After graduating from Oxford at the age of 25, J.R.R Tolkien and his three best friends enlisted in the British army and went off to fight WWI, the bloodiest conflict the world had yet seen. It was in the bloody trenches of the Battle of the Somme, that Tolkien's view on heroism was formed. It is in this period of Tolkien's life that his classical views of heroism, clashed with the harsh realities of the changing face of warfare, warfare which was fought with machinegun and mustard gas, not sword and shield. In the Hobbit, Tolkien combines classical views of heroism, and contrasts them with his own ideas of heroism. Bilbo Baggins, the meek, mild mannered, hobbit embodies the epitome of Tolkien's idea of heroism. In Bilbo, we see that Tolkien admires one who lives a simple life and without the need for large wealth, one …show more content…
Throughout the Hobbit, there are many example of Bilbo using his wit to get him out of a sticky situation. We see Bilbo's wit at its apex in the halls of Erebor, when Bilbo is able to use Smaug’s curiosity and pride against him, “‘I have always understood,’ said Bilbo in a frightened squeak, ‘that dragons were softer underneath, especially in the region of the—er—chest; but doubtless one so fortified has thought of that.’ The dragon stopped short in his boasting. ‘Your information is antiquated,’ he snapped. ‘I am armoured above and below with iron scales and hard gems. No blade can pierce me.’” (Tolkien, 230) Bilbo understood that all of the dwarves combined could not match the might of Smaug, and would undoubtedly be slain. Because of this, Bilbo gallantly took up the role to confront Smaug with only his wit as a weapon. With this, Tolkien maintains that a intelligence is a mightier weapon than a sword and that a person that uses intelligence to solve problems is much more heroic than one who always resorts to animalistic
At the beginning of the adventure, Bilbo was a timid, little hobbit with no idea how to steal or survive outside of his little hobbit hole. When Thorin and the rest of the dwarves first meet Bilbo, they question
Many science fiction fantasy novels have a hero or heroine. In J.R.R Tolkien’s novel the hobbit Bilbo Baggins is a hero, Even though he finds a ring of invisibility that allows him to preform surprising feats. Some of his acts of heroism are when Bilbo make his first attempt at burglary when he steals from the trolls, when he creates a plan to free his friends from the ElvenKing and follows it through and when he goes down to visit Smaug for the first time to fulfill a promise.
By putting his life in danger Bilbo shows a true example of heroism. Though the dwarves were still skeptical of his abilities, they were starting to take into consideration of what Gandalf had said about this little hobbit. Continuing their adventure the group is attacked by goblins where they are eventually saved by Gandalf. Throughout the turmoil of the attacking goblins Bilbo gets lost in the caves and finds himself alone in the darkness. It is in this event when Bilbo finds Gollum’s ring. Gollum was a sickly looking creature that had been dwelling in the caves for many years. Bilbo used his wits to outsmart the creature by playing a riddle game with him and eventually made it to safety. Having Bilbo win the riddle game shows that his smart and witty mind aids him in becoming the hero. Bilbo wasn’t some tough strong stereotypical super hero, he used his smarts to outwit his foes and to triumph over evil. Though Bilbo at the time did not know the power of the ring that he had retrieved from Gollum’s lair (the power of invisibility), it was his heroic fate that he found it as it assist him in becoming the hero of the story. Fate has it that Bilbo will become a hero, but Bilbo also has the courage on top of his fate to get the dwarves out of life threatening situations.
Courage is a great character trait which is built from the ground up through past experiences in a person’s life. Risks are excellent examples of experiences that a person needs in order to become stronger. In the book - Bilbo, the burglar - takes on many tasks where he put himself in danger, even though he is the one with the least practice in these kinds of situations. He always listens to the team, and did what they asked. On all missions Bilbo is given, he always sees things to the end. Though he may say occasionally that, “I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!”(31), he pulls through for the team with determination. In order to become truly brave, people need to get their priorities straight, and focus on the task at hand.
Not only does the portrayal of Bilbo’s character and underlying courage convey his heroism, but so does his sense of ethics. This is what truly makes him a unique, caring hero. While a typical hero’s motive is wealth and fame, Bilbo gave up his share of the dwarves’ treasure to help avoid war between two nations that severely despise one another (the elf and dwarf kingdoms). The fact that he was willing to give up his wealth to avoid war and for the good of other people marks a significant aspect of his heroism and explains why he is “more worthy to wear the armor of elf-princes than many that have
The dwarves respect his many decisions that he had made with quick reflexes accordingly to the actions that are provoking him to take action in being a leader, saving his fellow expedition mates. Bilbo using his traits of courage, heroism and intelligence demonstrate to him that adventures aren’t as bad as the hobbits have always thought they were.
Still, he defied them all, and many times alone. He had to rely only on himself. Luckily, Bilbo was also very clever. He was able to have Gollum show him the way out of the Goblin cave while avoiding him instantaneously. Also, when the dwarves were imprisoned by the wood elves, Bilbo created a plan that lead to their escape.
In almost every book, a character changes through an adventure or quest. In the book, The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien, a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins shares an adventure with 13 other dwarves. Throughout the journey, Bilbo finds himself not his usual self. Bilbo shows his first act of heroism when the party, not including Thorin, is caught by spiders.
Bilbo puts his ring to follow the dwarves and try to come up with a plan on how to free the dwarves. He is always trying to think of ways to help the dwarves. He finally comes up with a plan. He gets the idea to put one dwarf in a barrel so they can escape. “For some time Bilbo had thought about this watergate and wondered if it could be used for the escape of his friends…” (177). This also shows how brave he is and that he stays with the dwarves rather than running off. Bilbo is showing to everyone that he had taken a cup from Smaug. This is a big sign of bravery. Even though there were previous instances where he was brave but, this also was a great achievement for Bilbo. His morals grow as his encounters with other races increase. Even though he has already shown morals multiple times, he keeps showing them and it starts to become a part of who he is and his
There are three ways that Bilbo baggins has given into the Took side of him. One way is when Gandalf appears and shows him a note the dwarves left, agreeing to give him one-fourteenth of the profits if he accompanies them to reclaim their treasure. Bilbo runs to meet the dwarves, forgetting his handkerchief. Another way Bilbo goes out of his comfort zone is when Bilbo and the dwarves approach the Misty Mountains. The sense of danger increases and, once again, Bilbo thinks of home. Gandalf warns them that they are at the edge of the Wild and that they can stay with his friend Elrond in Rivendell. The third way is when With whips, the Goblins drive Bilbo and the dwarves to the cavern of the Great Goblin. On the way, they see their ponies,
Bilbo is a non adventurous predictably little hobbit. He doesn’t normally takes risks he always stays in his consort zone. But when he does I have to say it’s very ….well surprising. In the book Bilbo is not only short ,but he is brave, resourceful, and has skills / intelligence. Bilbo uses these when in need of help or to get him back on the right track.
Bilbo Baggins is by no means a typical hero. Heroes are usually portrayed as being tall and handsome. Bilbo is a halfling, therefore he is short and portly with hairy feet. Heroes are warriors and their courage is apparent. Bilbo lives in a cozy hole in the ground spending his time blowing smoke rings and eating more than three meals a day. Heroes are also normally viewed as fearless and good at fighting, while Bilbo has never used a weapon before the events of The Hobbit, and is afraid of the very idea of leaving his home of Hobbiton. When you compare Bilbo to someone like Superman the differences are obvious. They are two very different characters, and yet they are both heroes. Bilbo is undeniably very unusual when compared to the stereotypical archetype of a hero that I described earlier. However, those qualifiers that I listed, while
What does the name Bilbo Baggins make you think of? More of a “play by the rules” hobbit or brave hero. In the novel “ The Hobbit”, Bilbo is a rule abiding hobbit that transforms into the brave hero he is now. Bilbo is what they call an “unexpected hero”, meaning he was a boring little creature that nobody would have thought to be a hero that became brave, loyal, being that saved everybody.
I confidently say that Bilbo is a hero based on his courage, leadership, and self- sacrifice for his companions. This type of hero does act courageously, and preform even he is scared. Bilbo’s courage is one of the dominant qualities in this journey. Because of his surge the dwarves get lonely mountain and find their treasure. He initiates this quality on his mother’s side “his make-up from the Took side” (PG 03).
A hero possesses the mentality of a person of great courage and ability. Most associate heroes with extraordinary physical strength and special talents and abilities, such as Anglo-Saxon hero, Beowulf. The Hobbit, depicts a well known hobbit from The Shire, Bilbo Baggins. Located in Middle Earth, the Shire houses a population of hobbits. One might not associate a hobbit with the physical appearance of a hero because hobbits represent the antithesis of a hero’s