The Hobbit, Or There And Back Again Essay

Since the publication of The Hobbit in 1937, critical readers have argued over whether the book is a fantasy, a fairy tale, a fable, a romance, an epic, or a novel. Classifying the book is one way of explaining its strengths and weaknesses and understanding the immense appeal it has held for many decades. The Hobbit seems to be about much more than its surface narrative, but Tolkien was adamant that it was not an allegory and said he much preferred history, whether real or invented, to allegory. The book is not a novel in the tradition of the great realistic novels of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; it is much closer to the idea of a romance, a genre that accommodates the improbable and even the supernatural. It is probably most accurate

The Hobbit was the first of Tolkien’s story of Middle Earth and was thought as a children’s book. “The Hobbit” explains, the main plot of the storyline is a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins goes on an adventure with thirteen dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf to reclaim the dwarves’ homeland in The Lonely Mountain from an evil fire-breathing dragon named Smaug. On the way the company encounters goblins, giant spiders, trolls, and many other undesirable things. While on the quest, Bilbo finds a magic ring which he steals from a slimy creature corrupted by the ring named Gollum. (95-101). The main characters include Bilbo Baggins (main hero), Gandalf the Grey, Thorin Oakenshield (leader of the dwarves), Balin, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin (the other 12 dwarves), Elrond (leader of the elves), Goblins (captures the company), Gollum (creature that Bilbo takes the ring from), Wargs (giant evil wolves). Bard (kills Smaug) (“The Hobbit” 95-101). The major themes of The Hobbit include the struggle between Good and Evil, Fate and Chance, Friendship, Death, and Valor (“The Hobbit” 95-101). “The Lord of the Rings was his second major piece of literature and was more sophisticated and considered a more adult trilogy. The Lord of the Rings” states, the major plot of The Lord of the Rings is that a hobbit named Frodo Baggins goes on an adventure to destroy an evil ring

The archetype of the Hero’s Journey holds a prevalent pattern in the works of “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath, “A & P” by John Updike, and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. These works all follow the 17 stages of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth which are separated in three stages; separation, initiation, and return. The main characters have different characterizations; however, they all follow the basic structure of the Hero’s journey archetype. There are many similarities and differences between the stages that are shown through many context clues and literary devices in each work. The Hero’s Journey archetype expressed in these literary works follow a similar and direct narrative pattern.

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

During the course of this World Literature class, several stories have been covered that accurately describe Joseph Campbell's mono-myth, or basic pattern found in narratives from every corner of the world. The Hero's Journey in it's entirety has seventeen stages or steps, but if boiled down can be described in three; the departure, the initiation, and the return (Monomyth Cycle). Each stage has several steps, but the cycle describes the hero starting in his initial state, encountering something to change him, and this his return as a changed person. To further explain this concept, there are a few stories covered in this class that can be used.

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is said to be one of the greatest children's novels of all time. The novel, due to its use of such characters as goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others is in tradition, a fairy tale. The tale centers on a small hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins. It follows the journey of a band of dwarves, a wizard named Gandalf, and their robber, Bilbo on their way to retrieving treasure that had long been taken away from them. The hobbit traveled all over Middle-Earth, beginning with Bilbo's tiny hobbit-hole in the ground, to Mirkwood forest, to finally reaching the Mountain in which the dragon Smaug lives. Tolkien uses a large amount of imagery in his writing which can been seen through settings in The Hobbit. The

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is said to be one of the greatest children's novels of all time. The novel, due to its use of such characters as goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others is in tradition, a fairy tale. The tale centers on a small hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins. It follows the journey of a band of dwarves, a wizard named Gandalf, and their robber, Bilbo on their way to retrieving treasure that had long been taken away from them. The hobbit traveled all over Middle-Earth, beginning with Bilbo's tiny hobbit-hole in the ground, to Mirkwood forest, to finally reaching the Mountain in which the dragon Smaug lives. Tolkien uses a large amount of imagery in his writing which can been seen through settings in The Hobbit. The

Countless cultures and religions gather around campfires and even hold ceremonies to hear a good hero story. But little do they know that these traditional stories that they are oh so eager to listen to, are all alike someway, somehow. All heroes in all cultures, dating from the earliest hero-story written, miraculously follow a sequence of events called a mononmyth/heroes Journey. The ineffable spectacle of the mononmyth is that despite the thousands of miles between ancient civilizations it was subconsciously present in the psychology of all the hero-writers. Joseph Campbell, an established psychologist stated his identification of the monomyth in his book, A Hero with a Thousand Faces. But, Campbell not only explained the monomyth in great detail, but he also elaborated into the psychology of humans. He did this by elucidating the exact steps in every hero’s journey, and providing factual proof. The initial belief is that no matter what the circumstance is, No matter past or present, man or woman, the heroes all have the same initiation. Here Campbell states that, “Whether hero ridiculous or sublime, Greek

Edward Johnson wrote a bibliography on Joseph Campbell and included Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Edward Johnson explained that the monomyth is, “the underlying uniform structure of the adventure of the hero (which can be mapped on all people attempting to make their way through life).” Think about all the different movies, books, or stories that have been created. Most of them always have a hero, and he or she has to go on a journey. However, each journey has a different path. This journey is called the monomyth or the hero’s journey. The monomyth explains the course every hero takes to be changed and made new. This course is exemplified in more stories then people realize. For example, in the movie Osmosis Jones a

Life is a precious gift, as you only get one chance to become your best self. In life everyone has hopes and dreams to find their calling to potentially make a difference in the world. In literature we are presented with an abundance of epic hero stories, referring to fictional or non-fictional characters that have made a difference in their world. These characters grant the reader with entertaining stories pertaining to historical or fictional events that reflect the hero’s journey to making a triumphant change. Joseph Campbell’s theory that every hero has a similar journey to becoming their best self commences with a call to an adventure. The call to adventure is the first and most important step in Joseph Campbell’s hero monomyth, “A hero with a Thousand Faces.”

According to the last two chapters, I have gained knowledge related to the unconscious mind and theories of the social construction of self. I also have a further understanding of the concepts of symbols, archetypes and myth as well as the Hero’s Journey of Joseph Campbell’s. Moreover, these two chapters remind me a lot of Consumer Psychology and the power of Media. However, I have found some similarities and differences between the two chapters and my previous readings. At the beginning, I have some new and deeper understanding of the conscious mind and the unconscious mind.

The Hero’s journey, or in its more correct terminology the Monomyth is an object from the area of comparative mythology. Its definition in the most basic of forms, it is a pattern or outline that is used in storytelling, usually the myth. This pattern is found in many famous pieces from all around the world. In the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces from 1949 by author Joseph Campbell, this pattern is described in detail. Campbell describes that numerous myths from different times and areas of the world seem to share an identical structure in their storytelling. He summarized this with a well-known quote found at the intro of his book:

The Hobbit (There and Back Again) is an absolutely wonderful classical book. In fact, it has been made into a three part movie series, two of which have already been released. The two movies that have been released will be what I am covering in this report.

In his renowned work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell defined the essential stages of the Heroic Journey, using examples from a wide range of myths and stories. His objective was not only to establish the framework for hero tales, but also to convey why these elements of the monomyth prevail in so many different works. Campbell’s view states that “the hero myth is really written about every human being: we are all heroes struggling to accomplish our adventure” (Whomsley, 185). From this perspective, it seems justified that these patterns continue to appear in so many stories adventure and heroism; we all want our

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.