Tolkien's Idea Of Positive And Negative Characters In The Hobbit

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.

Bilbo Baggins Is A Hero “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” This quote by Christopher Reeves is a great description of Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo is just an ordinary hobbit. There is not anything exciting about his life. He lives in a quiet house, in a quiet town, with quiet people.

The book starts with Bilbo being offered a chance to go on an adventure, but Bilbo doesn’t want to go because he thinks it is too dangerous. “What am I going to get out of it? Am I going to come back alive?” This quote shows that Bilbo dislikes the idea of going on an adventure and doesn’t see the point in going. At this point of the book, he is a timid, unconfident character who is doesn’t like taking risks, and isn’t so selfless.

In The Hobbit, Tolkien created cultures and values that are represented often in certain characters and groups of characters. These translate to character traits, which can be positive or negative. After reading up to this point in the story, one can infer that Tolkien considers focused to be a positive character trait, greed to be a negative character trait, and he also feels intelligence more important than physical strength.

Bilbo’s journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings, into more sinister territories. First off, Bilbo agrees to go on the journey, partly out of pride, because the dwarves are skeptical of his ability. All the dwarves believe him to be a burglar. Bilbo thinks the Took in him persuaded him to go on the journey. At that point, Bilbo probably did not see himself as courageous and resourceful.

In the novel, “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien, main character Bilbo Baggins experiences an extensive change in his character throughout the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Bilbo has no care for anything in the world that is outside of the Shire. He is an independent hobbit who keeps to himself and lives an ordinary life in his hobbit hole. He then embarks on an extraordinary journey which opens his eyes to the world as he overcomes multiple obstacles. He proves that any individual can develop heroism when needed to complete a quest no matter who or where you come from. He possesses many characteristics that lead him to being a natural hero, he is courageous, intelligent and loyal.

At the beginning of the book, he was a comfort loving hobbit who, even though he agreed to the adventure, was somewhat cowardly and often hapless. He is constantly in need of saving and help. For example Gandalf had to save Bilbo and the dwarves when they got in trouble with the trolls and when Dori had to carry him while they were escaping because he was slower than the others. At the end of every adventure at the first half of the book, Bilbo would always dream of his comfortable hobbit home and would always regret the adventure. However as the story line developed, Bilbo learned to be more adventurous and brave.

The Hobbit is a novel about a complacent hobbit named Bilbo Baggins accompanying a group of thirteen dwarves - as their burglar - on a journey to regain the dwarves’ treasure from the vast, beastly dragon, Smaug. Along the adventure, Bilbo starts becoming the brave adventurer he was meant to be. While the story is a fun, adventurous tale, the stereotypes and racism of/in the character races could be seen as a reflection of discrimination in the early 1900s and modern days. The way character groups in The Hobbit are mistreated is similar to the way specific groups in society were treated in the early days.

In the novel The Hobbit, the characters have many different and diverse personality traits. A few of the traits are negative while some are positive. But it really depends on the situation; the trait could be a positive or negative one. Tolkien also shows that intelligence is more important than physical strength.

In conclusion, we can now see that Bilbo is in fact a dynamic character. He gains many qualities he can use in the future, like courage, learning to use his wits, and letting out the adventurous side in him. He used to be almost paranoid, to himself, and strict. But now he has turned into something much bigger, an adventurer. So the adventure changed him for the better. This is how Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit we thought would never do anything

Bilbo uncovers things about himself that he didn't even know possibly existed within him. In the cliché theme of 'good versus evil', Bilbo, without question, automatically jumps to the 'good' side. In his character, there are no uncertain borders, as there are in the temperaments of the dwarves. From the beginning to the end he stays an honourable and honest hobbit,

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.

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

J.R.R Tolkien views Bilbo’s Tookish side as positive towards the adventure. In The Hobbit, Bilbo is forced to go on an adventure where fighting will be needed. Bilbo is accompanied by the dwarves who believe that he is not fit

These were all characteristics of the main character - Bilbo Baggins. The process of becoming a hero, which Bilbo goes through, begins with a simple knock on his door one morning. Soon Bilbo is recruited, unknowingly and unwillingly, as a burglar into Thorin’s expedition, by the mysterious wizard, Gandalf. Bilbo is soon called to adventure. This was probably the only opportunity a hobbit such as Bilbo would ever get to go on such an expedition, but Bilbo was very reluctant, at first. Bilbo was good hearted, sacrificing and loyal. He would have given up his life for the betterment of others and this is what made him a true hero. At first, he didn’t want any adventure, but then he saw Gandalf’s faith and belief in him, and he decided to go on the adventure. Bilbo, like a real hero, always made sure that he finished the work he set out to do. Without Bilbo, the dwarves would not be able to finish all the tasks that they wanted to finish. Bilbo was also the reason why the dwarves were still alive. Bilbo saved the dwarves from many different disasters. The disasters ranged from the spiders to Smaug. Through good or bad, Bilbo always showed all the characteristics of a real