“Home” is not just a place or thing; it represents where you feel the most safe and secure, where you feel accepted or feel a part of a community, and where you overall feel you belong. However, home can also be the thing that shelters you from the outside world, leaving you unprepared to deal with situations and dangers outside your knowledge. Often in children’s stories, the character must leave their place of security and go on a journey. This is because to grow as a person you must leave what is safe and familiar and venture into the unknown to truly test yourself, and be able to return home with new knowledge and perspective.. This essay will focus on two characters who go through this transformation from leaving their ‘homes’; Bilbo and his hobbit hole in Bags-End, and Meggie and her father, Mo, and her beloved books. Both are attached to their ‘homes’, and feel anxious and lonely without them, Bilbo's and Meggie's journeys are how, when seperated from their homes, they perservere through their insecurities and doubt and become stronger and more self-reliant by the end of their respected texts.
1. Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins’ hobbit hole is his happy home, where for fifty years he was content to stay to avoid the dangers and uncomfortableness of the outside world. Through the novel, it is home he most often thinks back to, and ultimately where he has to leave in order to go on his adventures and grow. His attachment to his home can be contributed to three factors; it’s physical comforts, its protection from the outside world, and its representation of social standing. The hobbit hole, the narrator tells us, means comfort (11), and it explains to us the comfortable furniture, the pantries full of food and closets full of c...
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...power also comes with more active bravery in Meggie; for example, she can now defiantly refuse to give Capricorn and his comrades what they want: “’I’m not going to read aloud this evening,’ she said. ‘You shot my father last night. Basta told me. I won’t read a word […] Why should she be afraid? They needed her. She was the only one who could read their wretched Shadow out of the book for them; no one else could do it…“ (440-441). With this power, she can take an active role in the story; instead of looking upon evil with scared eyes, she can use her own power to save everyone. She does this by destroying Capricorn and his men once and for all, with Mo along side her (quote). So instead of her father doing things for Meggie in order to protect her, she and her father work together as equals in power and maturity to banish the evil that has inflicted their lives .
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is said to be one of the greatest children's novels of all time. The novel, due to its use of such characters as goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others is in tradition, a fairy tale. The tale centers on a small hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins. It follows the journey of a band of dwarves, a wizard named Gandalf, and their robber, Bilbo on their way to retrieving treasure that had long been taken away from them. The hobbit traveled all over Middle-Earth, beginning with Bilbo's tiny hobbit-hole in the ground, to Mirkwood forest, to finally reaching the Mountain in which the dragon Smaug lives. Tolkien uses a large amount of imagery in his writing which can been seen through settings in The Hobbit. The imagery is usually either dark or light, depending on Bilbo's mood and contrast of his surroundings. J.R.R Tolkien uses dark and light imagery in The Hobbit to effectively set an eerie and mysterious mood and to foreshadow events such as Bilbo's journey in Mirkwood and his adventure in the Mountain.
Literature plays an important role in the shaping of society, reinforcing cultural norms and values. Because of this, the meaning of enduring tales such as The Hobbit can change with time, being molded in new ways to fit what society now accepts. In every society, the world over, there are those who see the world differently from those in the mainstream. Whether for better or for worse, the wiring of their brain is skewed and this gives them a different outlook, a new way or reading a text or viewing a film. The paper will explore the importance of the focus on adventure and self-discovery in The Hobbit for sufferers of mental illness and how modern society may have affected the understanding of this tale.
One of the recurring themes throughout The Hobbit is Tolkien’s manifestation of morality through his inherently good and evil characters. Although, some characters narrowly balance the line of good and evil through portraying characteristics such as greed, the hobbits represent naturally altruistic and peaceful characters. The protagonist Bilbo’s rational nature and willingness to compromise through his selfless transfer of the Arkenstone to Bard and the Elvenking further highlights Tolkien’s portrayal of a simple and sensible twentieth century Englishmen in a fantastical setting. Even though he risks his promised sum of the treasures, Bilbo chooses to work as a peacekeeper to opt for a more sensible way of solving a problem. Therefore, the dialogue between Bilbo, Bard, and the Elevenking is a manifestation by Tolkien of the moral high ground of hobbits and their rational and peacekeeping nature, which impresses the men and elves to award their trust and honor to the hobbit.
Bilbo Baggins is half the size of a human and lives in his hobbit hole. He is beardless and has hairy feet. Hobbits don’t like to have adventures not like dwarves who love to have adventures. One day he is visited by Gandalf a wizard and his dwarves. They invite Bilbo to a great journey to take down Smaug the dragon. On their way to Lonely Mountain which is the dragon’s home. They first get attacked by trolls and it was a close call because sunlight turns the trolls into stone. He finds the key to their secret cave and finds himself a sword. Next Bilbo gets lost in some underground tunnels and finds a little creature that threatens him to eat him if he can’t figure out his riddles but if he does he shows him the way out.
The book, The Hobbit starts at Bilbo’s house. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” pg 11. At the beginning Bilbo is a non adventurous hobbit who likes to mind his own business and doesn't like visitors.Gandalf brings the dwarves to Bilbo’s house because he believes that Bilbo will help the dwarves on their journey. At the start Bilbo didn’t know the dwarves but Gandalf carved a symbol into Bilbo's door. “And I assure you there is a mark on this door - the usual one in the trade, or used to be. Burglar wants a good job, plenty
One of the prevailing themes of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is the juxtaposition between home and the outside world. Throughout the novel, Tolkien behooves the reader to wonder whether or not adventure is beneficial for Bilbo, as opposed to staying back at his home in The Hill. Tolkien himself does not take a clear position on this himself. Instead, he brilliantly juxtaposes Bilbo’s home with the outside world and leaves it up to the reader whether going on an adventure with Gandalf and the dwarves was the correct course of action. Or in other words, Tolkien conveys both the notion that Bilbo is better off at home, and that he is better off going on the adventure. This paper will examine each side of this conflict; reasons to Bilbo to stay home and reasons for Bilbo to embark on an adventure. Ultimately, I will attempt to show why Bilbo’s adventure was ultimately beneficial to him.
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
Everyone always has a safe place in their hearts for their homes. Home doesn’t always have to be a place where someone just sleeps in. However, home to some people is where they feel comfort. Somewhere or someplace can be one’s home. Some of the characters in Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Rozario and The Odyssey by Homer express the theme of home through an emotional journey. Enrique’s Journey is about a boy named Enrique who goes on a journey to find his beloved mother who he has believed abandoned him. The Odyssey is about a mythology where a hero named Odysseus tries to find his way back to his homeland after participating in a war. Odysseus from The Odyssey shows the theme of home by trying to return home to his family. Enrique from Enrique’s Journey shows the theme of home by looking for his mother who he considers to be his home. Telemachus in The Odyssey shows home when he decides to go find his father,
It is likely for one to assume that a classic piece of literature set in a fantasy oriented stage will have no merits to the youths of today. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, however, with its crafty of usage symbolism, displays its relevance to issues that often trouble teens. As the story progresses from a children’s tale to an epic, the main character Bilbo undergoes a series of development, his experiences often overlapping with ordinary people. Reading the Hobbit will provide teens with opportunities of exploring the importance of several common but serious topics. People may encounter many of the themes presented in the book elsewhere repeatedly, but it’s possible that they never appreciated the applications it might have on themselves. When teens read the Hobbit, they perceive it as a simple fiction of adventure. Under proper guiding, they will be able to recognize and utilize the lessons of the Hobbit, and improve their attitudes and ideas about life.
The first important place they went in the hobbit is bilbo’s hobbit hole .In the hobbit hole it really tells who the characters are and ,what their personalities are.It also tells what adventure’s they’re going to go on ,and it explains really how Bilbos personality is like, his tookish and and Baggins side between his mom and his dad.He also claims his fear of dragons ,and it just explains how Bilbo loves to go on missions ,and since he goes on the
Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, changed quite a bit throughout the story. In the beginning when he was first recruited to go on the quest with the dwarves, he was a well-respected, quiet, member of his community. He lived in his hole in the side of a hill and never thought of adventure. As he is on his quest every encounter he has with people, animals, and beasts helps him to become braver and more adventurous. After Smaug had been killed, Bilbo went back to his home (the hole in the hill) which was being auctioned off because he was presumed to be dead. After he got everything straightened out in that situation he went back to being a quiet little hobbit that lived in a hole, thinking back on his adventurous quest.
Most people spend their entire lives in search of their ideal home. Home has distinctive importance to all. To some; it is a place of their home country and heritage as well as their birthplace. While to others, home is a place where one finds shelter and food, furthermore, a place where they can always return to and feel secure. In order for us, as the reader to, fully comprehend the significance of a home from the perspective of the characters, we must obtain a good understanding of what a home is in and of itself.
Once upon a time there lived a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. He lived in a perfectly round door like a porthole. Hobbits had thick hair on their feet, and loved food, and had comfort and security. One day, Bilbo was outside and an Old man named Gandalf appears at his front door. Gandalf is a wizard who created fireworks and displayed them. Meanwhile then, Gandalf asks Bilbo if he is interested on going on an adventure. Bilbo refuses and invites Gandalf inside for a cup of tea.
He constantly refers to how all he wants or misses is the comfort and safety of his hobbit hole. When Bilbo first meets Gandalf, he freaks out because he has heard of Gandalf’s adventures, “Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning! But please come to tea – any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Come tomorrow! Good bye!’” (Tolkien 7). This outburst displays Bilbo’s fear of adventure perfectly by making him ‘physically scared’ with just the thought of leaving his home. Throughout the rest of the novel Bilbo slowly gets used to being away from home, but he constantly complains and whimpers about how he wishes he was home. The dwarves thought little of him from the start, due to his reluctance to go along on the trip and his annoying complaints, but Bilbo’s conflict with this fear is over soon enough. Once again, Dr. Dominick Grace, from his article The Hobbit, explains, “By the end, he becomes the true leader of the quest and the figure whose values and actions are valorized by the text” (Grace 1). To clarify, even though it was a big influence on the way he lived and what he did, Bilbo’s internal conflict with adventure was short lived and held back his true heroic
Bilbo Baggins lives a peaceful life in his hobbit hole. He lives in Bag End, near the town of Hobbiton, but one day this tranquility is brought apart by the arrival of the wizard Gandalf. Gandalf persuades Bilbo to join him on a journey with a group of thirteen mildly aggressive dwarves. They are about to set out on a quest to reclaim their treasure from the dragon Smaug, and Bilbo is supposed to act as the thief in the plan. Bilbo isn’t sure he wants to leave the comfort of his hobbit hole, but Gandalf manages to get him to come.