KidLit Forum

Discuss "the coming of age" and Bilbo’s changing along the journey.

In the first stage of his development, Bilbo is praised by the almighty wizard Gandalf who seems to know everything and everyone, like a visionary. He's the only one who sees the issue taken care of. He is like a good teacher who invites his students to find out who they are and what they're capable of:

"I have chosen Mr. Baggins and that ought to be enough for all of you. If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar he is, or will be when the time comes. There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself." (Chapter 1)

But Bilbo's always followed by humour, as if he is a hero only by mistake or luck (helped by the ring), but still a funny one:

"Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach." (Chapter 8)


"It was a terrible battle. The most dreadful of all Bilbo's experiences, and the one which at the time he hated most – which is to day it was the one he was most proud of, and most fond of recalling long afterwards, although he was quite unimportant in it. Actually I may say he put on his ring early in the business and vanished from sight, if not from all danger." (chapter 17)

When the moment for true heroes began at the Battle of Five Armies, Bilbo, who seems to be exhausted from all of his courage, is standing invisible on the sidelines.

Throughout the story, Bilbo has a great advantage using the ring, he's like taking the best shortcuts to reach the destination: back home. I wonder, how would his life be if he didn't have the chance to find that ring?!?! I feel like he has the easiest ways out.

Throughout The Hobbit, I felt that Bilbo is just a lucky fellow. He is tricked/charmed into joining the adventure, he is always complaining about the situation and he is extremely lucky. The end, is also not as I had predicted. Our hero doesn't want to go in more adventures and he is happy for being home again prepared for a life without any problems. I always had the felling that Bilbo is just a tool and that Gandalf maneuver it. The answer to my skepticism is given by the author in one of the last phrases in the text. Balin and Gandalf are visiting Bilbo who is writing his adventure in his memoirs and Gandalf says that everything that happened was a prophecy, it was meant to happen. The story, in my view, is Gandalf's efforts into overseeing that the prophecy will happen.