Mentors In The Hobbit

Shadows and mentors. Completely opposite characters…right? Not exactly. Through examining the two media texts, you may discover the similarities between the purpose of the shadow and the mentor. A mentor is a character who teaches and gives the hero advice. If you study the role of the shadow, you may notice that the shadow also teaches the hero valuable lessons. The similarity is how they both affect and benefit the hero, despite their opposite goals. In The Hobbit, Bilbo gains from Thorin and Smaug, the evil on the journey. J. A. Proveda agrees with this point having stated: “The villains that Bilbo and the thirteen dwarves meet during their expedition to the Lonely mountain act for their own benefit.” Moreover in Star Wars, Luke Skywalker

Firstly, the shadow is often connected emotionally to the hero. People are naturally influenced by the ones that they are emotionally attached to. Hence, if Darth Vader tells Luke to be a better person, Luke would obey out of love for his father. If you study The Hobbit you can see that Bilbo was influenced by Thorin to do the right thing. This is because Bilbo saw the outcome of Thorin once he got possession of the dragon’s hoard. In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker was also heavily influenced by Darth Vader, whom is his father. Because of Vader, Luke saw what the Dark side could do. Luke understood how it can manipulate and completely transform you. In comparison, Bilbo and Luke were both influenced because of their connections with the shadow, for better or for worse. However unlike Bilbo, Luke never really spent any time with Darth Vader. Therefore we don’t have a clear understanding of Luke’s true intentions. Whether Luke didn’t want to kill his father because he loves him, or simply because it was his father and it wouldn’t be a moral action to take. Bilbo on the other hand, had spent the whole journey with Thorin. Despite the fact that Thorin didn’t understand why Bilbo was chosen for the quest, they had an emotional bond towards the end. This bond is evident in chapter 18, when Thorin was on his deathbed. His last words to Bilbo were “I wish to part in friendship from you, and I would take back my words and deeds at the gate”

Finally, the hero learns from the shadow’s strengths and weaknesses as they are the qualities that helped them succeed and ultimately the reason why they fail. In The Hobbit, Bilbo learns from Thorin’s characteristics. From the strengths side, Bilbo has learned from Thorin’s confidence and leadership. Once again, because of Thorin’s example Bilbo was able to recover more of his Took side. As demonstrated in chapter 8, during the road of trials, the battle with the spiders. This battle was the first time Bilbo really displayed his role in the quest. He showed leadership as explained in the quote: “Bilbo saw that the moment had come when he must do something” (Tolkien, 183). Bilbo also presented confidence by insulting the spiders with his lyrics. He has also learned from Thorin’s undesirable traits. Greed. From Thorin’s outcome, Bilbo sees how easy it is to give into greed. This encouraged Bilbo to make the right decisions, like handing over the Arkenstone and taking only a small amount of treasure home with him. Moreover, this also happens to be the case in Star Wars. Similar to The Hobbit, Luke also sees the consequences of the dark side through Darth Vader, and from this he learns to make better choices. Through Vader’s strengths, Luke can learn the sense of loyalty to your master. Vader had said: “You don't know the power of the dark side. I must obey my master” (Return of the