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The hobbit character analysis
Character development of the hobbit
Character development of the hobbit
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Life is the very epitome of change. Every day, people learn, grow, and develop. They have new experiences that influence their thoughts, ideas and actions. They meet new people who, in turn, share their own unique beliefs and philosophies. In literature, the process that characters go through in order to grow and change is referred to as the hero's cycle. This cycle is marked by three major events: departure, fulfillment, and return. In his novel The Hobbit, author JRR Tolkien uses a small hobbit named Bilbo Baggins in order to illustrate this series of events.
Bilbo Baggins' actions at the beginning of the Hobbit mark "departure" in the hero's cycle. Bilbo is at first portrayed as a weak and insecure character. He is not aware of himself
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From the beginning of the story, Gandalf sees great potential in Bilbo. Although he does not believe him, Bilbo proves that he is capable of doing extraordinary things. Bilbo's first display of fulfillment occurs when he escapes the depths of the misty mountains without the help of Gandalf or the dwarves. Bilbo says “And here’s the burglar!”...slipping off the ring. Bless me, how they jumped! Then they[the dwarves] shouted with surprise and delight...It is a fact that Bilbo’s reputation went up a very great deal with the dwarves after this(214)." Following this event, Bilbo becomes more confident. He now knows that nothing is impossible if he believes in himself and is beginning to understand that the unknown is not an enemy, but a force that can be conquered. Bilbo once again displays fulfillment when he kills a giant spider in the heart of Mirkwood. Tolkien writes"“The spider lay dead beside him, and his sword-blade was stained black. Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder...as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath(179)”. Bilbo's display of strength and fearlessness shows a dramatic change from his personality at the beginning of the book. He is now starting to fulfill
Bilbo Baggins lived a very simple life, a life he enjoyed very much, until the day when the wizard Gandalf arrived at his door one morning. Gandalf was searching for someone to share an adventure with, but Bilbo quickly declined, saying, “We don’t want any adventures here. You might try over The Hill or across The Water,” and with that the hobbit dismissed the wandering wizard, but not before he had given the wizard an invitation for tea the next day. This of coarse, was the polite thing to do. But Gandalf saw something more in Bilbo and would not be discouraged.
Bilbo Baggins, having a diminutive stature but, a heart bigger than than Hobbittown. People may begin to wonder would Bilbo be considered a hero? Being heroic is portraying qualities that are helpful, selfless, and brave. Bilbo possessed these character traits in The Hobbit. Gandalf exclaimed that there is more to Bilbo than meets the eye, I feel like that statement is true because Bilbo has went through many heroic events that he could have easily backed down from. In The Hobbit, while still wearing the ring Bilbo “beats the creature off with his hands-it was trying to poison him to keep him quiet as small spiders do to flies-until he remembered his sword and drew it out to cut his legs loose. After that it was his turn to attack” (154) This shows how courageous Bilbo was when he could have gotten eaten alive, I think what changed in Bilbo was when he came in contact with the spiders, he be...
Bilbo is “not the hobbit that [he was] before he left the Shire (Tolkien, 360). He has lost his reputation as a perfectly predictable Baggins, but he has gained “the honor of dwarves, wizards, and all such folk as ever passed that way” (Tolkien 361). He spends his time now “writing poetry and visiting the elves,” and despite all the other hobbits’ disapproval of Bilbo and his adventures, “he [remains] very happy to the end of his days” which are “extraordinarily long” (Tolkien 361).
Every hero goes through certain stages in their valorous journey. Some stages are more important in a hero’s journey compared to others. In The Hobbit, the most important stage of the hero’s journey is stage 6, tests/challenges. This is because the hero, Bilbo (a friendly hobbit), learns how to make decisions based on his mistakes and work individually, he learns new tactics and strategies and he earns possessions and answers after accomplishing them. Bilbo learns to make his own decisions when he sees trolls ahead in their way and he must decide whether to warn the dwarves or steal from the trolls. We see Bilbo learn new tactics and strategies when he must win a riddle-contest against Gollum. Bilbo earns an answer when he plans and outsmarts
Bilbo Baggins changes a lot in the novel The Hobbit. In the beginning he is a small peaceful Hobbit who lives in Hobbiton. He loves to keep things in order, and hates things that are disorganized. “Please be careful,” and “Please don’t trouble. I can manage” (Tolkein, 12). Then one day a wizard by the name of Gandalf comes and gives Bilbo the opportunity to go on an adventure. Bilbo turns his offer down, but the next day thirteen dwarves come to his house. They have meals together and they sleep at Bilbo’s house. Gandalf then convinces him to go on an adventure with them. Bilbo is many things, in the very begging he is flat, static, main, and he is the protagonist. By the end of the story he is round, dynamic, main, and he is still the protagonist. By the end of the story, Bilbo is a changed Hobbit.
During the middle of Bilbo and his crew's adventure they run into big trouble with the giant spiders. While asleep in the dark of the forrest Bilbo and the dwarves are surprised to find themselves tied up by the spiders. Using his sword later named Sting, Bilbo cuts himself free. He leads the spiders away from the dwarves by throwing stones in the opposite direction, then he sets the dwarves free with help from the invisibility ring so the spiders could not see him. Bilbo throws himself in harm all to guarantee the dwarves their protection. Another time Bilbo offered up his safety in order to ensure the dwarves was when he rescued all of them from the wood elves. As Bilbo and the dwarves were on a mission to find food somewhere, they run into the wood-elves. Bilbo put his ring on so he was invisibly but all the dwarves were locked up in the Elvenking's castle. After several weeks of exploring the castle, Bilbo comes up with his plan of escape. Bilbo steals the keys from the guard while he was not paying attention, then manages to set all the dwarves free. They are now all floating downstream in empty wine barrels. If it was not for Bilbo's yield, they would still be prisoners in there. It was risky business and Bilbo could be caught and locked up as well, but he did it and his plan was completed with a favorable
Bilbo Baggins is a very soft and quiet hobbit. He loves to eat, and is pampered by his own self. So when Gandalf arrives to take him on an adventure, Bilbo is a little hesitant –scared to death- to risk his life with Thorin and Company. “At may never return he began to feel a shriek coming up inside, and very soon it burst out like the whistle of an engine coming out of a tunnel. […] The...
Bilbo cleverly eluded Smaug’s temptation, spared the life of foul creature Gollum, and demonstrate courage more and more throughout his journey. These exquisite traits made Bilbo into the revered character that was loved and respected for generations of readers. Throughout the book, Bilbo’s character had changed. At first, he was the ordinary hobbit who described adventures as “Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things” (4) but by the end of his journeys stated to Thorin, “I am glad that I have shared in your perils” (290). Bilbo’s ability to fight evil, make new friends, and to look beyond his maps and books enable him to become a hero. As Gandalf once said at the very beginning, “There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself” (19). Gandalf was right. What appeared to be an uneasy hobbit who fainted at the thought of adventures, turned out to be a brave leader, a compassionate friend, and an inspiring
Bilbo begins his long journey with the dwarves, who at the time were still skeptical of Bilbo’s abilities. The dwarves didn’t see why they needed such a small incompetent hobbit with them along their journey. Gandalf tells them to stop complaining and to trust that there is more to Bilbo than meets the eye (Tolkien 6). Bilbo soon shows his courage and heroism for the first time in the story when they run into their first obstacle, three large trolls huddled around a campfire. Bilbo, who was once a shy, non-adventurous type, begins to develop into a hero as he tries to steal one of the trolls’ money purses. This is a dramatic scene in the novel because it was Bilbo’s very first act outside his comfort zone. It was this...
It is shown that this story can convey a strong message that all readers should know. That when you believe in yourself that you could accomplish things that were only in your wildest dreams. Bilbo Baggins had been the one to overcome his fear of changing his daily life and become the hero that he should be known for. Even though he starts off as the most non-courageous person in the world into a great hero. He goes one to defeat spiders, goblins, and outsmarts doby into getting the ring.
In J.R.R. Tolkien 's novel, The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins goes through a classic representation of the Hero’s Journey. Throughout the story, Bilbo transitions from being a complacent, sheltered hobbit, to a more adventurous hobbit. The Hobbit has all three parts of the hero’s journey; The Departure, Initiation and The Return, all of which is interpreted throughout the quest.
At the beginning of the novel, Mr. Baggins starts out at his comfy little hobbit home, but suddenly a grand, wise wizard shows up. Not long after, 12 dwarves began to appear, one by one at Bilbo’s door, and they have come to carry him off on a life-changing adventure, full of greed. That was the beginning of our hairy hobbit’s transformation from a shy, quiet hobbit, to a strong and bold life-saving hero, who enchants any who come in contact with him. For example of his strength and boldness, would be in chapter 5, when Bilbo rhymes riddles for an unknown creature, who calls itself Gollum. Bilbo would’ve been eaten if he were to have lost, but took his chances, and risked it anyway. After all, it did get him out of that goblin-infested cave.
Bilbo assumes that he is an inadequate companion for the adventure, and that idea is apparent as he and the dwarves equally doubt his skills that Gandalf is so confident about. " 'I have chosen Mr. Baggins and that ought to be enough for you...There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself. '" (Tolkien 33) The dwarves allow Bilbo to join their company, but they do not completely take Gandalf 's word and have a difficult time becoming accustomed to the hobbit. The party describes him during the journey as being "more trouble than use so far" and wished Gandalf had "chosen someone with more sense" (119). However, once they realize that in spite of how traumatic a situation is for Bilbo, he still finds a way to help them when they can 't defend themselves, and because of that they accept him as a friend and stay loyal to him until the end of the quest and the
Bilbo doesn’t realize it at first, with the help of Gandalf he sees he has changed. He has become brave and fearless. He has also learned the value of friendship and kindness through his new friends and their journey together which has now forever
He remains good hearted throughout the story. At the beginning of the novel Bilbo is neither an adventurous nor brave hobbit. He prefers to stay in his hobbit hole and keep to himself, he is scared of the outside world. When Gandalf comes and says “he is looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it 's very difficult to find anyone.” he immediately shoots the offer down saying “I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things!”(9). Gandalf though saw Bilbo and knew that there was something special inside of him. So, he pushed him out the door where Bilbo would be able to grow. Although Bilbo refuses at first he builds up the courage. Thorin Oakenshield saw Bilbo as small and worthless. Bilbo, at the time, agreed with him. Eventually Bilbo saved his life and Thorin became family to him. Throughout Bilbo 's adventure he goes from being unheroic to courageous and heroic. One example is when he fight off the Great Spider to save the dwarves with the sword he names sting and says that he feels more confident and fierce, from there on he progresses to become stronger and at the end Gandalf says to Bilbo,"Something is the matter with you! You are not the hobbit that you were."(203). From that you can tell that Gandalf has seen the changes, most of the changes come from the ways he saves