the hobbit

J.R.R. Tolkein’s novel The Hobbit is a fantasy novel in which Bilbo, the main character, encounters various adventures with a crew of dwarves. Through countless excursions into the wild it is obvious that Bilbo develops greatly into a wonderfully cheerful hero. Bilbo is thought to be the unlikely hero because of his hatred of adventures and relaxed and peaceful lifestyle, but through much development and maturation of his character he becomes quite the contrary. Bilbo develops immensely because at first he is thought to be “very respectable which means he never had any adventures or did anything unexpected”(Crabbe 40). But at the novel’s dénouement he is self sufficient and recognized as the genuine hero. Bilbo’s plight helps him to realize the inner powers in which he holds and his heroic capabilities.

At first when Bilbo is asked to join in the journey he simply replies, “we don’t want any adventures here”(Tolkein 26), but with a small bit of coercion by Gandalf he skeptically decides to join on their journey. In the beginning Bilbo is very insecure about his capabilities as a member of the group, but as the book progresses he gains more confidence and develops into the bona fide hero G

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

Now many creatures have a great deal of respect for Bilbo because he has stolen the magnificent Smaug’s cup. Before his encounter with Gollum he was awfully afraid of the dark tunnels, but now he has the courage to return.

In perhaps their most dangerous mission together, Bilbo becomes the true unquestionable hero in this novel.

They knew only too well that they would soon all have been dead, if it had not been for the hobbit; and they thanked him many times. There is much growth as a hero in this excursion and Bilbo now becomes cognizant that he has grown. Bilbo’s decision helps him become more respectable and readers are aware of his heroic capabilities and rapid development. Some of them even got up and bowed right to the ground before him. Baggins very much, and had a great respect for him. Bilbo knew that he saved the dwarves from dying in this adventure, and the dwarves knew, as well, that they would have died if Bilbo had not come to the rescue. Bilbo still had a long way to go before he was physically and mentally a hero, but the base was there. Bilbo’s first act of heroism and bravery is when he meets the slimy, slithery beast known as Gollum. The dwarves have many questions about Bilbo’s harsh adventure and they now “looked at him with quite a new respect, when he talked about dodging guards, jumping over Gollum and squeezing through the guards, as if it was not very difficult or very alarming”(Tolkein 99). He is deathly afraid of the huge dragon but goes on because he does not want to let down the dwarves because he “is now the real leader in their adventure”(Helm 23). Bilbo had not spoken to them about the magical ring previously because he thought it might lessen their opinion of Bilbo, but it was quite the contrary:

Knowing the truth about the vanishing did not lessen their opinion of Bilbo at all; for they saw that he had some wits, as well as luck and a magic ring—and all three are very useful possessions.

Approximate Word count = 1661
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.