Analysis Of Bilbo In The Hobbit

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit, one who enjoys peace and quiet, feasts and fireplaces, and the coziness of his home. At the beginning the The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Bilbo could not even imagine going on a tenacious adventure, but by the end he has survived the longest, toughest battle yet. Throughout the novel Bilbo Baggins changes from a prudent, typical hobbit into a courageous, sacrificing adventurer.

At the beginning of The Hobbit, Bilbo was sensible and when it came to his actions he was cautious, as well as being wise in thought. “We are plain quiet folk, and I have no use for adventures” (4). This was Bilbo's response when Gandalf mentioned going on the adventure with him. The idea of going outside of the Shire scared him. Gandalf basically

tricked him into going on the adventure by putting a sign on his front door saying “burglar wants a good job, plenty of Excitement and reasonable Reward” (18). This is why all 13 dwarves show up for tea on Wednesday. There was no backing out for Bilbo now. Another time in chapter five, Bilbo had an encounter with the creepy creature Gollum. They had a riddle battle and Bilbo proved his worthiness by winning. Bilbo hesitated while coming to the thought of killing Gollum, even though he knew G ollum would kill him in a heartbeat if he gave him the chance. The reason Bilbo resists the impulse to kill Gollum is because he believes it to be unfair. Bilbo was invisible because he was wearing the ring and he was armed, whereas Gollum was unarmed. This goes to show Bilbo's thought when about to perform an action, and his realistic reasons.
Bilbo at the beginning of The Hobbit was also uncultured; he is a typical hobbit who enjoys staying in his home resting and eating six meals a day. Before Bilbo’s wild adventure, he had no understanding of the places surrounding him. Bilbo had never gone out of the Shire so he had never seen or explored the different parts of the world such as Rivendell, the Misty Mountains, the carrock, Beorn’s halls, Mirkwood, the Enchanted River, Lake-town, etc. By the end of the book though Bilbo had spent quite some time in all these locations. Bilbo also had no idea of the different races of people that lived in his world. Elves, dwarves, dragons, goblins, eagles and more all played an important role in the book and Bilbo had become familiar with all of the species. Bilbo lived with 13 dwarves, killed the King-Goblin, encountered the dragon Smaug, etc. Before all these educational occurrences perfectly depicts how classic of a hobbit Bilbo was.
All the instances throughout Bilbo’s adventure has developed him into a brave and bold adventurer and thief.

One example was when Bilbo faced off against Gollum in the goblin tunnel, this was most certainly one of Bilbo's greatest acts of courage. When Bilbo woke up underground and had no idea where he was, he then soon finds Gollum. The sneaky sea creature declared a match of trickery riddles. Gollum was more than surprised when Bilbo defeated him by asking the question “what have I got in my pocket” (78). The answer of course was Gollum's ring of invisibility. What makes Bilbo so audacious is he has no idea what he is getting himself into. To Bilbo, it is all the unknown so he walks by himself with pride into these situations. Another proof of Bilbo's daringness is when he faces Smaug alone in the Lonely Mountains. Bilbo was more ready to challenge Smaug than he ever would have been at the beginning of his adventure. When it comes time to encounter Smaug for the first time, Bilbo hears his snoring so he knew he was asleep. Although Smaug later noticed, Bilbo left his lair with a two handled golden cup. The second time Bilbo journeys into Smaug's lair the dragon pretended to be asleep at first, then startles Bilbo when he begins to have a conversation with him. While in discussion, Bilbo purposely replies only in riddle to him while discovering his weak spot which was above his left breast. Bilbo comes out alive by outrunning Smaug's deathly flames. Bilbo has proven himself

heroic by always coming out on top.
Through this wild journey, Bilbo has definitely proven to be enduring through many different situations he has encountered.

During the middle of Bilbo and his crew's adventure they run into big trouble with the giant spiders. While asleep in the dark of the forrest Bilbo and the dwarves are surprised to find themselves tied up by the spiders. Using his sword later named Sting, Bilbo cuts himself free. He leads the spiders away from the dwarves by throwing stones in the opposite direction, then he sets the dwarves free with help from the invisibility ring so the spiders could not see him. Bilbo throws himself in harm all to guarantee the dwarves their protection. Another time Bilbo offered up his safety in order to ensure the dwarves was when he rescued all of them from the wood elves. As Bilbo and the dwarves were on a mission to find food somewhere, they run into the wood-elves. Bilbo put his ring on so he was invisibly but all the dwarves were locked up in the Elvenking's castle. After several weeks of exploring the castle, Bilbo comes up with his plan of escape. Bilbo steals the keys from the guard while he was not paying attention, then manages to set all the dwarves free. They are now all floating downstream in empty wine barrels. If it was not for Bilbo's yield, they would still be prisoners in there. It was risky business and Bilbo could be caught and locked up as well, but he did it and his plan was completed with a favorable

outcome.
Bilbo started off the book a cautious, basic hobbit but then transformed into an adventurous, enduring leader as well as hero. By starting off his adventure knowing nothing of what was around him, one year later he comes back having knowledge of races of all kinds and an image of all the dangerous roads that surround him. At the beginning of The Hobbit no one expected Bilbo to pull through and save the dwarves from danger time after time. Although, Bilbo was not short to prove himself. Every experience Bilbo happens to come upon builds him into the hobbit he is today.