The Hobbit

The first half of the book, The Hobbit, was very interesting and eventful. We, as the reader, were given an inside look into the main character of Bilbo Baggins, seeing his inner most thoughts and feelings. We have already witnessed some character change and no doubtedly further change will develop as the story nears its conclusion. For now, I will analyze the development of Bilbo Baggins through his first adventures and risks.

In the first couple pages of this tale, Bilbo was shown to be an innocent and conservative old hobbit. He lived independently and was quite happy with his situation and schedules. Time and time again we were told that hobbits "never had any adventures or did anything unexpected." Bilbo was strictly into simple living and did not want to involve himself in anything too adventurous.

Almost immediately, however, BilboÕs character changed to meet the needs of others, and it seemed all he was interested in was impressing everyone and proving himself to the world. After hearing that the dwarves did not think he was able enough to go through with the adventure, Bilbo immediately changed his mind and agreed to accompany them on the trip to conquer the dragon, Smaug. He ignored the fact that his whole life would be changing and instantly became braver to suit the requirements of Gandalf, the wizard. Maybe this kind of determination was what made Gandalf recognize Bilbo as a worthy companion in the first place, and that is why he chose him for the journey. It seems like a most reasonable cause, for at this point there seems no other reason Bilbo would be a premier choice.

In other later areas, Bilbo was also intent on making himself look good, and not just like a worthless and bothersome hobbit. Further in the adventure, Bilbo changed stories and withheld important facts to make himself look better. After escaping the goblins and Gollum, he purposely failed to tell the others about the magical ring, and instead changed his escape story around so that he would look more heroic. He described himself as being particularly cunning and quiet when sneaking past the groupÕs key lookout, Balin. The dwarves were then awed by BilboÕs talents and abilities, and in this way Bilbo received the attention he was after. By doing whatever it took, he had succeeded in one aspect of proving himself to the rest of the more experienced adventurers.

It is quite obvious to me, however, that Bilbo will not be able to keep his secrets for long. I am curious to see if he will prove useful to the group by just being himself, instead of fancying the truth and trying so hard to be liked. I am sure his character will change excessively more and am curious to find out to what extent this will occur.