Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay on 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien
A paper on the hobbit
A paper on the hobbit
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay on 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien
A paper on the hobbit
A paper on the hobbit
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
There are similarities and multiple differences between the way the authors of I Am Malala and The Hobbit portray the hero’s journey, and most are differences. First of all, the biggest difference in the hero’s journey for the novels was the assistance. In I Am Malala, Malala’s father stays by her side during her journey in sharing her beliefs, but Gandalf leaves Bilbo early in the journey. Furthermore, the assistance in the hero’s journey is very important, because it contributes to many things that happen later on in the story. If Malala’s father had left in her journey, she probably wouldn’t have been shot, nor would she have gotten a Nobel Peace Prize, because she would have never met the reporters who helped her spread her beliefs; If Gandalf had stayed with Bilbo and the dwarves like Malala’s father had stayed with her, they never would have been caught by the wood elves and they would have never had to defeat the giant spiders,
The “hero’s Journey” begins with a call to an ordinary individual to leave the ordinary world. This calls prompts the individual to leave the common life to venture into the realm of the unknown. The journey continues with the individual leaving the ordinary world to descend into the special world. The decent into the special world brings the individual through different adventures and experiences that reveal weakness and allow for strength and development to conquer those weaknesses. Bilbo baggins journey represents the “hero’s Journey”as he leaves the ordinary world as an ordinary hobbit,enters the special world as a developing warrior,and returns as an unexpected hero.
I believe Bilbo Baggins will be set up as the hero of the story. This is because in The Hobbit, Tolkien describes aspects of Bilbo’s character that fit the characteristics of a hero. One aspect is shown when he describes Bilbo’s ancestry, “That was, of course, absurd, but certainly there was still something not entirely hobbitlike about them, and once in a while members of the Took-clan would go and have adventures” (Tolkien 2-3). Hobbits are generally peaceful in nature and don’t care much for anything unorthodox in their lives. However the Took-clan is an exception to this shown in the the quote above as it describes that they had an unnatural love for the unknown.
Have you ever noticed the continuous recurring theme in your favourite movies and books? That is called the hero’s journey. Bilbo Baggins, a supposedly unadventurous hobbit is requested to go on a difficult journey with a group of dwarves by none other than Gandalf, the well-known wizard himself. Ishmael Beah, a young, happy boy goes out with his friends without saying goodbye, not knowing it may be his last time to see them. While with his friends, his town gets attacked by the rebels and his whole world turns upside down.
When people go places and step out of their comfort zones, sometimes they come back a different person. In The Hobbit, Bilbo is an ordinary hobbit, but after his adventure, it is apparent that Bilbo is now a hero. Three events that occur that show this transformation are when Bilbo jumps over Gollum, when Bilbo slays a spider, and when Bilbo travels to the Elvenking and Bard in order to make peace. The moment Bilbo leaps over Gollum demonstrates to the reader how Bilbo is beginning to go from hobbit to hero.
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.
A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In Tolkien's novel, The Hobbit, the protagonist Bilbo Baggins shows us that people are not born heroes, but they are forged through hard work and bravery. This story brings us through the development of Bilbo not being a hero, to him becoming a hero, and finally him being a hero. Bilbo starts off the story with almost no qualities of a hero, which is mostly because he is a hobbit. Hobbits are quiet creatures, who offer keep to themselves.
As I have shown Bilbo Baggins doesn't fit the mythic hero mold of course that isn't necessary a bad thing. Every mythic hero have a flaws though in Bilbo case his flaws aren't imperfections we usually see in mythic heroes. Achilles in the Iliad was his sense of entitlement and he was pompous. Wheras Bilbo's humbleness which is a trait rarely shown in Greek and Roman mythology is what not only made him a likable character, but made him different from other mythic heroes.
Who is your hero? When inquired on who their hero is, one would presumably answer by possibly saying their mother or perhaps even their father; however, during the sixteenth century, the country of England considered their hero to be Sir Francis Drake and in the book The Hobbit, a children’s fantasy novel written by J.R.R. Tolkien, Thorin’s dwarves were found considering Bilbo Baggins their hero multiple times. Heroes, like Sir Francis Drake and Bilbo Baggins, are made every day. Even though they are from different times and places, they all go through similar paths, or journeys, to become the great people they are extolled for being. You may ask yourself what journey do heroes take to become the greats they are.
In reality, people don’t always stay the same - they change based on their experiences. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien is a novel about a group of dwarves who recruit Bilbo, a humble hobbit, to help them take back their home from Smaug, a dragon. Most hobbits dislike adventure, Bilbo being no exception, but his curiosity gets the better of him and he travels with the dwarves. Firstly, Bilbo conflicts with his own personality when he decides to go with the dwarves and changes from being homely to being more adventurous. Then, he conflicts with the spiders in Mirkwood and changes from being honest to being more deceitful.
Bilbo perfectly fits Joseph Campbell’s definition of a hero and his adventure parallels the journey that Campbell formulated many years ago. Bilbo’s actions and journey show that he risks his life for something bigger than himself, making himself a great
Michael Shermer, a science writer and historian of science said, “Humans are pattern-seeking story-telling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns, whether they exist or not.” In J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, the main protagonist, joins a group of dwarves to recover their lost, forgotten gold from Smaug the dragon. Joseph Campbell’s A Hero with a Thousand Faces, he states that many legendary heros follow a pattern in their adventures. Matthew Winkler has his own ideas of the heroic quest pattern, stating the hero's follow a pattern of eleven stages. Both The Hobbit and the heroic journey have similar elements with departure, initiation and then return.
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1937, 1938, 1966). The Hobbit. New York, Ballantine Books A hobbit, a man smaller than a dwarf, named Bilbo Baggins, lived in a small hobbit hole. Then one day he meet the wizard Gandalf. Gandalf talked to him and said if he would like to go on an adventure.
A Good Friend “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” These words were said by Thomas Aquinas, an Italian philosopher. Bilbo Baggins, from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, would make a great friend. He is clever, loyal, and he shows a wonderful sense of morality.
Ryan Abell Tolkien / Lewis Seminar Paper 9/27/17 Frodo Baggins and St. Maximus the Confessor’s Cosmology J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is a text that is world renowned as arguably the most recognizable and influential fantasy series of all time. It is lined with iconic characters such as Gandalf the Wizard, Sauron the Enemy, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, and the Hobbits of the Shire. One of these famous characters, Frodo Baggins, is only a small Hobbit from Bag End, yet he is the most important character in the entirety of the epic series. Frodo is a quintessential example of someone who has greatness thrust upon them and has plenty of opportunities throughout his journeying to succumb to the power of his situation as bearer of the incredibly powerful One Ring, yet every time the reader feels as if Frodo may give in, he proves them wrong.