Do you have what it takes to be a truly exemplary hero? If your answer is no, than you are in the same boat as our hero, Bilbo Baggins. But as the age-old adage says, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” In the book The Hobbit by famed British author J.R.R. Tolkien, our protagonist, Bilbo Baggins displays characteristics very similar to those of Beowulf and Sir Gawain. Some say that Bilbo was a coward while others believe he was a mighty hero. Bilbo Baggins matches the example laid down by Beowulf and Sir Gawain for three reasons: Bilbo exemplified courage, Bilbo acted as a peacekeeper, and Bilbo demonstrated what it meant to be self-sacrificing.
The first reason that Bilbo matches the description of a hero is that he exemplified courage. The first common factor between all of these hero's, is that they all began a journey at some point that made them a hero. Whether it be Beowulf setting out from Sweden to Denmark, Sir Gawain searching for the Green Knight, or Bilbo Baggins on a quest with dwarves all of them had to take that first step. Next, every …show more content…
Forcibly, Bilbo was compelled to sacrifice his initial cowardice, and save Thorin either from himself or others with ill intent. After Bilbo first saved his life, Thorin apologizes for his gruffness and harshness toward him. At the very beginning of the book Bilbo sacrifices his own personal comfort at Bag End, and decides to join the company that Gandalf and Thorin are leading to reclaim Erebor. Through this time on this extremely trying adventure, Bilbo learns that a moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory. Lastly, the greatest and most noble sacrifice that he had to make was by far having to give up his 1/13 share of the horde of The Mountain to try and exchange the Arkenstone to avoid a needless bloody war. All of these reasons adequately support the
The first reason that Bilbo matches the description of a hero is that he exemplified courage. The first common factor between all of these hero's, is that they all began a journey at some point that made them a hero. Whether it be Beowulf setting out from Sweden to Denmark, Sir Gawain searching for the Green Knight, or Bilbo Baggins on a quest with dwarves all of them had to take that first step. Next, every …show more content…
Forcibly, Bilbo was compelled to sacrifice his initial cowardice, and save Thorin either from himself or others with ill intent. After Bilbo first saved his life, Thorin apologizes for his gruffness and harshness toward him. At the very beginning of the book Bilbo sacrifices his own personal comfort at Bag End, and decides to join the company that Gandalf and Thorin are leading to reclaim Erebor. Through this time on this extremely trying adventure, Bilbo learns that a moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory. Lastly, the greatest and most noble sacrifice that he had to make was by far having to give up his 1/13 share of the horde of The Mountain to try and exchange the Arkenstone to avoid a needless bloody war. All of these reasons adequately support the