The Hobbit is a classic adventure written by J.R.R. Tolkien. The main character Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who likes to stay at home. He is convinced by Gandalf, a wizard, to go on an adventure with the company of dwarves lead by Thorin Oakenshield. On his journey, Bilbo encounters many foes such as trolls, goblins, spiders, and a dragon; allowing him to learn how to be a leader. Tolkien inserts medieval ideas into The Hobbit. He recreates the knight by using the ideals of knighthood from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight translated by Marie Borroff. Sir Gawain is one of King Arthur’s best knights, and he accepts a challenge from the Green Knight. The rule of the challenge is that Sir Gawain must behead the Green Knight and then the Green …show more content…
When Gandalf arrives at dinner he starts discussing who the final person they need for the journey. Gandalf says, “warriors are busy fighting one another in distant lands, and in this neighborhood heroes are scarce [...] That is why I settled on burglary” (Tolkien 21). Sir Gawain is nowhere near to being considered a burglar. Lady Bertilak tries to seduce Gawain because “all of the world worships, whereso you [Sir Gawain] ride;/ Your honor, your courtesy are highest acclaimed/ By lords and by ladies, by all living men” (Borroff 1227-1229). Just as Lady Bertilak tells the audience who Sir Gawain is, Tolkien states exact what Bilbo is: a burglar. His main goal is to go and help Thorin and company steal treasure from Smaug, the dragon. Although this is Bilbo’s role he is a hero because of his honesty. When tensions rise between the dwarves and the men and elves, Bilbo goes over to give the ElvenKing and Bard the Arkenstone. Bilbo knows that it is not his to give away but is “willing to let it stand against all [his] claim” (Tolkien 244). Bilbo has strong sense of morals which allows him to be a hero even though he is a burglar. Readers can connect to the modern knight because there is a variety of people reading this book from all different backgrounds. Bilbo shows that a it does not matter what a hero is called as long he or she is a good and a moral driven