According to (Bob Riley) “Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the 'hero' within us is revealed.” In J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”, these ideas draw attention to the fact that, he who becomes the hero, is often discovered through defeating opponents, when light is shed upon his inner hero and bravery. These thoughts are evident in the interactions of Tolkien’s protagonist (in “The Hobbit”), Bilbo, and his character development throughout the story. Bilbo starts off as a timid little hobbit, living a comfortable and stable life. When he is faced with the task of retrieving the dwarves’ treasure from Smaug, the dragon, he must overcome his fears in order to achieve the ultimate goal. Tolkien demonstrates the effect of antagonists on Bilbo …show more content…
Bilbo Baggins’ character begins to evolve when he is obliged to face emotional obstacles, his encounter with Gandalf and the dwarves, in particular. “’Don’t be a fool, Bilbo Baggins!’ he said to himself, ‘thinking of dragons and all that outlandish nonsense at your age!’… he began to feel that adventures were not so bad after all.” (Tolkien 34-37). The hobbit seems to be conflicted after being offered the chance to join Gandalf and company on their quest. Following his refusal, he ended up going on the adventure and began to adapt to it. The effect of his decision transforms Bilbo into a slightly more brave and heroic version of himself. Similarly, he must overcome yet another challenge during an experience with Gollum. Gollum challenges Baggins to a game for the hobbit’s freedom and Baggins’ is able to outsmart the creature by himself and escape (Tolkien 92-105). Bilbo was unaccompanied when he encountered Gollum, and managed to triumph. Thus meaning that Baggins’ inner hero is emerging
There is a hero in every story. This is the story of a small man who ends up on a journey and returns changed.. The protagonist of the story, Bilbo Baggins, undergoes a transformation that turns him into the unlikely hero of this story. Undergoing the process of becoming a hero, Bilbo emerges as a hero, more confident and competent than ever before. With each trial and tribulation, Bilbo develops more and more into the hero he becomes, but without losing sight of his true self. The process Bilbo goes through to become a hero is extensively explore in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The 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.
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
What is a hero? Is it someone who possesses great strength and bravery, or is it someone who attains fame and wealth? In the world of Middle Earth that J.R.R Tolkien has created, Bilbo Baggins shows us that a hero can be quite the opposite. He is offered (and partially set up by Gandalf the wizard) to partake in an adventure as a burglar to help reclaim the bearded Dwarves’ homeland from the dragon Smaug. The little hobbit is frightened by the mere thought of danger, but the adventure in him ignites and causes him to agree. Through a series of events, Tolkien uses Bilbo’s characterization and ethics to portray the overall theme of heroism.
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
“There he lay, a vast red-golden dragon, fast asleep; a thrumming came from his jaws and nostrils,” Bilbo Baggins was a self-centered hobbit who only cared about his well being. Like every other hobbit, he had no time for adventures but when a peculiar fellow shows up to his house, all he got was an adventure filled with perils. The book, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is about friendship, courage, and perseverance. The book begins in the home of Bilbo Baggins and ends in it too. Bilbo is just an ordinary hobbit but he soon changes as he gets whisked away on an adventure by a wizard named Gandalf.
In a paper earlier, this year I said that a hero needs to be confident, courageous, willing to listen to others, ambition, and humility. According to my definition Bilbo is indeed a hero. When we first meet Bilbo, he is a mild-mannered hobbit, who is afraid of just the simple thought of going outside of his front yard. Throughout the journey Bilbo becomes a stronger and courageous hobbit.
A hero is brave. Meaning, in chapter two of “The Hobbit”, Bilbo decided to be the burglar everyone thinks of him and pick-pockets the trolls. However, Bilbo did get caught by the trolls, the “gang” thought he was a hero for trying. For example, let’s say I took a test and got a poor grade, but I tried my best, my teacher would still be happy that I tried
In The Hobbit, Bilbo goes from a cozy hobbit to a adventures hobbit. Bilbo may have been small for the adventure, but he had the biggest heart off them all. These three point show how Bilbo became a hero.
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).
Bilbo Baggins is defined as a hero because he saves the dwarves from the gigantic spiders in a pitch-black forest, rescues them from the Elvenking’s grasp, and bravely takes an extremely precious jewel, that the dwarves have been searching for, and gave it to the elves and lake men to use as a bargain tool to prevent them from fighting the dwarves. Finding out that his friends were getting captured by gigantic spiders left Bilbo something else to worry about besides lack of food and water. His heroic self-came out again as he used himself as a decoy, or bait, to lure the spiders far away from the dwarves so he can have time to free the dwarves later. He used himself once more to help the dwarves run to a safe place while the spiders were slowly closing in on them. This shows that Bilbo is self-sacrificing and would do anything to keep his friends which is an impotent trait for a hero to have.
If you think about your childhood and where you are now, you can tell how much people change from experiences, friends, and family just like Bilbo did. Bilbo is a very multifaceted character, he is the heroic protagonist who you follow throughout the adventure. He begins as a follower and ends as brave, heroic leader. As the protagonist, Bilbo is the main character whom you follow throughout this adventure. You can tell that he is the protagonist because he is the character that you know most about.
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.
The cliche of boring life to hero in stories shows in The Hobbit. In chapter 8, when Bilbo frees himself from a spiderweb. He starts feeling different about himself. Growing that heroic feeling within himself. After that he names his sword, and we all know that all heroes name their sword. He starts to show the heroism and courage.
Bilbo Baggins is one of the main characters of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Being a main character in a story, especially an adventure story, typically comes with some pretty hefty responsibilities. More often than not, the main character is also the hero. A hero is defined as “a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities,” and these are not necessarily qualities readily attributed to Bilbo Baggins (oxforddictionaries.com). This essay will look at three ways in which Bilbo contrasts the traditional characteristics of a hero and what transformations he ends up making to fit the mold more closely. It will examine his lineage, his strength, and his attitude as well as the changes he makes throughout the story.