The Transformation of Bilbo Baggins
The Road TakenBilbo Baggins was not always the beloved and accomplished hero we know him as today. In the beginning of The Hobbit, Bilbo was content and contentedly complacent, living an unremarkable and unassuming life in the Shire. He had little care for adventure or excitement, preferring the predictability and simplicity of life at Bag End. However, Bilbo's life was set to change dramatically when loremaster-come-burglar murderers, Gandalf the Grey, arrived to enlist him for a major mission – the reclaiming of the treasures of Erebor from the dragon, Smaug.The Unexpected JourneyBilbo's journey was, by any measure, remarkable. From outwitting giant spiders to facing the ferocious dragon himself, and from befriending wicked trolls to facing necromantic zombies, Bilbo showed remarkable bravery and persistence. Perhaps more remarkable than his bravery, however, was the sheer transformation this journey engendered in Bilbo. Prior to the quest, Bilbo was a timid and meek hobbit who would barely have put up a fuss. But with each new challenge, each new hardship, each new moment of peril, Bilbo rose to the occasion and grew into something of a hero.Heroism & HumilityPerhaps Bilbo's most endearing trait was his ability to be both a hero and a humble hobbit. From heroism in the face of danger to selecting the Ring as a tool to help his troubled friends, Bilbo had the courage and humility to make choices that could shape his destiny. What's more, he had the humility to accept his lot in life and his place within his home. There is no better example of this than when he returns home to Bag End and chooses to return to the life he abandoned, rather than to stay and enjoy the spoils of his quest.A New Hobbit At the end of The Hobbit, Bilbo had undergone a remarkable transformation. He was no longer the timid hobbit of the Shire, but an adept and courageous adventurer, having faced and conquered daunting foes throughout his journey. Not only was he now a hero, but he was also a hero with a measured and prudent measure of humility; a humility that would come to define him in all of his future adventures.