Monday, February 24, 2020

The Hobbit

The Beginning of Bilbo's journey begins with a refusal to the call to action. Bilbo wanted nothing more than a peaceful life, and is happy with his current state of living, a life of "innocents." The abruptness of the dwarves smashing into his home and eating all of his food, makes Bilbo upset and angrily refuse. Once some time passes and he learns more about the mission, who the dwarves really are, and what kind of adventure was ahead of him. The next morning Bilbo realizes he's missing an opportunity of a lifetime and makes a brave decision to join the party. This moment of Crossing the First Threshold into the world of adventure happens which is a very common theme in a lot of Hero stories.

Throughout the story we find other elements of the classic hero journey such as the initiation when the trolls capture everyone. The book also has plenty of other tests and trials along the way until the final Nadir when the party leaves Bilbo behind in the caves. He is lost in a cave and has a famous encounter with Smeagol. A moment of fending for himself using his whit to escape the dreary caves. Once he's found his mojo he meets up with the party. Being independent for some time is a key element to his character growth, which leads to his first kill: The spider. Much more happens between now and the final battle but essentially more meat to the adventure Tolken writes.




Finally the book ends with the "Ultimate Boon," the epic battle of goblins, humans, elves, dwarves, and eagles. The cycle ends with the return home for Bilbo. When arriving home his neighbors don't like him much because of how much he's changed. Instead of living a quiet simple life, he has left that behind and lives for the next "Hero's Journey." I believe Tolken was inspired by past epics and Campbells work. Because of his living alongside World War One he incorporated a lot of his experiences into this version of a Hero's journey which leads the book to be a much more lively and real tale.

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