ipl-logo

Archetypes In The Hobbit

1027 Words5 Pages

The Heroism Within Middle-Earth
The stereotypical hero is typically depicted with motivation, intelligence, and kindness which are evident throughout Bilbo Baggin’s adventures through Middle-Earth. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit, Tolkien reinforces the hero archetype. Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, transforms into a courageous and resourceful hero, affirming that heroism encircles determination, wit, and selflessness.
Bilbo Baggins demonstrates determination as he overcomes obstacles and exemplifies his bravery against evil to reach the Lonely Mountain for the dwarves. The hobbit awoke to find that he was alone in the goblin tunnels of the Misty Mountains. He thought to himself, “‘Go Back?...No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!’ So up he got and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him…” (69). Traditional heroic archetypes commonly surround the theme of perseverance in terms of accomplishing a goal, exemplified by Bilbo’s drive to reach the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo exhibited diligence after being motivated to find a way out of the mountain, trying to reunite with the dwarves. After being trapped inside the cave, …show more content…

His quick thinking and resourcefulness are also key heroic traits that help him succeed on his journey. Additionally, Bilbo's selflessness is perhaps his most heroic trait because he is willing to put himself in harm's way to protect others, even if it means sacrificing his own safety or comfort, exemplified by the time he tried creating peace between Bard and the dwarves. Tolkien reinforces the traditional archetype of the hero through Bilbo's determination, wit, and selflessness, which are all essential elements of heroic behavior. His actions serve as a model of how one could prioritize the needs of others above their own and can inspire people to do the

Show More
Related
763 Words | 4 Pages

In the story “The Hobbit” Bilbo can be seen as the hero when he sacrifices his family’s name to be a part of the quest to get Thorin's gold back Bilbo's first approach is his attempt on stealing the trolls’ treasure. He later is met by the goblins, Gollum, elves, and spiders. Each fear he faces develops Bilbo as a hero, getting him ready for his greatest quest, stealing the treasure from Smaug.. Another example of Bilbo putting others before himself is the treasure he willing to give in order to bring peace to the men, elves, and dwarves. Last, but not least, Bilbo is willing to sacrifice his life for a cause bigger than himself.

Read More
683 Words | 3 Pages

He was aching in his bones for the homeward journey” (Tolkien 290). This truly represents a step in the Hero’s Journey because he is actually questioning his belonging now. The worries that Bilbo have about not fitting in vanish after he remembers what it is like to be

Read More
955 Words | 4 Pages

Bilbo’s Heroic Journey Essay In all the stories, tales, and novels there is always a main character, most of the time the main character is a hero or hero-like. A lot of the time the author would use a formula called The Hero’s Journey or The Archetypal Journey, it is a way for writers and authors to keep track and follow step by step in order to successfully form a heroic character in a story. The Heroic Journey was written by Joseph Campbell, he was an American mythologist and writer. Some people do not believe Bilbo Baggins in the novel The Hobbit does not follow the heroic journey, but I think he follows the heroic journey step by step.

Read More
271 Words | 2 Pages

This quote shows Bilbo’s cowardly nature because he is too fearful to partake on this adventure with Gandalf. He is so afraid that he doesn’t even bother to listen to Gandalf to understand what the adventure entails. Instead he just denies Gandalf’s request, and immediately tries to get rid of him, proving his cowardice. Another example of Bilbo’s cowardice is shown when Bilbo and the dwarves are meeting in his house to discuss

Read More
885 Words | 4 Pages

The author even writes that all of the dwarves consider Bilbo as their leader because of his greater courage. Some people might argue, however, that a hero like Bilbo will not show courage and rationality only when he intends to, like in the cave with Smaug. This is a good point, especially since most actions are made voluntarily, but it is incorrect. From the text, Bilbo acts instantly on impulse without thinking about going and helping save the dwarves from both the spiders and the elves. He displayed courage and quick-thinking without thinking about it.

Read More
933 Words | 4 Pages

To begin, Bilbo steals the Arkenstone from Smaug. When Bilbo goes back into Smaug's Lair he pockets the Arkenstone making excuses to himself for the theft. This shows a heroic behavior because one of the main goals of their journey was the Arkenstone and Bilbo goes down and gets all by himself. In addition to that another one of his heroic behaviors is when he found the Keyhole on the side of the mountain so they could enter Smaug's lair. While they were waiting Bilbo remembers the moon runes from Elrond and shouts out to the dwarves and suddenly a ray of the setting sun shines on the wall, which cracks to reveal a keyhole.

Read More
764 Words | 4 Pages

The journey that Bilbo endures transforms him into a hero. Bilbo encounters many tests and trials throughout the story which reveal character. These courageous actions display the heroic character of Bilbo. Throughout The Hobbit, Bilbo displays the universal message that anyone can develop into a hero. Even the smallest and seemingly weakest creatures and people can become as great as Bilbo.

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

The poem “Beowulf” and “The Hobbit” by John Tolkien both talk about a hero in terms of his physical, emotional and public being that can be identified to be different. Although the idea of how they define a hero is similar, both writings have similarities of heroism, killing a dragon and creatures that are unordinary to the human eye. Heroism can be seen in “Beowulf” from the protagonist Beowulf, his bravery is shown by him killing nine sea monsters in the ocean by himself. Beowulf is brave and noble in his battles, fought without fear and struggle while clashing with monsters bigger than his size. He had pride that was unpredictable to the old and wise (Beowulf).

Read More
2273 Words | 10 Pages

At the beginning of the story, Bilbo seems very cowardly, but soon proves that he is indeed brave. Bilbo is very tied up in his very boring, monotonous life and he really does not want to go on the adventure that he is

Read More
1203 Words | 5 Pages

He is characterized by his fondness of his comfortable well-furnished hobbit-hole in Bag End and his love for routine-based lifestyle and food. Bilbo Baggins is presented to us as an ordinary creature with absolutely nothing fantastic or heroic about him, it is left clear when he states “ We are plain quiet folk, and I have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, and uncomfortable things.” (Tolkien 7). Neither the dwarves or himself believe he is capable of being of any help in the quest.

Read More
101 Words | 1 Pages

Finding three characters in The Hobbit that showed heroic qualities wasn 't hard. I find the main theme of this book was heroism. And yes, the main focus was Bilbo’s heroism but it was also filled with others’ as well. The whole book was filled with action and adventure.

Read More
576 Words | 3 Pages

Frodo Baggins acts as the hero archetype because of several of his characteristics. He had quiet determination and bravery in order to secure then destroy the ring. He succeeded in a task that no other man or woman would undertake, which was to destroy the ring. Another heroic characteristic that Frodo exhibits is the ability to inspire others like Sam Gamgee to act heroically themselves. Basically, Frodo is an honorable courageous individual.

Read More
742 Words | 3 Pages

The book The Hobbit tells the story of an anxious little hobbit, who, throughout the story, progresses to be a hero and a leader who shows bravery and strength and earns the respect of his comrades. There are two prominent themes in this story, one being that bravery comes in all shapes and sizes, and two is that it’s good to try new things. Bilbo’s confidence and strength stem at the beginning of the story in his hobbit hole, and to the end when he and the dwarves defeat the mighty dragon Smaug. When Bilbo first shows signs of interest in joining the dwarves on their adventure, his whole world opens up. When Bilbo outsmarts Gollum, he is proud and strong.

Read More
963 Words | 4 Pages

I found that when Bilbo had the chance to leave the quest, and he decided to stay was a huge turning point in Bilbo’s development as a character. In the beginning of the book, if Bilbo had the choice to leave, I definitely think that he would have taken advantage of it. Another turning point in his development as a character was when he killed the spider by himself. I think this is a turning point for Bilbo because before I don’t think that he had the courage to accomplish something like this and not only did he kill the spider but he did it while singing. I started to really believe that Bilbo was maturing as a character when he started to put effort in the quest because before, he was taking it seriously and didn’t want to help even though

Read More
1270 Words | 6 Pages

Along the way, they overcome many obstacles that threaten their lives and put their trust for one another to the test. Bilbo learns that there is more to him than he realizes and through hard work and dedication, he can accomplish almost anything. Overcoming these problems and learning more about himself helped Bilbo change from an ordinary, self-doubting hobbit into a clever, courage-filled, loyal hero. In the beginning, Bilbo has no desire to go on an adventure of any kind, but he quickly learns about the cleverness he obtains when he is forced to make quick decisions.

Read More

More about Archetypes In The Hobbit

Related Topics

Open Document