Bilbo's Transformation In The Hobbit

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit that enjoys a peaceful lifestyle. Hobbits like to stay indoors and smoke their pipes and they do not like socialize. Hobbits do not like adventure or socializing with unfamiliar creatures. When he was asked to go on the adventure with the dwarves, Bilbo was taken out of his comfort zone and into the world of a hero. Bilbo goes from hobbit to a hero when he helps the dwarves get out of jail, put everyone in a barrel ,and fights spiders.

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.

The Hobbit, written by John R. R. Tolkien, is a fantasy novel published on September 21, 1937. It was written as a prelude to the famous series, The Lord of the Rings, written seventeen years later. The Hobbit introduces the reader to an incredibly immersive fantasy world, that enriches the reader into its epic storyline. The story takes place in a land called Middle-earth, a land filled with enchanting surprises and magical wonders. It was the perfect playground for Tolkien to develop his main character Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo Baggins was a small hobbit, who unaware in the beginning would become a large role in the plot. It is through this character that Tolkien implemented the theme of heroism into the story. Bilbo’s

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

These were all characteristics of the main character - Bilbo Baggins. The process of becoming a hero, which Bilbo goes through, begins with a simple knock on his door one morning. Soon Bilbo is recruited, unknowingly and unwillingly, as a burglar into Thorin’s expedition, by the mysterious wizard, Gandalf. Bilbo is soon called to adventure. This was probably the only opportunity a hobbit such as Bilbo would ever get to go on such an expedition, but Bilbo was very reluctant, at first. Bilbo was good hearted, sacrificing and loyal. He would have given up his life for the betterment of others and this is what made him a true hero. At first, he didn’t want any adventure, but then he saw Gandalf’s faith and belief in him, and he decided to go on the adventure. Bilbo, like a real hero, always made sure that he finished the work he set out to do. Without Bilbo, the dwarves would not be able to finish all the tasks that they wanted to finish. Bilbo was also the reason why the dwarves were still alive. Bilbo saved the dwarves from many different disasters. The disasters ranged from the spiders to Smaug. Through good or bad, Bilbo always showed all the characteristics of a real

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

displays an arrogant and honorable character who went by the name Thorin Oakenshield. This character lacked the wisdom to understand the true meaning of his adventure and let his arrogance guide his decision to dislike the useful hobbit known as Bilbo Baggins due to his peaceful manner. At this point, Thorin has had no adventure that gave him the wisdom to have a good reason to go on his journey and to not trust someone only by their appearance. Even though he was told multiple times by Gandalf, the great wizard who accompanied the adventures for portions of their journey, to trust Bilbo despite his seemingly peaceful personality, Thorin would not catch on to the wisdom in Gandalf’s words. Even when the party began their journey and saw that Bilbo was intelligent and could fend for himself like when the dwarves were attacked and captured by trolls and attacked by the goblins and Gollum, Thorin never fully congratulated Bilbo on his bravery. He also let his mission to find gold run on his greed. When the party traveled to the last homely home, the book said that Elrond, the leader of the elves at that location,”... did not altogether approve of dwarves and their love of gold.”(pg. 52 The Hobbit, J.R.R Tolkien). Based on this quotation, Thorin still ignored and denied the fact that his greed for the gold that the journey promised in the end would only bring misfortune. The rising action of the journey showed that Thorin Oakenshield

First, Bilbo is selfless. He shows this to be true during many troubles on this journey. As he travels with twelve dwarves and a wizard, who has now left them, through many lands, their journey brings them to Mirkwood, a very large, dark wood with many dangerous and horrifying creatures. In this forest, the company encounters giant spiders and the dwarves are captured and wrapped in spider silk, while Bilbo hides by using a magical ring that he had found earlier in their travels. He then uses his sword to fight the beasts and save his friends. After this, they notice that Thorin, the king of the dwarves, was missing. They searched for him and the path which they had lost before their quarrel with the spiders. Then, Wood elves with bows and swords surrounded them and captured all but Bilbo, for he had once again used his ring to ‘disappear’. The elves took the dwarves to their palace and locked them away in the king’s dungeon, where Thorin was also.

Bilbo was able to gain Thorin’s trust and after the Battle of the Five Armies ended, it had made Thorin realize that what he did was the wrong thing to do and he would like to take back his

Bilbo puts his ring to follow the dwarves and try to come up with a plan on how to free the dwarves. He is always trying to think of ways to help the dwarves. He finally comes up with a plan. He gets the idea to put one dwarf in a barrel so they can escape. “For some time Bilbo had thought about this watergate and wondered if it could be used for the escape of his friends…” (177). This also shows how brave he is and that he stays with the dwarves rather than running off. Bilbo is showing to everyone that he had taken a cup from Smaug. This is a big sign of bravery. Even though there were previous instances where he was brave but, this also was a great achievement for Bilbo. His morals grow as his encounters with other races increase. Even though he has already shown morals multiple times, he keeps showing them and it starts to become a part of who he is and his

Bilbo’s weapons that he has with him on the journey are his invisibility ring and he also a magic sword that lights up when danger is approaching. The sword he has, Sting, was made by powerful elves of the past. The sword and ring helped him past many challenges on his journey. “He wanted it because it was a ring of power, and if you slipped that ring on your finger, you were invisible; only in full sunlight could be seen, and then only by your shadow and that would be shaky and faint.” (Tolkein 45.) This shows the great power the ring has. The supernatural help that Bilbo receives is during The Battle of The Five Armies. When Bilbo is knocked unconscious during the avalanche, the Eagles come over and help him to safety until he regains his consciousness. When he regains his conscience he grabs the Arkenstone before Thorin could get to it, and later Bilbo gives it to the humans for negotiating

During initiation, Bilbo learns how to live in the new world. Amid the road of trials, the first thing Bilbo learns is that adventure is difficult. Many times throughout his journey, he and the dwarves find themselves starving. It is also difficult due to his relationship with Thorin. He is like a father figure to Bilbo in the sense that he is the leader of the dwarves. But in the end, Bilbo had to turn on Thorin for his own good. Ultimately he died from his wounds from the battle that could have been prevented, although he and Bilbo reconciled before his death; “I wish Thorin were living, but I am glad that we parted in kindness” (Tolkien 290). This type of relationship shows atonement with a father figure in the hero’s journey. It was also difficult in Bilbo’s new world, because Smaug represented a temptress whose reputation was intimidating enough to persuade Bilbo and the dwarves to end their journey before they had even been in his presence. The travelers knew he was undoubtedly daunting and that it would be a difficult task to slay him, for he was very strong and powerful. But that fact did not deter their desire for revenge; “My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws are shields, the shock of my tail is a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane , and my breath death” (Tolkien 226). The next thing Bilbo recognizes in his journey is that he has become a true hero, especially

Thorin and the other dwarves are tricksters. They disrupt Bilbo’s normal day, making him stressed as the author tells us “The poor little hobbit at down in the hall and put his head in his hands”, an action usually portrayed by anxious and stressed out people. This is definitely a disruption to Bilbo. Along the journey, Bilbo and the dwarves become more aquaintenced to each other, with the dwarves praising him like how Balin exclaimed, “Well, it is the first time that even a mouse has crept along carefully and quietly under my very nose and not been spotted.” Thorin and the dwarves eventually become great friends with Bilbo. As Thorin died, he spoke to Bilbo, mentioning “I wish to part in friendship from you,”. Even after the drama with the Arkenstone, he wishes to stay friends with Bilbo beyond the grave. Heros and trickers, we could probably stop there, but there’s one more important character we have not looked

Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist of The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins has curly brown hair and thick leathery feet. He was fat in the stomach and was half the height of an adult. He likes having multiple meals a day, and snacks. Bilbo also had long clever fingers. Bilbo is a very respectable individual. He enjoyed staying at home, Bilbo doing something unexpected was unheard of. Before the adventure, he thought highly of his neighbor's opinion about him. When Gandalf chose Bilbo the other dwarves thought that he was unfit for the job. The dwarves did not

Thorin is a great leader and he makes me want to learn the qualities that it takes to be a leader as great as he is. Right now I am in Peer Leadership learning about the characteristics that it takes to be a leader. The loyalty that he shows to his friends is truly astounding. Through any trial they face he will make sure to get through with everyone or he will die trying. One thing that I always try to do is work with all my friends that are with me so nobody is left out. The most important trait that Thorin shows is forgiveness. In the end of the book, Bilbo steals Thorin’s grandfather’s precious stone and Thorin uses his last breath to forgive Bilbo and die happy. I like to forgive others for the mistakes they make and try not to let the problem get out of