Examples Of Bilbo's Transformation In The Hobbit

“In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit (Tolkien 1.1).” English author J.R.R Tolkien first wrote down those words over 60 years ago, which became the beginning of the allegorical classic, The Hobbit. The Hobbit takes place in a fantasy world called “Middle Earth” and tells the story of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. Throughout the story, Bilbo changes as a character; from the protagonist to the hero. Many literary devices are used throughout The Hobbit that add humour, suspense, and/or affect the characters in some ways. The hero’s journey shows Bilbo's transition from ordinary hobbit to powerful hobbit. The Hobbit is home to many literary devices, including The Hero's Journey, Plot Devices, Character Archetypes and symbolism. First off is the hero's journey.

In the case of Bilbo Baggins, his journey starts in

He is “ordinary”. “The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him (Tolkien, 1.3).” He loves food, smokes a pipe, is relaxed and doesn’t want adventures. Another example is Gandalf, who plays the mentor. He goes on the adventure with Bilbo, teaches and encourages him and is wise. The doppelganger is Gollum since he was once a hobbit, but was corrupted by the ring. He can be considered as an evil twin to Bilbo. Gollum also foreshadows what Bilbo may become. Bombur is the trickster since he is clumsy and provides comic relief. The last character archetype is Smaug; he is the shadow in the story. He is the main antagonist and must be defeated by Bilbo in order to become the hero. And lastly, there is symbolism that represent concepts in the