“The Hobbit” by J.R.R Tolkien is a novel in which a hobbit goes on the greatest adventure of his life. The first phase of the monomyth, the departure, is reflected in the book when Bilbo Baggins (the hobbit in the story) departs on a quest to rid a mountain of a dragon called Smaug. After the dragon is slayed, the return phase of the monomyth is in play as Bilbo journeys home. Along the way, Baggins was both helped and hindered by different characters embodying the archetypes of the monomyth. Thus, J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” precisely follows the hero’s journey.
Bilbo Baggins, as the hero of the story, goes through the departure phase of the hero’s journey exactly as established by Joseph Campbell. The hobbit’s call to adventure is a sign on his door drawn by Gandalf. Gloin later tells Bilbo that the sign could be translated as: “…burglar wants a good job, plenty of excitement and reasonable reward…” The sign, which is Bilbo’s call to adventure, signifies the first component of the departure. After Gloin explains the nature of the sign, Thorin tells the Baggins of the dwarves’ purpose in coming to the hobbit. As Thorin explained, Bilbo felt quite terrified at the prospect of going on such a journey from which he might never return, as told in the book:
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.
Mr. Baggins was so afraid of such a journey, he did not have any doubt that he would refuse the call to adventure, which is the second component of the departure. The third component of the departure is the hero, in this case Bilbo, finally accepting the call to adventure. In “The Hobbit”, Bilbo was so enraged by Gloin calling him a “little fellow ...
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...glar wants a good job” This act brings the dwarves to Bilbo’s doorstep, and so the herald archetype is embodied by Gandalf. The archetypes of the monomyth are absolutely exemplified in “The Hobbit”.
The monomoyth is portrayed exactly in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”. The hero in the story goes through the departure phase, at first refusing but then accepting the call to adventure. After the goal of the quest is achieved, the return phase is enacted, and so Bilbo returns home. He could not have completed his adventure without other characters, thus the archetypes of the monomyth are present in the story. The little hobbit started out on his adventure as a frightened, almost cowardly being, but later on gained wisdom and returned to his homeland a changed person.
Works Cited
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. 5th ed. London, England: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1995. Print.
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The Hobbit, written by John R. R. Tolkien, is a fantasy novel published on September 21, 1937. It was written as a prelude to the famous series, The Lord of the Rings, written seventeen years later. The Hobbit introduces the reader to an incredibly immersive fantasy world, that enriches the reader into its epic storyline. The story takes place in a land called Middle-earth, a land filled with enchanting surprises and magical wonders. It was the perfect playground for Tolkien to develop his main character Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo Baggins was a small hobbit, who unaware in the beginning would become a large role in the plot. It is through this character that Tolkien implemented the theme of heroism into the story. Bilbo’s unexpected adventure with the dwarves and the wizard gave him the opportunity to develop into the ultimate hero of Tolkien’s tale. Bilbo’s epic journey to become the hero of the story begins when Gandalf, the wizard, tells Bilbo of an expedition that would soon change his life forever.