The Hobbit Hero's Journey

The monomyth, also known as the hero’s journey, has been portrayed throughout a widespread of works of literature both alike and different. However, the techniques of the portrayal of the hero’s journey had always been different throughout works of literature that include this archetype such as A Long Way Gone and The Hobbit. A Long Way Gone is the true story of Ishmael Beah’s traumatizing childhood of being an unwilling boy soldier in Sierra
Leone and how he was able to turn his life around.The Hobbit is about a hobbit by the name of
Bilbo Baggins, who embarks on an adventure to help the dwarves reclaim what is theirs from the dragon Smaug that he is thrust into unknowingly. The steps of the hero’s journey portrayed by the author …show more content…
The most obvious difference is that one novel fits more into a fantasy fairy-tale like journey, while the other novel focuses on real life events that control the journey. The Hobbit is a stereotypical fantasy hero’s journey with many steps that can be seen in many fairy tales. Up to the point of Chapter 10, Bilbo Baggins gets assistance from his mentor, obtains a magical ring and a legendary sword, and will soon have to confront the great dragon Smaug. In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael’s hero’s journey is based around many problems in today’s society. He becomes homeless and hungry due to fleeing his town from being attacked by rebel forces. He has also faced drug abuse by the generals of both the rebel forces and the army to get him to become dependant on drugs to boost his energy. He has lived through these events in his life during the civil war of Sierra Leone. The second most obvious difference is the way the “Separation” step is portrayed between the two novels. In The Hobbit, Bilbo’s “Separation” was based on his influence. His ancestry, the Tooks were adventurous, which played a role in Bilbo’s unexpected eagerness in becoming part of the dwarves’ journey in Chapter 1. In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah had no choice whether to leave his village and risk getting killed or to flee the village. Therefore, his “Separation” was based on his survival. To conclude, the setting and dates of …show more content…
I’ve said how the portrayal of the hero’s journey is different because of the different setting affecting the journeys in the two texts and the portrayal of the “Separation” step is different between the two novels. The portrayal also is similar because they both hadn’t achieved some steps like treasure in the hero’s journey. They both led a calm life before their call to adventure. Now that you have learned more about the archetype that is the Hero’s Journey, you can now be able to use this information to find this archetype in any works of literature that you come across in the