The Real Heroes in Literature

Bilbo is a timid, comfortable, and compact in his secure little hole at Bag End. Gandalf persuaded him into going on a quest with Thorin’s dwarves. Bilbo became afraid that he fainted. As the novel progresses, Bilbo prevails in the face of danger and adversity, justifying Gandalf’s early claim that there is more to him than what he thought. Bilbo’s journey fits into the tradition of a hero’s quest, because he basically went somewhere in order to gain something.

The first act of Bilbo’s heroism is when he makes his first attempt at burglary when he steals from the trolls. Even before Bilbo steals from the trolls he is told by the dwarfs “Now it’s the burglar’s turn.” (33 Tolkien) And by Thorin “You

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.

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

Fact 1: Bilbo Baggins went through several tasks that made his character grow. Through countless excursions into the wild it was obvious that Bilbo developed greatly into a wonderfully cheerful hero. After Bilbo beat Gollum in a game of riddles he became more confident in himself. Bilbo’s task was to solve a riddle that Gollum gave him. If he got the answer he lived. If he was wrong, Gollum would eat him. Bilbo was good at riddles and he defeated Gollum. Then Bilbo used his ring to escape. This event made him even more confident. Bilbo realized that he had accomplished a very tough task when he beat Gollum. This event also made Bilbo more skilled in being stealthy when he had his ring on.

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

First of all, he gains courage in the story. Before he went on this adventure, he was timid and to himself. This is because hobbits didn’t go on anything dangerous, especially adventures. This all changes as soon as Bilbo goes on this journey with Gandalf and the dwarves. We see our first example of this when he tries to steal from the three huge, nasty

Bilbo meets various races along his journey to the Lonely Mountains. When the dwarves sent Bilbo up to explore the light in the forest Bilbo already wants to prove that he is a value to the group and tried to impress them. Going toward the light in the forest, he sees that there are three trolls. In an attempt to impress he tries to steal a wallet from one of the trolls, Bilbo is showing a very highly admired virtue and that is courage. “Then Bilbo plucked

Although this may seem like something your typical hobbit would stray away from, Bilbo is not your typical hobbit. In this moment, Bilbo truly becomes a hero. Before Bilbo was needed to save the dwarves, he was all by himself facing off against a spider. Once he had killed the spider with no help from any dwarf or wizard he became very confident. The book says,”Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins.” Bilbo knew that he was capable of being a hero, which aided him in becoming a one. After this, with the help of his magic ring, Bilbo was able to rescue the dwarves from the other evil

After this they start traveling once again. When they approach Misty Mountains, they take shelter in a cave to let the storm overhead pass. While they are waiting for the storm to pass they get captured by the Great Goblin but can escape thanks to Gandalf. On their way out, Bilbo trips and loses his consciousness. When he wakes up he tries to make his way out of the cave once again, but he finds a ring that he eventually pockets. After he pocketed the ring he encounters Gollum, who is a murderous creature who kills and eats goblins and those who wonder in the caves. During this encounter Bilbo exchanges riddles with Gollum and even gives Gollum an easy riddle to buy himself more time to think of a trickier riddle. This shows that he is so confident that he will be able to answer Gollum’s next

Chapter eight, Flies and Spiders, Bilbo’s character changes once again. He is walking in the forest with everyone and they get attacked. They are attacked by giant spiders! Bilbo then takes out a sword that he named Sting and started attacking them. Bilbo then kills a spider and feels very confident. He then notices that all of the dwarves were captured by the spiders. They were stuck on individual cobwebs. Bilbo then comes to the rescue by killing the spiders and cutting up the webs with Sting. This is a very big moment for Bilbo.

Throughout the history of epic literature, heroes have been an integral part of many different cultures. Some of these heroes are fierce and powerful, renowned for their skill in battle, while some others and clever and cunning, able to talk their way out of any difficult situation. These traits usually emphasize the values of the cultural from which the hero came, and depending on the culture,traits viewed as heroic may drastically differ. Although there exists a plethora of traits any one hero may have, there are three core characteristic that, in my opinion, a hero must have to be considered a hero: the courage to face hardships, the willingness to make major self-sacrifices for the benefit of others, and most importantly, the dedication to do what it takes to reach their goal.

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

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” (Campbell 1). When we think of heroes most of us think of movie stars or professional athletes, but it’s not always about your popularity or talent it can also be about how you help society. What I think make a great hero is someone who is able to overcome his or her obstacles in life, is highly motivated, and has plenty of bravery.

What does make a hero a hero? Is it there looks? Alternatively, maybe is it their personality? However, the question is what are those essential qualities that make one a hero? Different people require different heroes to look up to or try to emulate. However, whoever it may be, they all possess certain qualities. My hero is my mother, for the reason that she is selfless, compassion, and courage. That kind of selflessness can often be premeditated, since concentrating on others' needs often winds up helping one accomplish one’s own goals. However, a heroic leader does so without any anticipation of a return. The display and concern show the care one has for others. This can often apparent itself in strong but gentle actions planned to increase the lives of others. Courage and bravery come to mind first when we think of heroism. However, it is difficult to achieve anything truly heroic unless one is up against overwhelming chances. As Nelson Mandela put it, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it." These minor acts of heroism rarely attract any notice. A true hero is always sympathetic, benevolent and shows a great deal of compassion and sympathy to those poorly or in agony. He or she keeps away judgements; that are oriented to the self and embraces an attitude that serves others.