Heroism in The Hobbit Essay Example

Heroism may be defined in a variety of ways, as a form of great bravery, of doing the right thing, but ultimately heroism is the ability to fight your internal instincts and be brave despite them. A hobbit named Bilbo is sent on a journey with a crew of dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf, ripped away from his comforting life of food and smoking pipes. He is forced to confront his internal instincts to run, and to choose whether or not he will save his newly made friends. In The Hobbit, J.R.R Tolkien illustrates the idea that heroism emerges due to events where one chooses to fight cowardice, through the development of courage in Bilbo. 

At the beginning of The Hobbit, Bilbo is approached by none other than the famous wizard, Gandalf while he is casually smoking a pipe at his lovely abode. Gandalf requests him for an adventure, which Bilbo politely declines. “Sorry! I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not today.”(6). Initially, Bilbo is a coward, allowing his internal instincts for safety and comfort to overtake him as he does not want to leave his home and risk his life. However, the next day, he is swarmed once again by Gandalf and the dwarves following him on the adventure. Bilbo still declines the request, but he feels unable to fulfill it. Until, finally, his character is placed in question by the dwarves and he decides that he must prove himself to them.  ”Pardon me,” he said, “if I have overheard words that you were saying. I don’t pretend to understand what you are talking about, or your reference to burglars, but I think I am right in believing that you think I am no good. I will show you.” (18). This is Bilbo’s first act of heroism, as he is fighting his own instinct to back down and defy the idea of an adventure. Instead, he is deciding to prove himself to this group of dwarves and Gandalf.  After proving to the Dwarves he was worthy of being brought along on the adventure, he ultimately had to showcase the skills he was portraying himself to have. In his first task in order to do so, he had to pickpocket a couple of Trolls. Against his best wishes where he felt as though he should run and hide, he knew that he ultimately had to prove himself. “He was very much alarmed, as well as disgusted; he wished himself a hundred miles away, and yet- and yet somehow he could not go straight back to Thorin and Company empty handed.” (36) Bilbo wished he could be away, wished he could run as it was in his instincts for him to flee from situations that are filled with adventure, however, ultimately, he knew that he had to do this in order to prove himself to the group in order to show them he was not a coward, and do what he needed to. He was worried as he had never done anything like it before, and yet, he still tried his best efforts to succeed. While the task had failed, his courage to try it had not. 

However, he did ultimately end up both succeeding in his task and being brave in the face of danger. When facing Gollum, a riddling-monster, Bilbo is on his own in the task with no help from the dwarves nor from Gandalf. He is forced to confront his internal instincts to run from the situation and face Gollum head-first. He is trying to obtain an invisibility ring that upon receiving, will ultimately help the group through many different obstacles. However, the task is not simple. Bilbo must match the riddling abilities of Gollum, and somehow try to deceive him. After successfully answering all of Gollum’s riddles, Bilbo must take a turn. “Bilbo seeing what had happened and having nothing better to ask stuck to his question. “What have I got in my pocket?” he said louder.” (78). Although partially up to the intelligence of Gollum, Bilbo was able to confront his fear of the situation and overcome it to end up winning the riddling conversation. Because he was able to overcome the fear, he ultimately was able to save his friends from the spiders by using his reward. When they are all entrapped, including him, he is able to escape by killing one of the spiders, his first time actively taking charge of the situation and overriding his fear of adventure. “He felt a different person, and muh fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath. “I will give you a name,” he said to it, “and I shall call you Sting.”(155). Naming his sword is very significant to his character’s development, as often well-known heroes name their swords, and he had just named his. With killing the spider, and naming his sword, Bilbo begins to become less cowardly as time goes on. He is adjusting to the adventure, and from there on, he becomes less cowardly and is able to save his friends through quick-decision planning. 

However, Bilbo and his friends are taken by the Elves who imprison them, and Bilbo has to figure out how he can help his friends escape as he has an invisibility ring and can easily do so. “For some time Bilbo sat and thought about this water-gate, and wondered if it could be used for the escape of his friends, and at last he had the desperate beginnings of a plan.” (176) In the beginning of the story, Bilbo simply follows the plans of others as he tags along with them, full of fear and anticipation for danger. However, once he is forced to confront his own internal thoughts and make his own plans to save them, he is able to overcome his fear. The fate of his friends is in his hands, and he is unable to allow others to take over. His heroism develops as a result of his inability to let his cowardice take over. 

Finally in the end, his purpose is showcased through his bravery. He enters Smaug’s lair all on his own to steal a piece of the treasure, as he is the “burglar”. He does not want to go in, but as he is the only one who figures out how to open the door, he is sent in on his own. “He did not wake up of course, but still went on and on, till all signs of the door had faded away. He was altogether alone.” (212). His initial instinct is to refuse, and in the beginning of the story, he would have. However, he defied those instincts and continued with his task, venturing on solo despite what he might have previously done.

While one may have an instinct of cowardice, we often defy that instinct through our actions of bravery and saving others, shown through the development of courage in Bilbo in The Hobbit. Initially in the story, Bilbo is presented as a coward who succumbs to his instincts of homebodiness and living a life of habitual status. However, through an adventure with a group of friends, he realizes his capability to save others and not allow his cowardice to become a defining part of who he is. This allows us to see that all humans may have an instinct, we also have the ability to ignore that instinct and act opposite to it, in order to become a hero.