Heroism In The Odyssey And The Hobbit, By J. R.

Heroism: Then and Now
The saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” should give people motivation to continue on and face their problems. If you’re hurt at one point, but not killed, that shouldn’t stop you from moving forward. On the other hand, some people fear death, and they do everything to avoid being killed or hurt on their way to success. The different meanings of this saying are shown in The Odyssey by Homer and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. The Odyssey is about the Greek hero Odysseus who hasn't returned to his home, Ithaca, for several years after the Trojan War. As Odysseus is determined to return back to Ithaca, he faces several obstacles throughout the years. As Odysseus faces his problems, such as monsters, he

fights them face to face showing his honor as a hero and how brave he is. The Hobbit tells a story of the hero Bilbo Baggins as he goes on an adventure to discover lost treasure with dwarves, and saves them multiple times. This adventure includes obstacles in which Bilbo finds ways to either hide from the villains, or to get around them. As Bilbo uses objects, such as a magical ring that makes him invisible, he is able to get passed villains, and enemies, without fighting them face to face. Bilbo is able to get passed his obstacles because he is deceitful and sneaky. This explanation of Bilbo’s character also shows us that he is a hero without honor. He is just trying to get his lost treasure which shows that he is greedy. Throughout the years, heroism has changed. Before there was honor in heroism, now there isn’t. [Zuha Ahmed]
Heroes from the older perspectives often possessed qualities that could be characterized as honorable.

Odysseus from The Odyssey shows that honor is what most heroes valued. Odysseus returns from home and sees the hundred suitors competing to win his wife Penelope. He plans to kill them all along with his son Telemachus. One of the suitors, Eurymachus, apologizes and offers him wine, meat, oxen, bronze, and gold. However, Odysseus says “ ‘Not for the whole treasure of your fathers...would I hold my hand’ ” (22.61-63). This shows honor because he refuses many valuable treasures. In addition, he risks his life by going against a hundred suitors and is implacable in his choice to kill them all. During his journey, he resists many appealing women that tempt him to stay in the name of honor and for his family. Therefore, this shows that Odysseus is honorable, and he can consequently be an example of how older heroes possessed honor. Furthermore, earlier heroes also held bravery as a trait. [Jeffrey

Liew]
Odysseus isn't just honorable, he is also extremely brave.

From escaping the cyclops to getting lost at sea and coming home to seeing the non-expected, he still managed to survive his hell on earth. One of his most powerful moment that shows how really brave odyssey is, is when his men were turned into pigs by the goddess Circe. Eurylochus who managed to escape goes and tells Odysseus what Circe had done. Odysseus then tells Eurylochus that he will go and save them, but Eurylochus warned him that no one returns alive. Eurylochus also,“.... Begs him [Odysseus] to sail away from Circe’s island.” ( 10.46-48) Odysseus being the courageous man he is went “ Against this advice” and “... Rushes to save this men from the enchantress” ( 10.46-48). Within these line odysseus shows how honorable he is to his men. Knowing the risk, Odysseus still chooses to risk his life to save his men rather than just leaving them for dead. His bravery is why his men honor him. Through all the danger they went through, his men never left Odysseus’s side and Odysseus never left theirs, which is a very good example of what being honorable is. Odysseus reveals that bravery is a powerful characteristic of a hero, because people will honor you for your bravery. [Zehaa

Albraidi]
However, heroism has changed from honorable to selfishness. Greediness means having or showing a selfish desire to have more of something. Societies don’t value greediness because having this quality means that you wouldn’t care if people around them are in danger, and that means not caring about the risks that you are taking. In the Hobbit, Bilbo is stuck in a cave with Gollum[a goblin] where he took a ring that has a great power. He makes a deal with Gollum that if he can escape, he can keep the ring. “The dwarves looked at him with quite a new respect… as if it was not very difficult or very alarming” (94). When Bilbo “saw respect from the dwarves,” he didn’t want to lose that feeling because he doesn’t want them to know about the ring because if he told them, he knew that he would have to share the power of the ring to go to the mountain and defeat the dragon. Bilbo has an urge to not tell the dwarves anything and he knows what will happen if he doesn’t, but still goes along with the long journey. He also shows a fear for not telling the dwarves, but he doesn’t acknowledge the future and the lives of his friends on this trip to the mountain for the treasure. Bilbo observes and listens to everyone and everything and he knows easier ways to get to the mountain quicker, but doesn’t want to share the knowledge he has about getting there. The words, “respect” and “alarming” changes Bilbo reaction because it demonstrates how his friendship with the dwarves is different how the dwarves feel about him. Heroism had a huge impact on the courageous things people did, but has now changed into the power one has. [Larissa Brijmohan]
While greed is a perfect example of a quality that demonstrates a lack of honor, it is far from the only characteristic to do so. Bilbo has numerous other qualities that show his lack for honor. One such example includes the fact that he is deceitful. Rather than facing his obstacles with bravery and courage, Bilbo decides to try to sneak out of them through manipulative tricks and lies. An example of this can be found toward the climax of the plot, shortly before the Battle of the Five Armies. As the armies are getting ready to fight for control of the lonely mountain, Bilbo realizes that the dwarves are outnumbered. In an effort to force an alliance between the dwarves and their adversaries, Bilbo steals the most valuable stone in the mountain, the Arkenstone, to give to the elf king. When inquired as to why it is his to give, he answers “It isn’t exactly, but I am willing to let it stand against my claim” (page 273, paragraph 3). This response directly shows how the stone does not belong to Bilbo, and he has only stolen it to give to the dwarves’ enemy. Bilbo even states how Thorin “values it above a river of gold”(page 273, paragraph 1). This quote adds on to the claim that Bilbo is deceitful because not only does Bilbo admit that the stone is not his to give, but he also states how he knows that Thorin placed extreme value on that stone. While stealing from someone who trusts you is fraudulent, it is much worse to steal someone’s most valuable item. As if that was not deceitful enough, Bilbo not only steals his friends’ most valuable item, but uses it to manipulate the elves and men create an alliance with the dwarves against their will. Based on the information previously stated, a hero with honor, such as Odysseus, would have most likely fought the battle despite the odds in the name of honor just like he did with the suitors. While Bilbo’s manipulations and deceits do eventually work in favor of the dwarves, they demonstrate qualities of dishonor, as for stealing and manipulating are actions that directly go against the idea of honor. It is for this reason that one can say that Bilbo greatly lacked honorable qualities, and that he can therefore serve as an example of how many modern heroes do not have as much honor as older ones. [Allen Borshch]
It is clear that a hero must have many characteristics. Over the years, heroism has changed greatly, as there is no honor in it unlike before. A hero can have either good traits, like bravery and honor, or bad traits, like greed and sneakiness. In conclusion, the information demonstrated before shows us that unlike the old days, where heroes fought with honor, heroes today fight without honor. A person can have many different characteristics, but there are only some that make them a hero. [William Vamvouris]