In J.R.R Tolkien’s book, the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins goes on a long, treacherous journey to retrieve the dwarves’ treasure from the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo is terrified to go on this adventure, but is soon persuaded to go. This story is an epic that states all of the steps of a Hero’s Journey. With this being said, the three steps of the Hero’s Journey” are the departure, the initiation, and the return. Through Bilbo’s misadventures, he goes through all of these steps; him and all of his companions learn throughout the journey. The departure includes the hero leaving their comfortable lifestyle to start a quest. “Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not today” (Tolkien 6). Likewise, this represents the hero’s journey by showing his timidness. Bilbo is talked into leaving Hobbiton, but is anxious about leaving during the call to adventure step, the refusal of the call step, and acceptance of the call step. Second, crossing the first threshold, is shown by the group getting captured by trolls and Gandalf tricking them into turning into stone by the sun’s light. This is when Bilbo starts to cross over into his new life. Next, in the supernatural aid step, …show more content…
Bilbo faces yet another fight when a war starts between the five armies; dwarves, men, elves, goblins, and wargs. He stops the war between the allies by keeping the Arkenstone from them. He uses the ring to avoid his capture and saves his crew, except for Thorin who dies during the battle. After Bilbo and his crew escape, they finally return to Hobbiton. “it gave him more sorrow than joy, and he was now weary of his adventure. He was aching in his bones for the homeward journey” (Tolkien 290). This truly represents a step in the Hero’s Journey because he is actually questioning his belonging now. The worries that Bilbo have about not fitting in vanish after he remembers what it is like to be
Bilbo Baggins finds another side of himself he is the one leading the group of dwarves. In chapter 8 Mr. Bilbo Baggins shows real bravery by been able to set himself and the dwarves free from the spiders. In chapter 9 Mr. Bilbo Baggins shows intelligence by been able to devise a plan to set the dwarves free from the wood elves prison. In chapter 12 it is Mr. Bilbo Baggins alone that goes into Smaug dragon’s lair and he is also able to find Smaug’s vulnerable spot. In chapter 16 Mr. Bilbo Baggins is willing to give up his share of the wealth to bring peace to the humans, dwarves, and
The Hobbit, a marvelous tale by the accomplished novelist J.R.R. Tolkien, closely follows the outline of the hero’s journey. Hero’s journey is the process where a protagonist in a story often completes in order to complete this quest. This is shown through three separate phases or acts called the departure, initiation, and the return with each act containing different stages of the plot. Because of it’s beautiful understanding of this process, The Hobbit is agreed to be one of the best examples of the hero’s journey use in modern day literature. Each step had an equal role to providing the prodigious anecdote’s importance to people across the world.
In chapter five of the “Hobbit” Tolkien demonstrates the Archetypal Quest when Bilbo awoke in the darkness alone, he must depend on himself if he wants any chance of finding his way out. “Just imagine his fright! He could hear nothing, see nothing and he could feel nothing except the stone on the floor.” Bilbo only let these thoughts cross his mind for a moment before he “got up and groped about on all fours, till he touched the wall of the tunnel.” This event is where we begin to see the new hobbit bilbo is becoming.
Bilbo finally evolves into a brave hero and fits in with the dwarf party. Chapter eight shows Bilbo freeing himself by cutting down a spider web and described feeling different about himself. He then goes on to name his sword as many legendary heros have before which shows qualities of heroism and leadership. He also expresses his bravery and intelligence in chapter nine by devising a plan to get the party out to Esgoroth. Last but certainly not least Bilbo discovers how to use the key to get to the great dragon Smaug.
Bilbo’s Transformation/Maturation Some people say that people never change, while others believe that if given the chance, they will. In this case, J.R.R. Tolkien gives the character Bilbo Baggins the chance to change dramatically in his book The Hobbit. Bilbo undergoes many significant changes in his personality as a result of engaging in Gandalf's journey with the dwarves. The most important transformations include Bilbo going from fearful to brave, from being questioned to respected and from being helpless to resourceful.
When people go places and step out of their comfort zones, sometimes they come back a different person. In The Hobbit, Bilbo is an ordinary hobbit, but after his adventure, it is apparent that Bilbo is now a hero. Three events that occur that show this transformation are when Bilbo jumps over Gollum, when Bilbo slays a spider, and when Bilbo travels to the Elvenking and Bard in order to make peace. The moment Bilbo leaps over Gollum demonstrates to the reader how Bilbo is beginning to go from hobbit to hero.
Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and Winkler believe after the hero’s departure, they are faced with a trial or many trails to overcome when they finally meet their biggest enemy, “The hero undergoes a series of trials often on a perilous journey.” (Campbell) Bilbo’s first trial is after Bilbo escapes from Gollum which he is reunited with the dwarves and are surrounded by Wargs but after it seems all hope is lost, eagles swoop down and save the adventures before it is too late. In Mirkwood, the dwarves and Bilbo are starving when they get captured by spiders, and Bilbo has to save them, “Bilbo saw that the moment had come when he must do something. ”(Tolkien 64) Bilbo escapes by himself and then finds the dwarves trapped and defenseless against a mob of spiders which Bilbo has to defeat by calling them names, and angering them until Bilbo has unraveled the dwarves.
In the novel, The Hobbit by J.J. Tolkien, Bilbo Baggins as a character grows tremendously. He goes from caring about nothing besides his cakes and tea, to opening up to a whole different world outside of the Shire. As the book begins, Bilbo is put to the task of reclaiming a place known as the Lonely Mountain by a wizard named Gandalf, after such request Bilbo states “Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you”(Tolkien 4) and ultimately shows his cowardness. Throughout this journey, Bilbo changes for the best.
In the story “The Hobbit” Bilbo can be seen as the hero when he sacrifices his family’s name to be a part of the quest to get Thorin's gold back Bilbo's first approach is his attempt on stealing the trolls’ treasure. He later is met by the goblins, Gollum, elves, and spiders. Each fear he faces develops Bilbo as a hero, getting him ready for his greatest quest, stealing the treasure from Smaug.. Another example of Bilbo putting others before himself is the treasure he willing to give in order to bring peace to the men, elves, and dwarves. Last, but not least, Bilbo is willing to sacrifice his life for a cause bigger than himself.
The “hero’s Journey” begins with a call to an ordinary individual to leave the ordinary world. This calls prompts the individual to leave the common life to venture into the realm of the unknown. The journey continues with the individual leaving the ordinary world to descend into the special world. The decent into the special world brings the individual through different adventures and experiences that reveal weakness and allow for strength and development to conquer those weaknesses. Bilbo baggins journey represents the “hero’s Journey”as he leaves the ordinary world as an ordinary hobbit,enters the special world as a developing warrior,and returns as an unexpected hero.
Along the way, they overcome many obstacles that threaten their lives and put their trust for one another to the test. Bilbo learns that there is more to him than he realizes and through hard work and dedication, he can accomplish almost anything. Overcoming these problems and learning more about himself helped Bilbo change from an ordinary, self-doubting hobbit into a clever, courage-filled, loyal hero. In the beginning, Bilbo has no desire to go on an adventure of any kind, but he quickly learns about the cleverness he obtains when he is forced to make quick decisions.
Gandalf calls Bilbo to adventure at the beginning of the story, and Bilbo is forced to realize that “adventures are not all pony-rides in May-sunshine” (Tolkien 33). Bilbo’s journey to a hero begins with gaining an understanding that he must expose himself to uncertainty in order to help his group. After Bilbo crosses the first threshold with help from Gandalf, he finds himself in the ‘belly of the whale’ with
When Bilbo finds the ring it changes him forever, for he is able to do things he would have never done before or even dream of doing. When Bilbo faces tough situations the ring always gets him by, and after he has come out the victor, he feels accomplished and more confident of his skills. After going through this process countless times his skills in battle and intelligence increase, as well as his self esteem and respect. The ring in this specific book symbolizes change. Bilbo’s change from a hesitant, powerless hobbit to a confident human being capable of most anything.
He begins by falling into a fit when he feels he is being forced to join Gandalf and the dwarves, and later he must be carried by Dori when they are escaping the Goblins. In the face of difficulties, he is often afraid and constantly daydreams of bacon and eggs and wishes himself back home. Bilbo is also shows signs of being fastidious. He does not like the mess the dwarves create in his home and he thinks multiple times that places they stay are unorganized
We are first introduced to the main character Bilbo Baggins who is a peaceful Hobbit who loves staying in his lovely hole/home. And when Bilbo meets with Gandalf, they then discuss about having tea together. Which Gandalf then turns that tea meeting into an organizational meeting with 13 dwarves. They then start to talk about a map that would lead them to a mountain where they will find a dragon. This dragon has stolen many treasures and the group are going to reclaim it.