Differences And Similarities Between Odysseus And Bilbo

The similarities in the stories include the overall structure, the episodic progression of the texts, and the similar traits of the characters. To gain nostos, the two main characters, Odysseus and Bilbo, share their use of intelligence to get them out of situations instead of brute force. For instance, Odysseus uses wordplay to trick Polyphemus, and Bilbo uses riddles to bargain with Gollum. To escape the island, Odysseus hides "a man beneath each middle sheep" (p.). Analogously, Bilbo hides the Dwarves in wine barrels to escape the cells of Mirkwood. Lastly, both characters face difficulty when they reach their destination. However, while Bilbo attempts to prevent violence, divine intervention is needed to stop Odysseus’ violence.

Greed

His intelligence is evident when he tells Polyphemus that his "name is Noman" (p. ) so that Polyphemus is unable to call for help. However, he cannot resist taunting Polyphemus and reveals to him that "Odysseus, the city-sacker, Laertes’ son, who lives in Ithaca, destroyed [his] sight." (p.). By revealing his name and household, he gains kleos, which enables Polyphemus to curse him. Polyphemus asks Poseidon to cause Odysseus to "get [home] late and with no honor, in pain and lacking ships, and having caused the death of all his men" [reference p.]. He dooms himself and his sailors to a long and deadly journey. Another example of Odysseus’ intelligence succumbing to greed is when he is able to avoid being turned into a pig by Circe. Although he saves his men, his journey is halted for a year because he cannot resist staying with her. Similarly to Thorin, greed overpowers Odysseus’ intelligence, causes him to stall his journey home, and similarly puts himself and his companions in danger. Therefore, the destructive effects of greed on character and purpose are evident in The Odyssey as well. Both Thorin and Odysseus make decisions that do not benefit the greater good and instead act as a way to fuel their greed. In this way, both present society and Homer’s society emphasize

Tolkien uses Bilbo as a character who is not so easily corrupted by greed and is thus, able to carry the journey forward. Because of this virtue, Bilbo is able to see reason and make decisions that will benefit the greater good and stop useless violence. Even though this is not his home, Bilbo feels a sense of duty and risks his life to help the Dwarves. Unlike Odysseus, Bilbo is an unlikely hero who only sets out on the journey after being persuaded by Gandalf, a wizard. Bilbo relies mostly on his luck and on Gandalf to be saved. However, as the story progresses, Bilbo gains confidence and bravery. Independently, he is able to slay the spiders and use his newfound confidence to free the dwarves from the prison cells of the Mirkwood elves. Ultimately, Bilbo tries his best to stop Thorin from waging war by giving the Arkenstone to Bard so that they may negotiate. Bilbo makes these decisions independently without guidance from divinity or fate, decisions that represent his values because he does not allow greed to blind him. Through Bilbo, Tolkien shows that it is possible to change the destructive nature of greed and violence if one is able to realize that greed will bring destruction and thus make better