The Hero's Journey In The Hobbit And The Odyssey

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The Odyssey and The Hobbit Comparison Essay “You have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have” J.R.R Tolkien. When it comes to the hero’s journey, both The Odyssey and The Hobbit are very similar. They are mainly similar in encountering challenges and temptations throughout both journeys. And in both The Hobbit and The Odyssey, it is shown that challenges and temptations must be faced throughout the hero’s journey. Altogether it is taught that by using wits and skill challenges can be overcome. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew face many challenges and temptations throughout their journey, and these challenges must be overcome in order to get home. For example, one challenge that is faced …show more content…

And while some challenges are greater than others, they have to be conquered in order to complete the journey. A big challenge that had to be overcome was defeating Smaug, a dragon who took over the mountain which was filled with treasure. The dwarves must defeat him to reclaim the mountain. “Then the dwarves forgot their joy and their confident boasts of a moment before and cowered down in fright. Smaug was still to be reckoned with.” (Tolkien 199). Also Defeating Smaug is important because one of the main reasons they are on their quest is because they want to kill Smaug and reclaim the Lonely Mountain. Another challenge that Bilbo must face on his own himself while on the journey is killing giant spiders to rescue his friends. While in the dark forest of Mirkwood, the dwarves get taken by spiders and wrapped up in string while Bilbo is on the top of a tree. Using his sword and rocks he has to kill the spiders and free his friends.“Suddenly he saw, too, that there were spiders huge and horrible sting in the branch above him” (145). Also this challenge helped Bilbo grow and discover what he can do, and prove to the dwarves he is useful. When the dwarves finally reclaim the mountain Thorin soon becomes very protective of the newly acquired gold, to the point where he starts to trust no one. “But none of our gold shall thieves take or the violent carry off while we are alive”

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