How Does Bilbo Use Power In The Hobbit

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The Hobbit: Moral Valence Throughout J.R.R Tolkien’s, The Hobbit, when Bilbo Baggins uses the ring of power, he becomes invisible to all those around him. Shortly after discovering the mystery behind his newly acquired ring, Bilbo uses it in all situations where simply charging in head first isn’t an option. Much to his own surprise, on numerous occasions, Bilbo escapes with his life and limbs intact. Not only does Bilbo use this power for himself, but so does he use it to aid his friends, rescuing them many times. However, there is much more to this ring then the reader is initially aware of, it is in essence evil incarnate, it exist solely to destroy. The ring’s true power is only later discovered in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Still, it is possible that Tolkien may have left some more subtle hints of the rings true power spread thin among the pages of…show more content…
A sadness washes over Bilbo, “He did not go much further, but sat down on the cold floor and gave himself up to complete miserableness, for a long while.”(Ch.5 Riddles in the Dark). Many different factors could have contributed to Bilbo’s feelings of misery and regret. Bilbo has just awoken in an unknown and dangerous environment, his friends are nowhere to be seen and he does not know North from South. Still worse, Bilbo can hardly see where he is walking, as he uses the wall to guide his descent deeper and deeper into the darkness of the mountain. Clearly this is the lowest Bilbo has ever felt in his life, the hope of ever escaping grows thin. Bilbo’ mood could of very well be a consequence of his current status. Still though, Tolkien may have included this short description of Bilbo’s mood as a potential foreshadowing of events to come, or in the very least used this scene to establish a subliminal connection between the ring and the feeling of

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