Essay: Bilbo Baggins – a hero

Who would have thought that Bilbo Baggins, from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, could become a hero? At the start of the book, he really did not want anything to do with things outside of his comfort zone. Once the adventure started, Bilbo was striving to help the dwarves and slowly began to step into the leadership position. Baggins at one point, tried to protect all the dwarves from the trolls, but instead he got all of them captured. Towards the middle of the book, when Bilbo was in the cave, he found a very important ring and gained unknown confidence. At the last part of the journey, Bilbo killed the unexpected spiders. After the attack, in which Bilbo succeeded, he heroically named his sword Sting. Bilbo had begun to see himself as a hero and felt he could assist the dwarves in new ways. Bilbo unknowingly made the transformation from being a comfortable hobbit, to developing heroic characteristics.
Bilbo Baggins at the start of the book was very self-involved. He loved the comfort of home and all the aspects of his life. Baggins was comfortable with himself and believed he did not need anything different from anyone. When Gandalf convinced Bilbo to go on the adventure to the Lonely Mountain to save the dwarves treasure, the simple act of stepping off of his doorstep showed he wanted to help them. On their way, they had a little incident with trolls. Bilbo tried to become the leader of the dwarves, but he was not quite ready. He unfortunately got all of them captured, and Bilbo barely escaped by hiding in the bushes. Gandalf had to come and save Baggins and the dwarves. Bilbo, at this point, was progressing slowly into a heroic hobbit, but little steps were needed for big outcomes.
Bilbo Baggins made headway towards becoming a better hobbit. Another key point in his transformation happened when he was in a tunnel. The tunnel was dark, and nothing could be seen. Bilbo was on his hands and knees hoping to find the wall. When he was on all fours, he found a ring, which was an important development for Bilbo. Tolkien said, “It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it” (Tolkien 68). After Bilbo found the ring, he had a weapon in his “back pocket” that he did not even know he had due to not understanding the ring’s invisibility power.
Bilbo’s final test, before he developed all of his heroic qualities, was with the spiders and the occurrences after. Bilbo was awakened by spiders attacking him. Bilbo was alone and had no one to protect him. He killed the spiders on his own, and after he accomplished this, he boldly named his sword Sting. When one named their sword, it meant they believed they were a hero. When Bilbo named his sword, that occurrence showed he believed that he was a hero. At that point, Bilbo had gained courage, honor, and trust. A couple of chapters later, the dwarves had given Baggins the task of going into the secret door that they found in the Lonely Mountain. The dwarves told Bilbo he would be going alone. Baggins agreed to the task and he headed into the cave. When Bilbo could no longer see the exit to the cave, he stopped dead in his tracks, out of fear, and then made himself start up again to continue going down the tunnel. Bilbo did not know what was going to happen, for all he knew he was walking toward his death. Each step took tremendous courage and helped him move towards a heroic status.
Bilbo developed heroic qualities without knowing that he had acquired them. When he tried to be the head of the group versus the trolls, he began to have a desire for heroic traits. When he found the ring, Bilbo had a confidence that only a true hero in the making would have. He began to feel like he could be a leader, however, when he named his sword, he knew that he had become a hero. Knowing one is a hero and stepping into at leadership position is significantly different than not knowing one is a hero and being put into the position. A big part of being a hero is the commitment to protect those under one’s watch. In Bilbo’s own way, he helps and protects all the dwarves. He also shows that all heroes are not courageous from the start, some must develop the skill over time.