Bilbo Baggins, a True Hero (The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien)

The book the hobbit, written by JRR Tolkien, is about the story of a Hobbit who goes on a long adventure, and that hobbit's name was Bilbo. Bilbo was approached by a wizard named Gandalf, and was told that he was going to go on a journey with a band of dwarves. They were going to help the rightful King of the mountain, whose name was Thorin. Along the way Bilbo went through several hard trials, including being kidnapped by various elves and goblins, facing giant spiders, and even a dragon! Bilbo started off as a very timid creature, who never even dreamed of going on such a hard, dangerous adventure. However, by the end of the story, he was better off in ways he would never of dreamed of. For example, he was braver, smarter, and more resilient. What makes a hero? Is it the flashy outfits, or the warm smile? I believe that it's neither. What makes a hero are qualities that a person or thing has. Such as virtue, loyalty, and courage. I believe that Bilbo was a hero because he had the qualities virtue, courage and loyalty. Through the thick and thin Bilbo stuck by his friends and saved them several times from various dangers. That shows a lot of loyalty, virtue, and courage.

What is virtue? The dictionary says that virtue is ‘behavior showing high moral standards.’ Bilbo showed that he had high moral standards several times throughout the story. One example being when he saved the dwarfs from the spiders. He could have left them to die and go home, but he didn't. He stayed behind and risked his own life to help them and save their lives. This shows that Bilbo has virtue, which is one of the qualities of a hero. Another time Bilbo showed that he had virtue was when he saved the dwarfs from the wood elves. He snuck around an unknown place for days with little food just so he could help the dwarfs of which he hadn't known all that long. This shows great virtue.

Bilbo also showed loyalty. What is loyalty? The dictionary defines loyalty as ‘the quality of being loyal or a strong feeling of support or allegiance.’ Bilbo showed loyalty many times throughout the story. some examples being when Bilbo saved them from the goblins, and when he returned to them after being separated. While sleeping in the cave in the mountain, the goblins ambushed them and took most of the dwarves. After they finally escaped the goblins, Bilbo got separated from the others. When he realized this, he tried to find them despite the fact that he could get more lost or even recaptured by the goblins. These show a lot of loyalty.

Although Bilbo was a very timid creature at the beginning of his journey, he soon found courage. He had courage when he faced Gollum, when he faced the giant spiders, and when he went through the dark forest. Bilbo had courage when he faced Gollum. Even though the strange creature wanted to kill and eat him, Bilbo still had courage. Because he had courage and faced this foe, he eventually made it out of the mountain. Another time Bilbo had courage was when he faced the giant spiders. While his friends were captured, he taunted the spiders and lead them away from his friends. By doing this they were able to escape. Another time Bilbo had courage was when he was in the dark forest. When everybody got separated, he went forward instead of letting his fear hold him back, because of this courage he was reunited with the others and actually saved them from the capture of the wood elves.

In conclusion Bilbo is a hero. My definition of a hero is someone who has virtue, loyalty, and courage. Virtue is described as ‘behavior showing high moral standards,’ Loyalty is described as ‘the quality of being loyal or a strong feeling of support or allegiance,’ and courage is described as ‘the ability to do something that frightens one.’ Even though it didn't start out that way in the beginning of his story, Bilbo eventually developed the qualities that would make him a hero. He learned many important lessons, and gained a lot of good friends along the way. It is because of these things, Bilbos virtue, loyalty, and courage, that I believe that Bilbo is a hero.