How The Hobbit, A Quest And A Fantasy Novel

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.

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

Going forward, in this essay, topics such as heroism and transformity will be strongly analyzed through quotes directly from the book The Hobbit and opinions formed while reading. Through the book The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien is able to show how a hero isn’t always the typical buff and boots with a cape on his back kind of person. Tolkien shows the reader that a hero is made by the struggles he conquers and isn’t just a perfect character thrown into the beginning of the story.

Do you ever wonder what kind of person you are? Are you adventurous, perseptive, athletic? Have these traits ever affected your decision making? Because in “The Hobbit” By J.R.R. Tolkien, The protagonist Bilbo Baggins feels conflicted whether he should act like his more daring ancestors, the Tooks by embarking on a perilous journey to retake a kingdom. Or to be like his more respectable ancestors, the Bagginses and stay in the comfort of his warm home. As you can see, the traits he has acquired from his forebears are altering the way he sees the situation. Much like Bilbo, I believe that we all have similar sides to our personalities, whether the conflict is to be brave or timid, or smart rather than foolishly. And it is up to us to correctly

Have you ever noticed the continuous recurring theme in your favorite movies and books? That is called the Hero’s Journey. Bilbo Baggins, a supposedly unadventurous hobbit is requested to accompany a group of dwarves on a difficult journey by none other than Gandalf, the well-known wizard himself. Ishmael Beah, a young, happy boy goes out with his friends without saying goodbye, not knowing it may be his last time to see them. While with his friends, his town gets attacked by the rebels and his whole world turns upside down. Both authors portray the Hero’s Journey, but there multiple differences and a few similarities in their techniques.

The Hobbit is a fictional novel written by J.R.R Tolkien. The novel is about a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who was approached by a group of dwarves who were in search of treasure in the mountains. Along the way, the group faced many obstacles and bumps in the road. On the contrary, Thomas C. Foster wrote a book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, that gives students a bit of insight on how to understand what they’re reading, and it also helps students to figure out the true meaning of different situations and things that are written in literature. In the book, Foster went on to explain different archetypes that are typically hidden in literature. Some archetypes that Foster elaborated on were the hero’s quest, death, resurrection, and communion. Archetypes such as the hero’s quest can be applied to the the journey that is depicted throughout the novel: The Hobbit. Aspects of this archetype that will be discussed later include the quester, a destination, a stated reason to embark on the journey, obstacles along the way, and the actual reason for going on the journey.

Looking. Searching. Seeking. There is just nothing like it for getting to conclusions. Finding. “There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after” (Tolkien). Certainly, when E.M Forster wrote A Passage to India or J.R.R Tolkien wrote The Hobbit or Kurt Vonnegut wrote Slaughterhouse -Five they were not looking for anything. However, they ended up finding a crucial link in their books–links to society at the time their books were published. 1924, 1937, 1969 or is it 1890, 2157 (Shire reckoning), 1945-It is not possible to be entirely sure. And it is this ambiguity that reveals a major aspect of literature. Literature has a tendency to represent the prevailing collective outlook. Forster highlights the growing discontent, of both Indians and the British, with the way the sub-continent is handled. Tolkien represents, very allegorically, the hardy nature of the people surviving the great depression, naming them hobbits. Vonnegut expresses the general disillusionment of the post-war years and Billy Pilgrim’s fatalist nature provides a grim undercurrent to the cheery “good war” (Jarvis 62). Thus, as seen through Forster, Tolkien, and Vonnegut’s books A Passage to India, The Hobbit, and Slaughterhouse -Five (respectively) authors tend to mimic

How can an author write a story which appeals to a present day audience? Richard H. Tyre published an article in 1978 that gives an answer to this very question. Tyre explains how most kids today choose to read books like the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings series, and even The Wizard of Oz. An existing theory that Tyre came up with explains that each of these books, along with many others, have one thing in common: 6 plot elements. Not only do these stories contain the same 6 elements but those elements are in the same order! Tyre states that “(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 2). J.R.R. Tolkien is the author of The Hobbit. The Hobbit revolves around one hobbit in particular named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo embarks on a journey with 14 others to recover a treasure that is guarded by a dragon. Along the way Bilbo faces many challenges that range from running into huge trolls, to taking part in fierce battles. Due to it’s main character hunting for treasure, facing most of the dangers alone, battling during the wee hours of the night, eventually finding the treasure, after sweating/crying/and enduring injuries, just to have the treasure revealed to him as not what he expected, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is undoubtedly a perfect example of Tyre’s 6 plot elements.

Sometimes it is incredibly difficult to tell who is the ‘good guy’ in a story. A hero never begins as the perfect man.. There are stories where the adventurer is a thief or a murderer. However, there are also tales about an average man realizing that he is lacking something or recognizing that it is time to leave the nest. In The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Bilbo Baggins is nothing extraordinary. He is, like most other hobbits, fearful of the unknown. But, with the prodding of Gandalf; Bilbo leaves the Shire and finds his courage. The first definition of a hero in the Merriam Webster dictionary is, “A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability.” According to this explanation, Mr. Baggins is not a hero. However, Odysseus, the hero in the epic The Odyssey by Homer, fits the definition to a t.

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have been beloved works among many generations of readers since they were first published. The author of these two books, J.R.R. Tolkien is just as interesting a man as many of the characters he created in the world of Middle-Earth. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Africa to a banker manager and his wife in 1892 and had only one sibling, Hilary, who was less than two years younger (Wikipedia). When he was young both of his parents died (one from rheumatic fever, the other from diabetes) and he and his brother were raised by a Catholic priest in Birmingham (Wikipedia). Tolkien was involved in World War One and Two, first as a serviceman, then as a cryptographer (Wikipedia). Indeed he was very

The quest begins when the group meets at the Green Dragon Inn. From there they venture into the Lone-lands. As heavy rains begin to fall, Bilbo notices that Gandalf is missing. This is something that is later on considered to be normal because Gandalf comes and goes throughout the duration of the trip. All through the quest Bilbo ends up saving the party from many dangerous situations. This is something that at first Bilbo finds hard to believe because he has very low self-esteem. The group always seems to find themselves in worse, and worse problems, but they always overcome these problems, with the help of Bilbo and some times Gandalf. Some of these problems include: getting caught by trolls, getting captured by goblins, being attacked by large wolves called Wargs, one of the dwarves falls into a coma from touching black water in the Mirkwood Forest, nearly dying of starvation, being captured by large spiders and being captured by wood-elves. Although this is all very good action, the real action begins when the party finally reaches their destination- Lonely Mountain (home of Smaug).

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit living in the Shire having a peaceful quiet life in his hobbit hole. One day after living a life of leisure and pleasure he is awakened by a rude knock on his door. In a matter of a few hours he will meet the people that changed his life for good. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is a story about a hobbit and his adventure. His adventure starts with a knock on his door by his old Friend Gandalf. Gandalf then promptly asks Bilbo”I am looking for someone to share in an adventure”(tolkien). Bilbo then denies Gandalf and continuous with his usual day until that night. When Bilbo is about to eat his dinner he gets a knock. He opens it to find two dwarves Dwalin and Balin. Bilbo 's shocked but invites them in. Bilbo does this eval times until he 's left with thirteen dwarves Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Ori, Nori, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin Oakenshield. They then invite him on a quest that would change his life. During his quest he faces many evils and overcomes them all to become a hero.

The protagonist of the book is Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo the main character in the book, is a hobbit. He was scared to leave his home town of Bagan. Bilbo was invited by dwarves to go on an adventure to find treasure that belonged to the them. Little was known about what could happen on this trip, but still Bilbo was drawn to this adventure with much excitement. It was when he did not have food to eat that he would question why he left his hobbit hole.

In “The Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy there are two characters of similarity that play a key role in both narratives. Thorin II Oakinshield and Aragorn II Elessar are two would be kings who come into their crowns in time for their own respective books or series to end. Both dwarf and man have a journey to their individual thrones and in particular the genesis, the journey and the end of their adventures share a great deal of commonality and precarious differences, variables that with or without their crowns says and awful lot about them.