Bilbo, now much unlike the normal hobbit, is able to think quickly and kill in dangerous situations, like he does by luring the spiders away from the dwarves and then hurling rocks at them. “The idea came to him to lead the furious spiders further and further away from the dwarves, if he could; to make them curious, exited and angry all at once” (158). He has gained the dwarves’ respect and increased his physical abilities with the help of Gollum’s ring. Bilbo shows his wits and resourcefulness once again by coming up with the dwarfs’ escape plan after weeks of long term planning and searching since the dwarves were captured and jailed by the Elf King for not only intruding, but also for not telling the reason why the dwarves were travelling in …show more content…
Bilbo not only shows his bravery by stealing the golden cup and confronting death when he encounters Smaug, but he earns the dwarves’ respect by proving himself to be a true burglar. Bilbo has also developed the skills of a true leader since all the dwarves count on him to sneak around and outsmart Smaug to find his weak point. “He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait” (213). But during Bilbo’s decent into the nadir, he senses danger near when he approaches the red glow of the dragon, although the real dragon is inside of him after he steals the Arkenstone from the cave without informing Thorin. Bilbo begins to hoard the precious stone by sleeping on it and soon gave into the temptations of wealth and desire, like the dragon, Smaug. Eventually, Bilbo fought off his inner-dragon and tries to prevent a war between the humans and elves versus the dwarves by giving up the precious gem. But, this selfless act not only causes him to get banned from the Lonely Mountain, but he looses Thorin’s friendship and respect, which he had worked hard for throughout his entire journey. But after the war, when Thorin was on his death bed, he saw Bilbo’s reasoning and asked for his forgiveness since he