In most stories that include heroes and adventures, there’s a hero’s journey involved. There are many important stages to show a change in lifestyle, create suspense, and introduce and grow attachment to other characters. Among these stages, there are some that more significantly impact the overall story. In The Hobbit, the most important part of the hero’s journey is stage 6; when the hero encounters tests and allies. This is because the tests and allies resulted in Bilbo becoming more respected, clever, and brave. We see this occur when Bilbo defeats Gollum, faces Smaug, and when Bilbo saves himself and the dwarves from the spiders.
When Bilbo defeats Gollum and arrives at the camp of the dwarves, he earns a newfound respect. “The dwarves …show more content…
“This of course is the way to talk to dragons, if you don’t want to reveal your proper name (which is wise), and don’t want to infuriate them by a flat refusal (which is also very wise). No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it.” (Tolkien 259) When Bilbo is facing Smaug all on his own, he makes the very clever decision of speaking to the dragon in riddles. While Smaug is wasting his time trying to understand what Bilbo is talking about, he plans his escape. Smaug attempts to distract Bilbo by growing suspicion against the dwarves, but Bilbo realizes what he is doing and continues to focus on his escape. Cleverness is a skill that Bilbo didn’t have in him at the beginning of the adventure. “Many a time afterwards the Baggins part regretted what he did now, and he said to himself: “Bilbo you were a fool; you walked right in and put your foot on it.”” (Tolkien 23) When the dwarves first meet Bilbo, they are able to convince him into going on the adventure with them by comparing him to a grocer. Bilbo simply agrees to join them on the adventure because his ego was hurt. Bilbo doesn’t show cleverness because he made an impulsive decision because someone had provoked him. This proves that Bilbo becomes cleverer by facing tests in which he needed to outsmart the …show more content…
“Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach.” (Tolkien 181) Bilbo feels like a different person after killing the giant spider. He feels bolder and fiercer than he was before. He shows bravery because he demonstrates the ability to take risks that are out of his comfort zone. This character was never expected of Bilbo in the beginning of the story. “Poor Bilbo couldn’t bear it any longer. At may never return he began to feel a shriek coming up inside, and very soon it burst out like the whistle of an engine.” (Tolkien 21) When we are first introduced to Bilbo, he shows no signs of being brave. On the contrary, Bilbo can’t bear listening to Thorin talk about how they may never return from the adventure. If Bilbo had not gained bravery and through his adventure with the spider, he may not have been able to complete all the tasks that required him to put himself at risk.
In conclusion, the most important stage of The Hobbit is stage 6; the hero encounters tests and allies. This is because the challenges Bilbo must face help build his character into heroic figure he becomes. Bilbo becomes more respected by facing and defeating Gollum all on his own. He becomes cleverer after being put
When Bilbo defeats Gollum and arrives at the camp of the dwarves, he earns a newfound respect. “The dwarves …show more content…
“This of course is the way to talk to dragons, if you don’t want to reveal your proper name (which is wise), and don’t want to infuriate them by a flat refusal (which is also very wise). No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it.” (Tolkien 259) When Bilbo is facing Smaug all on his own, he makes the very clever decision of speaking to the dragon in riddles. While Smaug is wasting his time trying to understand what Bilbo is talking about, he plans his escape. Smaug attempts to distract Bilbo by growing suspicion against the dwarves, but Bilbo realizes what he is doing and continues to focus on his escape. Cleverness is a skill that Bilbo didn’t have in him at the beginning of the adventure. “Many a time afterwards the Baggins part regretted what he did now, and he said to himself: “Bilbo you were a fool; you walked right in and put your foot on it.”” (Tolkien 23) When the dwarves first meet Bilbo, they are able to convince him into going on the adventure with them by comparing him to a grocer. Bilbo simply agrees to join them on the adventure because his ego was hurt. Bilbo doesn’t show cleverness because he made an impulsive decision because someone had provoked him. This proves that Bilbo becomes cleverer by facing tests in which he needed to outsmart the …show more content…
“Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach.” (Tolkien 181) Bilbo feels like a different person after killing the giant spider. He feels bolder and fiercer than he was before. He shows bravery because he demonstrates the ability to take risks that are out of his comfort zone. This character was never expected of Bilbo in the beginning of the story. “Poor Bilbo couldn’t bear it any longer. At may never return he began to feel a shriek coming up inside, and very soon it burst out like the whistle of an engine.” (Tolkien 21) When we are first introduced to Bilbo, he shows no signs of being brave. On the contrary, Bilbo can’t bear listening to Thorin talk about how they may never return from the adventure. If Bilbo had not gained bravery and through his adventure with the spider, he may not have been able to complete all the tasks that required him to put himself at risk.
In conclusion, the most important stage of The Hobbit is stage 6; the hero encounters tests and allies. This is because the challenges Bilbo must face help build his character into heroic figure he becomes. Bilbo becomes more respected by facing and defeating Gollum all on his own. He becomes cleverer after being put