The Hobbit Literary Analysis

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The Hobbit: Literary Analysis Through external conflict, Tolkien shows heroism throughout the novel. First, Bilbo shows heroism because he saved the dwarves from the spiders. When the dwarves were in the woods large spiders captured them. However, Thorin and Bilbo were able to escape them, but Thorin was then captured by wood elves. Bilbo was left alone to save the dwarves. He made a plan to get the spiders away from the nests and quickly went back to rescue the dwarves. The dwarves exclaim to Bilbo that because of his actions they stayed alive. Tolkien illustrates this when he states: “They knew only too well that they would soon all have been dead, if it had not been for the hobbit; and they thanked him many times”(166). Tolkien also shows heroism through external conflict when trolls capture the dwarves and Bilbo. In chapter 3, Bilbo tries to rob the trolls but gets captured by them. Soon after, the rest of the dwarves get captured also. Heroism is shown when Gandalf comes to the rescue by changing his voice to sound like the trolls and says rude remarks to anger the trolls, they fight until dawn and turn to stone. Gandalf’s heroism is shown when Tolkien states, “It was the wizard’s voice that had kept the trolls bickering and quarrelling, until the light came and made an end of them”(41). These examples show how heroism is apparent through external conflict. Through characterization, Tolkien does a fantastic job of showing heroism. First, at the beginning of the novel Gandalf has words of praise for Bilbo when the dwarves talk bad about Murray 2 him behind his back. Bilbo being a hobbit is not the ideal robber and the dwarves know this and express their frustration to Gandalf when he proclaims, “There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself”(19). This shows how confident Gandalf is in Bilbo and how much

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