Bilbo's Use Of Escapism In The Hobbit

There is a hero in every story. This is the story of a small man who ends up on a journey and returns changed.. The protagonist of the story, Bilbo Baggins, undergoes a transformation that turns him into the unlikely hero of this story. Undergoing the process of becoming a hero, Bilbo emerges as a hero, more confident and competent than ever before. With each trial and tribulation, Bilbo develops more and more into the hero he becomes, but without losing sight of his true self. The process Bilbo goes through to become a hero is extensively explore in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

In the beginning of the book, Bilbo is very unsure about his abilities and is not self-confident. He had never gone on an adventure before and wasn’t sure of what he was capable of. As the group faces many challenges, his confidence and courage grew, especially when he fends off the giant spiders. As the novel progresses, his courage grows, until they face their final task and Bilbo must go into the tunnels alone. By this point in the book, he has enough courage to do nearly anything. This conflict can be identified as man v. self. At one point in the book, Bilbo “felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach…” (Tolkien 144). This can be connected to the theme of the development of a hero from an ordinary person (or hobbit) because gaining courage is an essential part of becoming a hero. In this novel, there are endless amounts of conflicts, but these are two main conflicts that Bilbo

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien is a perfect example of a coming of age story. Bilbo, the main protagonist, started his journey as a sheltered hobbit. It was clear that he had potential to do something great, but his own insecurities and his fear to stand out crippled his progression in life. He didn’t leave his house often, and he hardly took any risks. He failed to grow as an individual. Bilbo throughout the book he experienced personal growth through his encounter with the goblins he, he became confident through the events that happened at Mirkwood, and when he returned home at the end of the journey, he was filled with self-love and pride. At the beginning of the book, Bilbo told Gandalf that he did not want anything to do with the journey. He feared for his safety, and he had nightmares the night before the journey started. However, throughout his journey, he bonded and learned a lot from the dwarves. He found out who he really

In chapter 5, the hobbit stumbles upon Gollum, who is clearly a threat to Bilbo, but although he stays aware, he plays Gollum’s game in order for him to survive and escape. Gollum uses literally uses language to try and kill Bilbo, but Bilbo uses it to save his life in the game of riddles they play. However, Bilbo isn’t a master of language yet, who runs out of riddles to ask so instead asks a casual question “What have I got in my pockets?”. Gollum’s demand to know what is in Bilbo's pocket, and Bilbo’s refusal to reveal it is a example of perseverance although he’s life in at stake. When Bilbo wears the ring he inadvertently stole, he had the opportunity of killing Gollum, but refuses because he’s kind and sympathizes with the weak and pitiable. At times like this, it’s clear that Tolkien made Bilbo a moral character; and this morality and kindness is what establishes Bilbo as a hero in the

Children’s literature can take many forms, from far-fetching science fiction to spell binding who-done-it mysteries. One of the most popular ideas presented in these various forms is that of escapism. The characters in these stories explore quite complex social issues in ways that are less confrontational then realism. One might consider why escape is such a central theme; as a child there are numerous benefits to fantasy, it allows readers to experiment with different views of the world and takes hypothetical situations and invites them to make connections between this fictive scenario and their own reality. John Stephens an English professor at Macquarie University has said “ Fantasy writing operates through metaphor- so that the unfamiliar is used to stand in for, or comment upon, the familiar.”

One of the prevailing themes of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is the juxtaposition between home and the outside world. Throughout the novel, Tolkien behooves the reader to wonder whether or not adventure is beneficial for Bilbo, as opposed to staying back at his home in The Hill. Tolkien himself does not take a clear position on this himself. Instead, he brilliantly juxtaposes Bilbo’s home with the outside world and leaves it up to the reader whether going on an adventure with Gandalf and the dwarves was the correct course of action. Or in other words, Tolkien conveys both the notion that Bilbo is better off at home, and that he is better off going on the adventure. This paper will examine each side of this conflict; reasons to Bilbo to stay

After beginning his adventure, Bilbo faces one of his most difficult challenges in The Hobbit when Bilbo Baggins faces the Inmost cave stage he fights with Gollum in the cave. Holmes describes the Inmost Cave as “the abyss. This is the greatest challenge that faces the hero” (Holmes). This stage is literally in a dark cave, one that provides a morally challenging and terrifying experience for Bilbo. In the cave, he deals with the Gollum and finds the Ring, changing his character forever. Only once he suffers through his riddle battle with Gollum, he recovers The Ring, a ring that grants its wearer invisibility as they wear the Ring. Bilbo has to deal with a moral dilemma when he must face Gollum and must decide on whether or not to kill Gollum. While in the cave with Gollum, Bilbo put on the Ring, which make him invisible and had to deal with what to do about Gollum in Bilbo’s panic and terrified state: “Bilbo almost stopped breathing, and went stiff himself. He was desperate. He must get away, out of this horrible darkness, while he had any strength left. He must fight. He must stab the foul thing, put its eyes out, kill it. It meant to kill him” (Tolkien 86). He was forced to lose some of his innocent and face the reality of life and death situations. For this difficult battle in the cave, Dorothy Matthews reported in The Psychological Journey of Bilbo Baggins, “In this underground scene he must face an important trial; he must make a decision whose outcome will be a

I viewed reading as a chore, was often unenthused, and would mostly annotate on the overarching themes without gathering any meaning from them. Books were merely a series of words printed on paper. This school year, however, I began to understand the allure reading has to offer. I have grown to appreciate reading and the insights a book can offer. When reading our numerous texts, I was able to live vicariously through the characters of the books and relate aspects of their lives to my own. Because all of the books from English I pertain to coming of age, I was able to not only learn about maturation as a process, but understand how it pertains to my own life. Through protagonists such as Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye or Esperanza from The House on Mango Street, I learned about my “misguided desire to preserve childhood innocence” and to empower feminism similar to Holden and Esperanza respectively (Heart of Gold, Raghuram). Gradually, I have finally developed the ability to relate to novels and its characters amidst writing my own story.Whether it be thematic elements or the details of a case I am working on, I have become more observant to even the most trivial details. Now when I read, I not only look at the themes, motifs, and symbols, but also repeated phrases or situations that parallel each others as well as the symbolic meaning behind some ambiguous phrases or scenes. Reading now, in contrast to last summer, is a

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins takes a journey of mental toughness and perseverance as he and the dwarves adventure to the Lonely Mountain. The first thing to remember is Bilbo rarely left his hobbit hole and he sure did not go on any adventures so this journey would not only be physically challenging, but mostly mentally tough. During his long adventure, Bilbo had to survive days without food and days of utmost discomfort. Also, Bilbo had to fight the temptations to turn back and give up on the glorious treasure at the end. For example, after the eagles saved them from the goblins and wargs, Bilbo could have decided to give up after all their trouble, but mentally he fought off the temptations because he knew the end result would overpower

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.

The word “hero,” might conjure an image of somebody dressed in shining armour holding a sword and slaying the terrible dragon guarding a hoard of gold. In The Hobbit, there is indeed a heinous dragon guarding a hoard of treasure, and a hero who embarks on a journey to defeat the dragon and reclaim his stolen birthright. However, there is not just one hero, but two: Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who plays the role of the non-traditional hero, and Thorin Oakenshield, a strong-minded dwarf who represents the traditional hero. By the end of the story, both characters have established that they’re capable of conquering obstacles and adversities with their individual set of skills that they’ve either acquired or already had: Bilbo with his

The Hobbit is the title that represents who the protagonist is which in this case persists of Mr. Bilbo Baggins. It is of great significance throughout the story line since Bilbo The Hobbit goes through a series of obstacles that include risking his life for others to be able to achieve a quest. Also with critical thinking has to act upon life threatening events including the dwarves being almost eaten by Goblins and later on spiders. From beginning to end The Hobbit is the one who based upon all the dwarves other than Gandalf has been useful towards this rewarding assignment. Gandalf wasn’t reliable towards the most struggle against enemies so it was up to The Hobbit to endure the dangers of the journey.

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins takes a journey of mental toughness and perseverance as he and the dwarves adventure to the Lonely Mountain to recover their treasure from Smaug. Throughout Bilbo’s adventure, he was challenged not only physically, but mostly mentally. Bilbo may have been physically ready to take on the tasks ahead of him, but the thing that matter was the mental side of things. Could he push himself to the limits and persevere? Bilbo shows the reader an ordinary hobbit could be mentally tough and go several days without food and fight of the toughest of the tough creatures. At any point in this adventure Bilbo could have turned back and given up, but instead he geared up and persevered. For example, he did not have to go through

Growth is inevitable and the most anticipated quest of man. It is a never-ending quest to evolve, fuelled by the constant hope for survival. Once natural growth halts, man’s focus shifts to the growth within. The coming of age, associates itself with this transformation from child to man, the step of letting go of childish ways and moving on to more mature things. The need for such a dramatic transformation is questioned by Miguel de Cervantes and Lewis Carroll in their texts, Don Quixote and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. While the texts follow two contrasting characters, they are brought together by the theme of fantasy. Cervantes’ Don Quixote is an old gentleman of noble lineage who becomes tired of the monotony and the lack of

Many individuals resist their natural transition into who they are truly meant to be. By doing so, they never allow themselves to embrace who they truly are and in turn, never allow themselves to truly experience the world for what it is. By ignoring suppressive societal norms, standing up for who you are, and accepting the reality that has been presented to you, you will in turn enable yourself to learn about the world on an entirely new perspective, and take advantage of it accordingly. This particular theme of allowing oneself to transition and develop into one's true self is present within The Hobbit, Ender’s Game, and Romeo and Juliet.