The Hobbit

Whether I was playing World of Warcraft, watching Lord of the Rings, or reading The Hobbit, I was always immersed fantasy. What can I say, I was (and still am) a nerd. But there was something about these stories and the characters in them that kept me coming back.

I think part of it was because it was something outside of my day to day. It was something fantastical, something exhilarating, something more. It was, in this sense, an escape from the drawl of my everyday life, filled with possibilities and new lands to explore. Nonetheless, while the world itself was enough for me, I think the characters are what made these stories stick.

Recently, during my rereading of The Hobbit, I paid particular attention to the arch of the main character, Bilbo Baggins. In most fantasy and mythological works, the main character or the “hero” is young, strong, and courageous. Yet, Bilbo is not your typical heroic character. He is middle-aged, lays around his house too much, and is far too concerned about doilies and handkerchiefs. So, when adventure came knocking in the form of 13 dwarves and a wizard, one wouldn’t expect him to go along. However, it would seem that the Took, or the more adventurous side of his family, got the best of him, for sooner or later, and it was later, he was out of his house and leaving everything he once knew behind.

It was this pivotal decision that would change his life forever, for at the end of any journey, let alone the heroic type, things do not remain the same. Once you’ve acquired knowledge, you cannot go back to innocence and ignorance. With this in mind, I would argue that once the dwarves stepped foot in Bilbo’s door, he was already a changed man. With the taste of the outside world, his once comfortable life of doilies and handkerchiefs would hardly be satisfactory anymore. It would then, be an empty life. This is thus the start of his heroic journey. He walks out his door, steps onto the road, and embraces adventure. Nevertheless, the the battle to victory is always an uphill one.

The classic hero’s journey, as defined by Joseph Campbell, is a wheel, meaning there will always be a bottom. For Bilbo, this came in the form of various obstacles including failing to pickpocket trolls, encountering Gollum in the depths of the goblins’ cave, rescuing the dwarves from Mirkwood, making peace between the dwarves and the opposing armies, and fighting in the Battle of Five Armies. In each of these challenges, Bilbo went face to face with his fears and came out on the other side with more knowledge and experience than he ever had before, regardless of whether he came out a victor or a loser. So much so that, by the time he returned to the Shire, he was no longer the same man who set out on this journey so many months before. His experienced altered him, bringing him wisdom and expanding his consciousness. One might even say that the old him had died, while a new man was born.

I think this is the essence of the hero’s journey. It’s about change brought about by experience. With this in mind, it can be viewed as a metaphor for real life. The wheel depicted by the hero’s journey suggests every beginning is an ending, and every ending is a beginning. Therefore, in order to make significant change, we cannot simply give up halfway; rather, we must continuously battle every challenge we face and celebrate every victory we come by until the war is one. And, when it is over, a new one begins again, for progress is a continuous journey.

So, with all these thoughts rampaging through my mind, this is clear: just as Bilbo is a different person upon returning to the Shire, so am I after having read The Hobbit. I can’t wait for my next adventure.