For years, I’ve held on to a very mortifying secret, one that could have led to my being ostracized by many ardent lovers of the fantasy genre. In all my forty-three years of life, I had never read The Hobbit. I am now proud to announce that this has recently changed. Although I am being facetious, I did feel a tinge of guilt for never having read a book deemed a masterpiece by nearly all the fantasy fandom. In my defense, I spent most of my childhood and teens reading science fiction and horror. It was only in recent years that I began to delve into the world of fantasy. So what was my final observation?… I loved it. While this may sound cliche, the book was beyond wonderful and charming, with perfect pacing and lovely poetry, this review, however, is going to be more of a character analysis of Bilbo Baggins himself.
The Hobbit may not be a book I would call especially riveting or suspenseful, at least not in the way A Game of Thrones or The Cruel Prince is. However, it is, in its own way, both of those things. From the beginning, we see Bilbo grappling with several internal fears that assert and justify his reluctance to journey outside of the Shire. Throughout the story, Bilbo fears what is unknown to him, a worry not far from one we all experience, be it a change in career, living arrangements, or even death. Bilbo feels safe in his life of predictability, and the prospect of venturing into uncharted territories fills him with anxiety.
“It’s a dangerous business going out of your front door…there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.”
Most prominent at the beginning, and likely due to Gandalf’s declaration of the fact, we see Bilbo struggle with his own identity and dual heritage. The Baggins lineage desires comfort and safety, while his Tookish ancestry longs for adventure and a break from routine. Consistent with the nature of a Baggins, Bilbo fears risks. He is simply not much of a risk-taker, which the journey inevitably forces him to do many times. This struggle between inherited traits has Bilbo second-guessing himself but it also fuels his decisions as the story moves forward.
Bilbo displays a significant fear of failure. Several times, he is almost unmoving when faced with a decision that could fail, partly because failure could mean being eaten by trolls, killed by spiders, or burned alive by a dragon, but also because he wants to live up to the expectations of those he journeyed with. He often worries that he will let down his dwarven companions and we see him act in ways that aren’t in line with his initial character. As an example, there are three instances where the dwarves send Bilbo ahead of themselves despite his reluctance; once to inspect the suspected campfire that turns out to be trolls, again when they see lights in the Mirkwood forest, and most significantly when Bilbo is sent ahead into the Lonely Mountain to face Smaug.
It is by overcoming these integral fears, and with a bit of luck, that Bilbo completes his developmental arc and returns to the Shire quite a different hobbit than when he left. While certain traits were always a part of Bilbo, he solidifies their existence and proves them to himself and his companions. Bilbo shows his resourcefulness while engaging in a battle of wits with Gollum and while using the ring to help his companions escape the goblins. He proves his bravery when, despite his initial hesitation at facing an enormous spider he frees himself and slays the arachnid. This was a pivotal moment for Bilbo’s arc as it wasn’t simply luck, brain power, or another’s action that saved the group but his very own tenacity. Bilbo begins to see himself as the burglar that Gandalf does. This leads to Bilbo using his ingenuity to also free the dwarves from the Elvenking and eventually sneak into Smaug’s lair.
“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”
In the end, Bilbo returns home, albeit to an auction of his estate and with far fewer spoons than he’d have liked, braver and more confident than ever. I’d love to know; do you feel Bilbo completed and earned his hero’s arc or do you feel luck was more at play than Bilbo’s hidden qualities? Do you think that Bilbo was better for the journey or did losing the respect of his hobbit community outweigh any character traits he may have gained?
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.
Great post as always, A.S. 🙂