The Hobbit

The Hobbit

When one thinks of a hero, the image that generally comes to mind is a great warrior with shield and sword, or maybe a larger than life sports figure such as Michael Jordan.   Moreover, when one thinks of a heroic journey, great epics such as The Odyssey and Beowulf come to the tip of the tongue, but how often is Tolkien's classic The Hobbit thought of as a heroic journey?   In fact, many analyze the novel as a heroic journey.   As defined by Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth, a true heroic journey must be done alone, must save something, must cause the hero to sacrifice, and must cause the hero to transform.   These traits appear in each of the great heroic epics:   Odysseus loses his men, sacrifices his wealth, saves his family, and transforms into a peace-time leader.   Other epics follow the very same pattern, and so does Bilbo Baggins in Tolkien's The Hobbit.   As defined by Joseph Campbell, Bilbo completes all the stages of the heroic journey.
While Bilbo's friends do accompany him throughout much of the novel, he completes his journey alone.   Most of the time that Bilbo spends with the dwarves serves as travelling time.   Baggins must become a Burglar to complete his journey, not travel around the world.   Gandalf says of Bilbo, "If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar he is, or will be when the time comes." (31)   Trolls in the woods come upon Bilbo as his first challenge in Becoming a Burglar.   The reluctant hobbit's companions send him on ahead to scout for trouble, and the trolls grab Bilbo during his first burglary attempt, and though Gandalf does eventually save the would be burglar and his friends, Bilbo attempts the journey of burglary on his own.   Another example of Bilbo going alone occurs in the dark tunnels of the goblins.   By accident Bilbo loses his friends and finds a way out on his own, and in the process of escaping, he commits his first act of burglary by stealing a ring and quietly sneaking up on the dwarves.   Bilbo even says for the first time,...