Bilbo and Beowulf

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Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Garth Hinds’ Beowulf are both works of art. Both display great acts of heroism and they are both great stories to follow and enjoy. We see in both The Hobbit and Beowulf the hero’s journey. We see the characters develop throughout the works. We see the ways they handle tough situations, almost wriggling out of them by the skin of the teeth. It can be said that as much as Bilbo Baggins from Tolkien’s The Hobbit displays acts of heroism, he is still very much different from Beowulf portrayed by Garth Hinds.
To begin, we can examine the physical appearances of the two heroes. From the get go, we see Beowulf as a very powerful man. We see emphasise of this through the drawings of the novel. We see how muscular he is and the overall aura. He is relaxed and in control every step of the way.
On the other hand, when we look at Bilbo Baggins, the picture that we come up with is a small hobbit from a far away and relatively unknown land. He is portrayed as someone that is very insignificant. He is insecure of seemingly on the edge of losing control every step of the way. Where Beowulf would represent they type of hero people will follow into battle, Bilbo Baggins would represent the type of person that stays at home smoking a pipe by the fire. However, this is the reason why we see Bilbo Baggins as a hero.
When legends are told throughout the world about heroes, the picture that we have of that hero is someone like Beowulf. However, the reason why we see Bilbo Baggins as a hero is because he is so similar to the rest of us. He portrays the average person but Bilbo has gone the extra step. He takes risks and faces battles that seem impossible to conquer. This is why we he is a hero. He does everything that we wis...

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...becomes tested more and more until he reaches his limit.
Beowulf is not always tested to his limits. His first fight with Grendel was not that difficult for him. He easily defeated the monster. On the other hand, when it comes to overcoming obstacles, Bilbo Baggins is always on the verge of being defeated. Even though he does end up conquering his foes, they are with much more struggle than Beowulf.
Bilbo Baggins and Beowulf are both great heroes. However, they are heroes in different ways. They differ in the way they portray themselves, and the way they develop throughout their stories. They are similar in that they both conquer foes and create good wherever they go. They are treated as heroes, feared as heroes, and live as heroes. One is depicted as the universal hero, while the other is a hero among normal men. Bilbo Baggins is who we all should be more like.

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