The (Expected) Journey

J.R.R Tolken is one of the modern masters of the heroic journey and its construction. His saga of The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest fantastical hero adventures in the recent time, following a character arch that is dynamic and ever growing. Tolken's novel, The Hobbit also follows the pattern of a hero during his journey very closely. As the tale begins, it shows the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, our main character, as an unsuspecting, non heroic individual living a quiet life. Once the story progresses, we come to find Bilbo following the patterns closely related to the "pattern of a hero". Such as, when he is bestowed with the task of burglar for the group of dwarves, and first refuses the task but there after chooses to go along on the journey. This is seen as the refusal to adventure at first but then leads to the crossing of the threshold of the adventure, thus beginning the many challenges and obstacles the hero must face and conquer. Bilbo faces many along the way to the Lonely Mountain including trolls and goblins trying to devour him. He is lastly faced with Smaug himself, seen as a perilous journey alone, and does end up outsmarting the dragon and ultimately conquering the quest. Bilbo is a changed hobbit once he returns to the Shire, alluding to another pattern of a hero, being altered indefinitely after the road home.

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