There and Back Again : the Hobbit Bilbo as a Hero

• Main Author: Lundqvist, Ann-Louise
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Högskolan i Jönköping, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation 2007
• Subjects: Bilbo; Tolkien; archetype theory; psychological analysis; Literature; Litteraturvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-900

The purpose of this essay is to analyze Tolkien’s work The Hobbit since this has not been done to the same extent as the Lord of the Rings. The aim of this essay is see if the hobbit Bilbo is a hero and if so in what way. The questions I aim to answer in this essay are: • Why does the main character leave his home? • What creatures does the hero encounter on his journey and how does he defeat these? • In what ways is Bilbo a hero? • How does Tolkien narrate The Hobbit? To answer these questions I have used Jung’s archetype theory which is useful when comparing different works and looking for similarities. I have partly used the approach of psychoanalysis as well, where knowledge of the author is important when interpreting the work. The reason the main character, Bilbo, leaves his home is part curiosity and part that he is forced by others to go. On his journey he encounters many different creatures including trolls, goblins, the creature Gollum, spiders, wood-elves and the dragon Smaug. Bilbo uses his wits and bravery to survive the different creatures he meets. Bilbo is a hero in that, even though he may not have what is usually characteristic for a hero, he tries his best and many times acts first and thinks later to save his friends. Through the encounters in the world, the main character Bilbo develops into a hero. The author mostly uses the view of a third-person narrative, but sometimes intrudes and turns directly to the reader. The work shares narrative features with how oral narratives are told, and the narrator is omniscient. In his work, you can trace older stories and traditions which the author was very familiar with.