hero’s motive is wealth and fame, Bilbo gave up his share of the dwarves’ treasure to help avoid war between two nations that severely despise one another (the elf and dwarf kingdoms). The fact that he was willing to give up his wealth to avoid war and for the good of other people marks a significant aspect of his heroism and explains why he is “more worthy to wear the armor of elf-princes than many that have

Bilbo Baggins is a fictional creature known as hobbit who accidentally lets his kindness talk the better of him, allows the reader to see both the message and effect of the mistake.

Many science fiction fantasy novels have a hero or heroine. In J.R.R Tolkien’s novel the hobbit Bilbo Baggins is a hero, Even though he finds a ring of invisibility that allows him to preform surprising feats. Some of his acts of heroism are when Bilbo make his first attempt at burglary when he steals from the trolls, when he creates a plan to free his friends from the ElvenKing and follows it through and when he goes down to visit Smaug for the first time to fulfill a promise.

Fact 1: Bilbo Baggins went through several tasks that made his character grow. Through countless excursions into the wild it was obvious that Bilbo developed greatly into a wonderfully cheerful hero. After Bilbo beat Gollum in a game of riddles he became more confident in himself. Bilbo’s task was to solve a riddle that Gollum gave him. If he got the answer he lived. If he was wrong, Gollum would eat him. Bilbo was good at riddles and he defeated Gollum. Then Bilbo used his ring to escape. This event made him even more confident. Bilbo realized that he had accomplished a very tough task when he beat Gollum. This event also made Bilbo more skilled in being stealthy when he had his ring on.

Following his discovery of the ring, Bilbo begins to face danger (Mathews 36). During the trip in the forest of Mirkwood, Bilbo uses Gandalf's absence to confirm his position as leader of the group through the memorable battle against the spiders (Mathews 38). Tolkien illustrates the importance of this combat through his words: "Somehow, the killing this giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark…made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt like a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath. ‘I will give you a name', he said to it, ‘and I shall call you Sting.'" The author thus stresses the importance of this incident (Tolkien 154). The naming of swords at that time was a sign of that heroism displayed by great warriors, and shows that Bilbo is gaining self-confidence and bravery (The 1924). The escape from the spiders brought about another challenge, the escape from the elves. Although the elves would most likely have released their prisoners after some time because of their natural righteousness, a delay would have prevented the dwarves from entering the mountain through the secret passage. Bilbo proves that he has the mental toughness of a hero by using brilliant strategy to enable his friends to escape unnoticed by the elves (Tolkien