Bilbo Baggins as an Example of Heroic Qualities Free Essay Example

A discussion of the heroic qualities of Bilbo Baggins in J.R. Tolkein’s “The Hobbit”.

In the story The Hobbit Bilbo ends up being the hero in many situations. At first you would not consider him a hero by any of today’s typical standards for one. For example he’s not big, strong , handsome,or good with any particular weapon. But in the hobbit bilbo does not need any of those particular standards. He is considered a hero under different standards. He is lucky, brave (this aspect develops throughout the novel), intelligent, and can be quite witty as well.

In this essay I will outline how all these qualities are necessary for heroism. The first aspect I listed was luck. In order to be a hero you have to have luck on your side when you really need it. Because sometimes it’s going to come down to pure chance and luck of the draw. One who is consistently unlucky will not have great success at being hero.

One example of Bilbo’s luck is in chapter 2 when him and the dwarves are about to be roasted Gandalf shows up to save them all. Now given that that is not Bilbo in a heroic situation but it is a sign that he does get lucky. Another example of Bilbos’ luck in a heroic situation is in chapter 9. Bilbo is very lucky when he is able to first escape the elves. He is again lucky when he is able to explore the elven palace at such great length.

Yet another example of his luck is when extremely potent wine comes in barrels,and ends up putting the chief guard asleep who is in sole possession of the keys which can unlock all the dwarves prisons. So with all these examples of how luck can be a factor in heroism I am left to believe that it is a necessary quality. Another necessary quality needed to be a hero is bravery. This is more than likely the most needed quality of all in being a hero. Say you must face a nasty giant with only a sword,or jump in to a raging river,to get away or save your friends. Yet though you simply can’t than are not truly brave and your consideration of being a hero is hurt. Throughout the novel Bilbo demonstrates bravery greatly, especially in the clutch. In chapter 12 where Thorin decided that Bilbo should go into the dragon’s lair and scout it out. Bilbo at first weary but soon went on with it and scouted the lair out facing the dragon Smaug. In chapter 8 he had to rescue his dwarven friends from huge spiders, and in chapter 9 he rescues them from the elven palace. So after seeing all the things that bravery helped Bilbo with I am left to believe that bravery is yet another quality which is needed to be a hero. Another quality which I believe is needed to be a hero is intelligence. You can’t always fight or muscle your way out of things so you have to be able to occasionally when needed be a able to think your way out of things. Bilbo shows this necessary quality through out the novel many times. In chapter 9 he develops a plan to free the dwarves and eventually escape from the elven palce. In chapter 8 he uses this intelligence to help the dwarves escape from the spiders by luring them one by one away from their webs. The final and more than likely the most important quality of a hero is leadership ability. You have to be able to lead your companions through tough and easy times alike