Bilbo Baggins Themes

题 目
学 院 外国语学院
专 业 商务英语
考试科目 英语国家文学作品选读
学生姓名 Vartik Dmitry
学 号 2013LX004 年级 2013级

Abstract
This paper is aimed to provide a brief analysis of Bilbo Baggins and his role in few themes presented in the novel such as personal growth and greed. Bilbo Baggins is the main character of one of the most popular books of the 20th century. To better understand the character and his role in the events of Middle-Earth, we need to look at what makes him who he is and how this affects his personality and decisions.
Keywords: Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo, fantasy, personal growth, greed

Outline
1.Introduction 3
2.Literature review 3
3.Discussion
and analysis 4
3.1 Hobbits’ society. 4
3.2 Bilbo’s personal growth 4
3.3 Greed in “The Hobbit” 5
4.Conclusion 5
5.References 6

1.Introduction
"The Hobbit, or There and Back Again" is a fantasy novel written by English author J.R.R. Tolkien. It tells about adventures of a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who was presented by wizard Gandalf to thirteen dwarves that will accompany him in the journey. The goal of their quest is to regain possession of the Lonely Mountain - home of the dwarves - with its treasures in it, which is now in a control of a dragon Smaug.
The book's success encouraged the author to continue the story which resulted in the "The Lord of the Rings". The novel has met a huge praise from people all over the world, was translated to 38 languages and is now considered a classic in the fantasy genre. Many references were made in literature, movies, video games and music. "The Lord of the Rings" has inspired, and continues to inspire, many people in different fields of art. Some adaptations of "The Lord of the Rings" have received different awards. Also, the novel won Britain's best-loved novel of all time in 2003.

2.Literature review
Clark, George; Timmons, Daniel (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances: Views of Middle-earth
This work is about links and resonances in Tolkien's literary with other works of English literature. It demonstrates relations to other literary movements in English literature such as Anglo-Saxon poetry, medieval romance, oral narrative tradition, etc. One of the chapters tells about a representation of the seven deadly sins, which are of Christian origin, in Tolkien's works.

3.Discussion and analysis
3.1 Hobbits’ society
The main protagonist of the story lives in the land of Hobbits called the Shire. Hobbits spend most of their time growind food and eating. A small chapter "Of the Ordering of the Shire" in the prologue tells us that Hobbits had almost no 'government' for nearly a thousand years.The Shire is a community that voluntarily maintains peace and order.[1] However, two government services exist in the Shire: the post and the police. The police officers of the Shire are called Shirriffs, and their main tasks include finding and bringing back stray cattle. Even though there is almost no government in the Shire, there are no crimes as well. The citizens of the Shire naturally comply with the Rules, the ancient laws of the land of Hobbits, and it's not essential to administer them; all Hobbits willingly follow them as they are both ancient and just. Hobbits have lawyers, but in general they deal with non-criminal matters such as wills; there are almost no records of criminal prosecutions or punishments. Frodo said that in the Shire no Hobbit had ever been known to murder another Hobbit on purpose.
At bottom, Hobbits live relying on their conscience, that is why so they are hard to manipulate. Each of them has a strong personality and willing to fight for it. This feature of Hobbits helps them to resist the corrupting influence of the One Ring.
3.2 Bilbo’s personal growth
The personal growth of the main hero of the story, Bilbo Baggins, is one of the main themes of the novel. The way the protagonist becomes more mature and capable could be described as Bildungsroman, which means novel of formation, education or coming-of-age story.[2] Therefore, while Gandalf convinced Bilbo into joining the dwarves in their mission, it is Bilbo who ends up leading the party, something that the dwarves couldn't admit.[3] Chance compares the development and growth of Bilbo against the lack of such in the dwarves' personalities to the idea of just kingship versus sinful kingship in another Tolkien's work "Ancrene Wisse".[4]

3.3 Greed in “The Hobbit”
The overcoming of greed and selfishness has been seen as the central moral of the story.[5] Even though greed is shown many times in the story, usually showing one or more of the characters' desire for beautiful objects, such as gold and jewels,[6] it is only by the Thorin's desire to find Arkenstone, dwarves' antique artefact, greed becomes one of the novel's main themes.
Bilbo finds the relic and tries to exchange it for peace. Nevertheless, Thorin sees such move as a traitorous, neglecting all his promises of service, gratitude, and reward as well as the deeds performed by the Hobbit.[7] In the end Bilbo gives up the precious artefact and most of his share of the treasure to help those in greater need. Eventually, however, Thorin realizes the evil of his sin and the harm it has caused, resulting in probably the most moving moment of the story, the dying King under the Mountain asks forgivenesss of Bilbo Baggins and clearly admits, "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world".(chapter
18)

Conclusion
"The Hobbit, or There and Back Again" tells a story of a small man and shows that this small man can play an important role in huge events.
The greatest heroic deed of Bilbo in "The Hobbit" is his overcoming of fear of the dragon, and the greatest deed of Frodo and Sam - a victory over their desire to possess the One Ring. The hardest victory of a person is a victory over the self. And Tolkien's heroes achieved this victory.

References
1. Tolkien 2003, p. 23 ; Tolkien, J. R. R. (2003) [1937]. Anderson, Douglas A., ed. The Annotated Hobbit. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-713727-3.
2. Grenby 2008, p. 98 ; Grenby, Matthew (2008). Children's Literature. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-618-47885-X.
3. Purtill, Richard L. (2003). J. R. R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion. Ignatius Press. pp. 67-68. ISBN 0-89870-948-2.
4. Chance 2001, pp. 53-56 ; Chance, Jane (2001). Tolkien's Art. Kentucky University Press. ISBN 0-618-47885-X.
5. Grenby 2008, p. 162 ; Grenby, Matthew (2008). Children's Literature. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-618-47885-X.
6.Smith, Thomas (2005). "The Folly of the Wise". In Koivukoski, Toivo; Tabachnick, David. Confronting Tyranny: Ancient Lessons for Global Politics. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 217-218. ISBN 0-7425-4400-1.
7.Clark, George; Timmons, Daniel (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances: Views of Middle-earth. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 85-86. ISBN
0-313-30845-4.