Literary Elements In The Hobbit
The Hobbit Essay
Would you go on a fantastic adventure if you had the chance? In The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien shows you a world where an “everyman” named Bilbo Baggins goes on an adventure with thirteen dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf to retake the Lonely Mountain from the greedy dragon Smaug. Many forms of literary elements appear in this book such as conflict, character archetypes, artifacts of attraction, and deus ex machina.. These elements work together to create a detailed fantasy world which many people enjoy. The main theme of this book is an “everyman” (Bilbo) can develop into a hero when he is thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
The first literary element I am going to talk about is conflict. There are many forms of conflict in the book The Hobbit Some conflicts include character vs character and character vs society. Character vs character appears often in The Hobbit. An example of character vs character is when Gandalf wants Bilbo to go on a huge adventure, but Bilbo doesn't want to leave his hobbit hole. Another …show more content…
example is when party of fourteen gets captured by goblins and ends up killing their king. “Murderers' and elf-friends!" the Great Goblin shouted. "Slash them! Beat them! Bite them! Gnash them!”(30). Another type of conflict is character vs society. This occurred when Bilbo left the shire, people of the shire do not respect adventuring and shun Bilbo because of it. The conflict in this book drives the story forward and reinforces the theme of an “everyman becoming a hero”.
Deus ex machina is another literary element that occurs often in The Hobbit. Deus ex machina happens when a power or situation saves the main protagonist form a seemingly hopeless situation.The following are three examples. The first example of this is when the party of fourteen gets captured by goblins at the Misty Mountains. When Gandalf gets the chance, he goes into the goblin tunnels, kills the goblin king, and rescues the dwarves from captivity “there was a terrible flash like lightning in the cave, a smell like gunpowder, and several of them fell dead”(28). The second example is when Bilbo finds a ring in the goblin tunnels which allowed him to escape without fatal wounds. The last example is toward the end of the book, when the Battle of Five Armies occurs. Eagles come down when all hope is lost and they turn the tides of battle in favor of the Dwarves, Humans, and Elves. Tolkien uses deus ex machina in The Hobbit to help the main protagonist though his journey to become a hero.
Artifacts of attraction are also seen throughout the main plot.
An artifact of attraction is an object or place that is wanted by multiple people or factions. One of the artifacts of attraction is the huge amount of gold that is stored under the Lonely Mountain. This is an artifact of attraction because Smaug, the dwarves, and the goblins all want something from the mountain. The whole reason the dwarves go on this quest in the first place is to reclaim their treasure and rebuild their old home that is under the Lonely Mountain, “Lonely Mountain in the East Where Smaug lies on our treasure" (22). Smaug wants the mountain and the huge horde of treasure that is under it. And the goblins want the treasure and revenge because the dwarves killed their king. The artifact of attraction that drives the plot is the lonely mountain, because without the mountain the dwarves would have never took Bilbo and set him on his hero’s
journey. Another literary element seen in The Hobbit is character archetypes that appear as characters that share the same role in the story. Two examples of character archetypes in The Hobbit are the mentor and the doppelganger. Bilbo needed someone to guide him to adventure, that person was Gandalf. Gandalf is Bilbo’s mentor because he is the one that gave him the opportunity to finally leave the shire. Later on in the book, Gandalf gives Bilbo a sword and after he named it put him further along the hero’s journey "I will give you a name," he said to it, "and I shall call you Sting."(72). After the party of fourteen escapes the clutches of the goblins, Gandalf continues to guide Bilbo and the thirteen dwarves to the Lonely Mountain up until the entrance of Mirkwood. Another character archetype is the doppelganger which is a character that is very similar to the main protagonists and is often depicted as evil, or as the main protagonist’s brother. Gollum is Bilbo's doppleganger. This is seen when they first meet. They are both after the same thing, the ring. In a battle of riddles Bilbo cheats by asking an unanswerable riddle, He then obtains the ring. Both of them are hobbits but while Bilbo is uncorrupted, Gollum is drawn by the ring and it corrupted him. Gollum is foreshadowing what will happen if Bibo continues to use the ring. If Bilbo still uses the ring he will become corrupted like Gollum. Character archetypes help the reader relate to characters and they are also needed to push the main protagonist thought the plot.
In conclusion, the main theme of this book is Bilbo slowly becoming a hero. In the beginning Bilbo would never even imagine going on an adventure. He was an every man and he loved be in his hobbit hole. Gandalf eventually came and took him on an adventure which transforms him into a hero. A major turning point in the story happens when he names his sword stinger. This symbolizes his bravery, courage, and initiative. Toward the end of the story he finally gets to the mountain, receives his reward completing the quest, and completes his transformation into a hero. J.R.R Tolkien uses forms of literary elements appear in this book such as conflict, character archetypes, artifacts of attraction, deus ex machina, and the hero's journey. He uses all those elements to create wonderful fantasy world that shows a “everyman's” epic quest to become a hero. Bilbo took the opportunity to leave the shire and became a hero. Do you think you would leave your home and go on this quest not knowing if you would come back alive?
Would you go on a fantastic adventure if you had the chance? In The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien shows you a world where an “everyman” named Bilbo Baggins goes on an adventure with thirteen dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf to retake the Lonely Mountain from the greedy dragon Smaug. Many forms of literary elements appear in this book such as conflict, character archetypes, artifacts of attraction, and deus ex machina.. These elements work together to create a detailed fantasy world which many people enjoy. The main theme of this book is an “everyman” (Bilbo) can develop into a hero when he is thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
The first literary element I am going to talk about is conflict. There are many forms of conflict in the book The Hobbit Some conflicts include character vs character and character vs society. Character vs character appears often in The Hobbit. An example of character vs character is when Gandalf wants Bilbo to go on a huge adventure, but Bilbo doesn't want to leave his hobbit hole. Another …show more content…
example is when party of fourteen gets captured by goblins and ends up killing their king. “Murderers' and elf-friends!" the Great Goblin shouted. "Slash them! Beat them! Bite them! Gnash them!”(30). Another type of conflict is character vs society. This occurred when Bilbo left the shire, people of the shire do not respect adventuring and shun Bilbo because of it. The conflict in this book drives the story forward and reinforces the theme of an “everyman becoming a hero”.
Deus ex machina is another literary element that occurs often in The Hobbit. Deus ex machina happens when a power or situation saves the main protagonist form a seemingly hopeless situation.The following are three examples. The first example of this is when the party of fourteen gets captured by goblins at the Misty Mountains. When Gandalf gets the chance, he goes into the goblin tunnels, kills the goblin king, and rescues the dwarves from captivity “there was a terrible flash like lightning in the cave, a smell like gunpowder, and several of them fell dead”(28). The second example is when Bilbo finds a ring in the goblin tunnels which allowed him to escape without fatal wounds. The last example is toward the end of the book, when the Battle of Five Armies occurs. Eagles come down when all hope is lost and they turn the tides of battle in favor of the Dwarves, Humans, and Elves. Tolkien uses deus ex machina in The Hobbit to help the main protagonist though his journey to become a hero.
Artifacts of attraction are also seen throughout the main plot.
An artifact of attraction is an object or place that is wanted by multiple people or factions. One of the artifacts of attraction is the huge amount of gold that is stored under the Lonely Mountain. This is an artifact of attraction because Smaug, the dwarves, and the goblins all want something from the mountain. The whole reason the dwarves go on this quest in the first place is to reclaim their treasure and rebuild their old home that is under the Lonely Mountain, “Lonely Mountain in the East Where Smaug lies on our treasure" (22). Smaug wants the mountain and the huge horde of treasure that is under it. And the goblins want the treasure and revenge because the dwarves killed their king. The artifact of attraction that drives the plot is the lonely mountain, because without the mountain the dwarves would have never took Bilbo and set him on his hero’s
journey. Another literary element seen in The Hobbit is character archetypes that appear as characters that share the same role in the story. Two examples of character archetypes in The Hobbit are the mentor and the doppelganger. Bilbo needed someone to guide him to adventure, that person was Gandalf. Gandalf is Bilbo’s mentor because he is the one that gave him the opportunity to finally leave the shire. Later on in the book, Gandalf gives Bilbo a sword and after he named it put him further along the hero’s journey "I will give you a name," he said to it, "and I shall call you Sting."(72). After the party of fourteen escapes the clutches of the goblins, Gandalf continues to guide Bilbo and the thirteen dwarves to the Lonely Mountain up until the entrance of Mirkwood. Another character archetype is the doppelganger which is a character that is very similar to the main protagonists and is often depicted as evil, or as the main protagonist’s brother. Gollum is Bilbo's doppleganger. This is seen when they first meet. They are both after the same thing, the ring. In a battle of riddles Bilbo cheats by asking an unanswerable riddle, He then obtains the ring. Both of them are hobbits but while Bilbo is uncorrupted, Gollum is drawn by the ring and it corrupted him. Gollum is foreshadowing what will happen if Bibo continues to use the ring. If Bilbo still uses the ring he will become corrupted like Gollum. Character archetypes help the reader relate to characters and they are also needed to push the main protagonist thought the plot.
In conclusion, the main theme of this book is Bilbo slowly becoming a hero. In the beginning Bilbo would never even imagine going on an adventure. He was an every man and he loved be in his hobbit hole. Gandalf eventually came and took him on an adventure which transforms him into a hero. A major turning point in the story happens when he names his sword stinger. This symbolizes his bravery, courage, and initiative. Toward the end of the story he finally gets to the mountain, receives his reward completing the quest, and completes his transformation into a hero. J.R.R Tolkien uses forms of literary elements appear in this book such as conflict, character archetypes, artifacts of attraction, deus ex machina, and the hero's journey. He uses all those elements to create wonderful fantasy world that shows a “everyman's” epic quest to become a hero. Bilbo took the opportunity to leave the shire and became a hero. Do you think you would leave your home and go on this quest not knowing if you would come back alive?