Why Bilbo Is Most Helpful To The Dwarves In The Hobbit By J.r.r. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel, The Hobbit, is about a man named Bilbo Baggins, along with thirteen dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf. They all travel through mysterious forests, dangerous mountains and unfamiliar land to get to the Lonely Mountains. This is where the evil dragon, Smaug, lives and they must go there to take back their home and recover the treasure that Smaug is guarding. In this essay, I am going to prove why the hobbit, Bilbo, is the most helpful to the dwarves.
Due to the fact that Bilbo saves the dwarves many times, he is able to escape challenging situations and he is the wisest person with the dwarves, it is clear that Bilbo is the most helpful to the them. Being able to save the dwarves is certainly useful to them and something that Bilbo is able to accomplish on many occasions. For example, when the dwarves are captured by gigantic spiders because they left the path in the forest of Mirkwood, which they were warned not to do by Gandalf and Beorn, an old friend of Gandalf's. At this time, “Bilbo saw the moment had come when he must do something” (Tolkien 183). Earlier in the novel, it is said that Bilbo wants to do something to impress the dwarves. He figures that if he rescues them, they will respect him more. Another time he saves the dwarves is when Smaug comes out of the mountain. Smaug wakes up and sees that treasure has been taken so he tries to surprise and kill them. “They would have all been killed if it had not been for Bilbo once again. ‘Quick! Quick!’ he gasped. ‘The door! The tunnel! It’s no good here.’” (Tolkien 253) These situations show that the hobbit was courageous, his wisdom, quick thinking and leadership.
Bilbo is not only able to save the dwarves but also himself by being able to escape challenging situations. One time when he is trying to get past the goblins through the cave, in which he is being chased by Gollum, he gets stuck between the door. Even though he has the ring on, which makes him invisible, you can still see the shadow if it is in direct sunlight. He suddenly hears one of the goblins say, “there is a shadow by the door. Something is outside!” (Tolkien 105). “Bilbo’s heart jumped into his mouth. He gave a terrific squirm. Buttons burst off in all directions. He was through.” This shows that Bilbo has the ability to think and act quickly under pressure. This is an important quality to have in this novel because there are many of these situations that the elves run into, like battles they have along the journey. It is also important that the only thing he cares about is getting away. He does not worry about ripping his jacket because if he takes his time, he might not be able to escape in time.
Another time he escapes a high pressure situation is when the dwarves send him in the cave to investigate and he ends up taking a large cup from the mounds of treasure guarded by Smaug while he is sleeping. In the novel, it is said that “he grasped a great two handled cup” “Then Bilbo fled. But the dragon did not wake” (Tolkien 255). This is an act of courageousness because he does not know if he will get caught. It is important that the most useful character is the wisest because it connects back to the first two points about being able to save the dwarves multiple times and having the ability to escape challenging situations. It is necessary to be wise to think of how to approach situations like figuring out how to defeat the spiders and stealing treasure from a dragon.
A big part of the story is when the hobbit saves the dwarves from the elves after they were captured by them because they were supposedly roaming the kings land after they leave the path in the forest of Mirkwood when they see the light of the fire from the elves party. When they found themselves suddenly surrounded by the elves, Bilbo quickly slipped on the ring to make him invisible so he could escape. He followed the dwarves back to their cavern and witnessed them being imprisoned by the king. After two weeks, “He soon realized that if anything were to be done, it would have to be by Mr. Baggins” (Tolkien 203). At first he thought it was impossible to get a message to Gandalf to help. He decided to do it on his own when he realized Gandalf could not help. It is very heroic to send himself on his own to save the dwarves. It might not seem like it, but it was a big part of the novel because the rest of the story depends on his decision to go on the journey along with the dwarves. But he was smart for not wanting to go with them at first because in chapter one, An Unexpected Party, Thorin said “We shall soon before the break of day, start on our long journey, a journey from which some of us, or perhaps all of us may never return. Bilbo was warned by Thorin that all of them may not return from their journey. That gave the hobbit a fair warning that it will most likely not be safe. He is smart for not wanting to go because of the risks. Bilbo is such a useful companion to the dwarves and proves his usefulness through saving them on many occasions, escaping challenging situations himself and using his intelligence to keep them safe.
To be the most important character in a novel, you need to be courageous which Bilbo has shown by saving the dwarves multiple times, escaping challenging situations and most importantly you have to be the most wise of the group because everything depends on their decisions and how they approach the problem which is showed by him thinking of a plan to save the dwarves from the elves and not wanting to go on the journey because of the risks. This is why Bilbo Baggins is the most useful to the dwarves.
Works Cited
- Tolkien, J. R. R., et al. The Hobbit. Del Rey, 2012.
