Bilbo Hero's Journey

In 1949, Joseph Campbell discussed the hero’s journey, the foundation commonly used in stories throughout history. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the hero’s journey narrative is used to tell the story of Bilbo Baggins’s adventure. The novel follows Bilbo Baggins and a company of dwarves as they seek to take back the dwarves’ fallen kingdom. As the story progresses, Bilbo’s character develops and the dwarves perception of him develops through the many trials before the death of Smaug the dragon and the final battle between a variety of mythical creatures. In The Hobbit, the dwarves originally doubt Bilbo’s abilities but as Bilbo encounters more obstacles and succeeds, the dwarves perception turns to one of respect and admiration.

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.

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.

Bilbo has changed into a different hobbit since he left for his adventure. Before he left, Bilbo wanted nothing more than to stay in the comforts of his hobbit-hole, but afterwards he was more willing to abandon comfort for more adventures. The hobbit was not at all willing for adventure in the beginning since Gandalf, a wizard, practically tricked him into going on the trip, but after getting the thrill of adventure, Bilbo was more open to venturing outside his hobbit-hole. On the journey, the company came across many creatures and with these encounters, Bilbo became more open to different creatures than only meeting visitors that came to his hobbit-hole. With these encounters, however, the hobbit obtained a sense of confidence when meeting adversity.

A hero is one who sets a goal in which takes bravery and dedication in order to achieve. The book The Odyssey written by Homer reveals a story of a true hero. The main character is a man named Odysseus who displays hero characteristics throughout the book. Odysseus is a hero because he returns home with a changed perspective which reflects his heroic abilities, such as his bravery and dedication to return home.

“I wish I could be a hero!” Many adults in today’s society hear small children wishing they could become heroes. Children wish to be more like heroes for the reason that heroes are the type of people who risk their lives to help others. Throughout history, children have had a positive connotation with the word “hero.” The heroes many small children talk about are the fictional ones who protect cities from villains: Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and others. However, these are not the only types of heroes in today’s world. Firefighters and policemen are also considered heroes because they save the lives of those in danger. Many adults consider their inspirations to be heroes, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin

The first step in any Hero’s Journey is the Call to Adventure, and Bilbo’s and Ishmael’s were significantly different. Bilbo Baggins’

If you have noticed similarities in different books it is because of archetypes, the main example of a archetype is the Hero's Journey. The Hero's Journey has 3 stages Separation Initiation, and Return, the Hero’s journey is a set of stages that describe the path of total heroism. In The Hobbit Bilbo is embarking on his journey to retrieve the Lonely Mountain with the dwarves along the way, he faces challenges like Gandalf leaving, giant spiders, goblins, wood elves. These challenges shape him into more of a hero, he found some items key to his journey. He has a ring that allows him to disappear every time he puts it on.

Where would we be without heroes in fiction? What would we have left? No Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Superman, Sir Lancelot, or Captain Ahab. Name a work of fiction that does not revolve around or at least include a hero of some caliber. Ask yourself what stories could we still enjoy without the greatest characters of literary history. We as people have shown time and time again that nothing can beat our love for heroes, they have a special place in our hearts rivaled only by their associated villains. Without them most stories just wouldn't be the same. The Hobbit is a perfect example of the importance of heroism in literary fiction.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is a tale about an unconventional hero named Bilbo. Unlike a more traditional hero such as Sir Gawain, Bilbo is a short, unassuming character who does not volunteer to be the hero, but rather is tricked into it. However, both Sir Gawain and Bilbo were unsure of their destiny of greatness until they each found their own magical token: a green girdle for the knight and an invisibility ring for the hobbit. These characters always had the ability to overcome their respective obstacles, but it was not until they had a magical advantage that they believed in themselves.

I confidently say that Bilbo is a hero based on his courage, leadership, and self- sacrifice for his companions. This type of hero does act courageously, and preform even he is scared. Bilbo’s courage is one of the dominant qualities in this journey. Because of his surge the dwarves get lonely mountain and find their treasure. He initiates this quality on his mother’s side “his make-up from the Took side” (PG 03).

Bilbo Baggins is defined as a hero because he saves the dwarves from the gigantic spiders in a pitch-black forest, rescues them from the Elvenking’s grasp, and bravely takes an extremely precious jewel, that the dwarves have been searching for, and gave it to the elves and lake men to use as a bargain tool to prevent them from fighting the dwarves. Finding out that his friends were getting captured by gigantic spiders left Bilbo something else to worry about besides lack of food and water. His heroic self-came out again as he used himself as a decoy, or bait, to lure the spiders far away from the dwarves so he can have time to free the dwarves later. He used himself once more to help the dwarves run to a safe place while the spiders were slowly closing in on them. This shows that Bilbo is self-sacrificing and would do anything to keep his friends which is an impotent trait for a hero to have.

“Heroes are made by the path they choose, not the powers they are graced with”

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.

Many authors communicate to the reader through fictional stories known as myths. These myths, set in a fictional place or time, are able to identify problems with society today. The popular novel The Hobbit is a great example of a myth criticizing society today. Although it takes place in a fantasy land and has creatures that do not exist, it criticizes how we as humans should live our lives as well as telling us what it means to be a hero. The Hobbit tells us that we should take risks and experience new paths to make us have a better character.