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Character Development In The Hobbit

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The hobbit is a novel written in 1937 by J.R. Tolkien. The book is set in the fictional world of Middle-Earth, where mythical creatures like elves, dwarves and dragons live. Our main character is a respectable hobbit called Bilbo Baggins, who suddenly finds himself in the company of 13 dwarves. They head out on a quest to retrieve their mountain from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Characterization deals with how characters are described, be it by dialog, the way they speak or appearance. This literary device helps us understand and feel sympathy towards the characters. The characters in the Hobbit are interesting characters with their own traits and development.
Firstly, we have the most important ones, the main characters. In the Hobbit the main …show more content…

The environment and experiences that they go through shape them as a person and make them grow into something new. Bilbo starts out as cautious little hobbit, but as the journey goes on he grows into the role of a leader and gains self-confidence. He becomes braver than he ever was and isn’t afraid to stand up for himself. There’s a big contrast between the hobbit who fainted upon only hearing about the dragon, and the hobbit who bravely went into its lair and challenged it. Despite all that Bilbo holds onto his values and doesn’t forget who he is, which is what ultimately saves him from falling for the greed that frames everyone towards the end of the book. A great example of this is shown with the very ending of the book, there Bilbo decides to go home. After everything that happened, after all the adventures and fights that no longer make him a respectable hobbit, Bilbo Baggins returns to Bag End. Thorin is the other side of Bilbo’s coin, his opposite. While Bilbo starts out soft and weak, he starts out hard and strong. As the story progresses Thorin starts to unravel, he makes hasty and poor planned decisions, his plans fall apart and while he relies a great deal on Bilbo, his pride makes him refuse to acknowledge him. It is these conditions that make Bilbo grow into the hero and leader he is by the end. Despite Thorin’s shortcomings and eventual fall he is redeemed in the very and at his deathbed. There he says to Bilbo “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world” (Tolkien 237-8), by this Thorin is asking for forgiveness from Bilbo for his rash actions before the battle, claiming that the world would be a better place with more people like

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