When finishing the novel, one of the things I noticed was that, when Bilbo returns, he wants nothing more than to return to his old, quiet life. Although this is a life that, at the beginning of the novel, we, as readers, are almost guided to look down upon, when he returns, it is described with a comfortable, happy connotation. I feel as though Toelkin's making a comment about how, despite his new heroic achievements, he is still the same hobbit he was when he left. This almost makes Bilbo's actions more heroic, from my perspective, as the actions don't change him. He doesn't develop an ego or a need to prove himself, because he's completely content with the life he's living ("he remained very happy to the end of his days"). Furthermore, he