The Hobbit Essay

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The Hobbit-A Research Paper The Hobbit, by J.R. Tolken, is the story of a homely hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. Near the end of the movie adaptation of the novel, The Hobbit, Bilbo tells his new found dwarf friends that he loves his home so much, that he will help them regain control of theirs. This line has had a significant impact on movie goers for its touching nature. In order to understand why this quote is so touching, we must first understand the context in which The Hobbit was written. Most literary scholars believe that Tolken wrote the part of Bilbo Baggins after himself. Bilbo is characterized as a homebody, one who stays in his hobbit home. Bilbo’s home is not simply a hole in the ground. Bag End is a pleasant, quaint home where it is warm and there is always good food. Bilbo is soon called to arms by Gandalf and the remaining dwarves. This is thought to represent Tolken’s service in the First World War. Bilbo can be seen as a caricature of the model Englishman. He is upright and respectable, but willing to fight for what he thinks is right. Bilbo loves his home. At the beginning of the story, Bilbo is very reluctant of leaving Bag End. He is worried about his mother’s china and silverware and can be seen relaxing outside, smoking his pipe. Bilbo loves his home so much, that he is willing to face a strange world full of trolls, goblins, dragons and more. When Bilbo tells Thorin why he is helping, he creates a major shift in his own characterization. Bilbo finally realizes his own shift from a homely hobbit to a heroic one. Bilbo loved his home life and now wants to shift the dwarves from nomadic warriors to docile home lovers. Bilbo’s heroic shift stems from his family history. While his father’s side, the Baggins, were well-to-do hobbits, his mother’s side, the Tooks’, were a bit on the wild side. The Took family were sometimes
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