Bilbo Baggins Essay

Born into a respectable, unadventurous family, Bilbo Baggins was never exposed to adventure. He was taught that excitement and thrill were irreputable. He grew up believing predictability was superior to spontaneity. We know little about Bilbo’s father’s family, but with what we know about his mother, Belladonna Took’s Family, we can infer that this predictable lifestyle came from his father, Bungo’s, family. The Tooks were very adventurous and enjoyed a good thrill. Seeing that exhilaration and adventure are in Bilbo’s blood, it was bound to arise at one point in his life. After about fifty years of his life had passed, when his grandfather, the Old Took, had died, and he was living on his own, Gandalf, the wizard, a friend of the Old Took come to visit Bilbo. This visit marked the beginning of change in Bilbo’s life. Gandalf invited him to go on an adventure. Even after he was blatantly rejected,

He goes on many adventures with Gandalf and the Burglars and as time goes on we see clues of him enjoying them more than he lets on. In chapter 5, he engages in riddle contest with Gollum in order to stay alive. Before his adventures began he would have looked down upon foolishness as such. Now, he seems to enjoy it. It also show how he has a side of cunning and strength. As we get farther into this novel we see qualities of heroism and leadership surface in Bilbo. He rescues the dwarves from the spiders and wood elves in Mirkwood and leads them to treasure. He also discovers Smaug’s weak spot. Through all of this, Bilbo refuses to become arrogant. We see this quality when he moves back to Hobbiton. In conclusion, as Bilbo becomes more open to new ideas he begins to understand the world better. Bilbo Baggins begins as a hobbit who tries, as best he can, to repress his Took side. He is reserved and predictable, but as he changes he cannot even stand being around hobbits that live like he used