The Hobbit Heroism

“Now shrugging off his rags the wiliest fighter of the islands leapt and stood on the broad door still, his own bow in his hand” (Homer 557). In epic poem The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is a hero because he makes a clever decisions by gaining a close connection with Circe, he is cautious for he built his bed out of an olive tree, protecting his family from imposters, and he is cunning, for he allows his men to successfully escape Polyphemus’ cave.

They held a great deal of admiration for their friend who proved his worthiness through his burglaring success. After the final battle, Bilbo talks to Thorin right before the he dies, “‘There is more in you than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in the measure’” (Tolkien 290). The dwarf king realized his original opinion of Bilbo was wrong. Thorin found that Bilbo was brave and honorable, not weak and incapable. The rest of the dwarves developed the same opinion as Thorin, “Then the dwarves bowed low before their Gate, but words stuck in their throats. ‘Good-bye and good luck, wherever you fare!’” (Tolkien 294). Originally, the dwarves were almost unwilling to take the little hobbit along on the journey, but by the end, they were struggling to say goodbye to their friend. Bilbo became more than just a burglar to the dwarves, he became a respected

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.

Odysseus fought his way through monsters, outsmarted gods, and survived grueling years of isolation to finally reach her. Odysseus would not have been considered a hero if his journey had been an easy one.

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of

As Christopher Reeve, a famous actor, once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” This quote is basically saying when heroes face obstacles they never give up. They always find a way to push through, or conquer the obstacle. Or they find a way to get around it. They don't just turn around and forget about it.

One important trait of being a brave person is by having courage. When a person has courage, that person will go out of there comfort zone and be brave enough to risk their life for you. This trait is very crucial to have, because if you're not willing to have the courage to be brave, then you're not even being brave in the first place. In The Hobbit, bilbo doesn't have to be here. He could have said no when the dwarves asked him to come. But bilbo had the courage to go and be a brave person and to fight all of the challenges along the way. Bilbo does not only be brave and go along with them, but he also has the courage to be the leader of the group. Putting his life before others. “Bilbo, however, soon slipped away to a different place. The idea came to him to lead the furious spiders away from the dwarves,” (J.R.R.Tolkien 159). Bilbo's idea is very

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”-Christopher Reeve

When we hear the word 'hero,' more than one idea comes to mind. Not only do we think of people that we look up to in our world, but we also think of heroes in the fictional world. To be a hero can mean a variety of different things. Leaders, singers, and even parents can be a hero that someone looks up too. But in the fictional world, a hero is someone who has learned from his or hers journey to come out a changed person. Some characters complete the journey, while others do not quite make it to the end. In The Odyssey, Odysseus takes more than one leap of faith on his journey to become a hero by learning from his mistakes, making personal sacrifices, and becoming a better man.

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).

Firstly Bilbo had to become a hero and did when Gandalf left. If Gandalf had stayed Bilbo would have never seen his true potential of being a hero, and would have never gained the Dwarves respect. Secondly Squirrel became a hero from the start, and Bilbo did not. A stray dog living alone with no home or shelter is a very hard task I assume but she dealt with all of the pain and kept trucking her way to her treasure which is something most people would not do.

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

The Hero is the protagonist or main focus of the journey. His or her purpose is to regain the balance of the ordinary world. More often than not, the hero/heroine is an average mortal who is called upon an extraordinary task in daunting conditions, usually having low self-confidence in him or herself. The readers will experience the journey by the hero’s or heroine’s perspective. A very important attribute that has to be mentioned is that a hero must learn useful skills throughout his adventure. Attributes such as bravery and courage are great lessons a hero or heroine needs. In the Hobbit, the hero was Bilbo, where the reader experienced his journey to the Mountain. At the beginning of the book, Bilbo felt inadequate to take the quest to retrieve the treasure of Smaug. Throughout his journey, he risks his life many times to save the dwarves, usually putting his life on the line at the same time.

First and foremost, a hero needs to be courageous enough to take action, even against impossible odds; although, the form that that courageousness takes are often different between heroes. Take Beowulf and Shahrazad for example. Beowulf is a famous and powerful Geat leader, a “man whose name was known for courage” (Beowulf 120), especially in the field of battle, where he best demonstrates his courageousness. When Beowulf hears of the attacks on Hereot, he quickly comes to offer Hrothgar his services, and in his first battle with Grendel, Beowulf displayed immense bravery and courage fighting the demon, knowing that he may well perish, and even more so in deciding to do battle bare-handed and naked

“A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway.” - Christopher Reeve. Average everyday people face many challenges and overcome them most of the time, but there are certain challenges they just give up on. They start getting into a certain mindset where they claim they can’t overcome the challenge. A hero, however, sticks to the right mindset and keeps trying and getting better, despite the obstacles facing them. Even though they aren’t always able to save everything all the time, heroes risk and strive to reach their goals and do their best while exhibiting determination and modesty.