Bilbo's Role In The Hobbit

Throughout The Hobbit, the dwarves and Gandalf reference to Bilbo as the “burglar” of the group. Although Gandalf recruited Bilbo to join the travelers, the dwarves skepticize the hobbit’s ability by his appearance and demeanor. However, Gandalf tells the doubting dwarves, “If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself. ” As this text excerpt shows, Gandalf specifically chose Bilbo for the burglar role because he knew that Bilbo retained the strength inside of him to become a leader. Early in the journey, Gandalf disappeared, leaving the dwarves and Bilbo with no clue as to where the wizard dissipated. After the dwarves and
the hobbit came across a bright light, they decided to send Bilbo to investigate. Using his keen sight, Bilbo discovered that a fire from a campsite of three trolls provided that light, and he snuck up on the trolls without them noticing.
At this point in the story, the hobbit decided to accept his role as burglar and pickpocket one of the trolls. However, the mischievous purse alerted the troll, therefore ruining Bilbo’s first theft attempt. This encounter with the trolls shows that Bilbo already possessed the skills to sneak up on the camp without them noticing. Then, he strived to fulfill his role as the burglar by attempting to steal the troll’s purse, which demonstrates that Bilbo obtained more potential than what met the eye. In another instance, Bilbo slunk into the Wood-Elves palace behind the guards who captured the dwarves. Once he snuck inside the gates, he quickly absconded from the guards. After the soldiers locked the dwarves up in cells far away from each other, Bilbo slunk around the palace for a few weeks, learning more about the Wood-Elves and their palace. Using his newly retained knowledge of the palace, the hobbit communicated his plan of escape to the ebullient, shell-shocked dwarves after locating all of them. Furthermore, Bilbo displayed his burglary skills by stealing the keys off the guard’s
belt. After he freed the dwarves, he executed his plan, which enabled the group to escape safely. This adventure displays that Bilbo used his astute robbery skills to loot food from the Wood-Elves and strip the keys from the guard. With his recently developed burglary skills, the hobbit kept his composure, freed the dwarves, and executed his cunning plan. In conclusion, these examples demonstrate that Bilbo proved his resourceful pilfering skills as a real asset to lead the group. Not only did Bilbo lead the group with his shrewd thieving abilities, he also used bravery and leadership.