Hobbit: Hero's Journey

The Heroic Journey of Small, Hairy Feet
The Hobbit tells the story of the adventure taken by an unlikely hero Bilbo Baggins and thirteen dwarves. Bilbo ventures from his cozy hobbit-hole through the Misty Mountains and the forest of Mirkwood to reach the Lonely Mountain. During his journey, Bilbo encounters many challenges. These challenges test Bilbo’s greatest weaknesses forcing him to change and grow. The Hobbit is an example of the story pattern of the heroic journey, because of the transformations Bilbo undergoes throughout his challenges.
After embarking on the journey, or crossing the threshold, the hero begins to face a series of challenges. The transformations the hero experiences due to these
challenges allow them to proceed toward completing the journey. The first significant challenge for Bilbo is his riddle-game with Gollum. Bilbo is forced to outwit Gollum on his own in order to escape the goblin caves alive. Following the completion of this challenge, Bilbo gains self-confidence and the respect of the group “It is a fact that Bilbo’s reputation went up a great deal with the dwarves after this.”(93). The acquisition of this vital self-confidence is a change for Bilbo because before he was timid and scared. Bilbo obtaining the respect of the group is another change as previously they thought Bilbo was useless, however they now believe in his worth. These advancements aid Bilbo later on in confronting more obstacles independently.
During the rest of Bilbo’s journey he experiences various challenges such as trolls, spiders, elves, and the dragon Smaug. Bilbo’s most meaningful challenge following his altercation with Gollum are the Spiders in the forest of Mirkwood. Bilbo awakes to find himself separated from the company yet again, and discovers that a spider is wrapping him in a web. Bilbo musters his courage, draws his “Sting”, and slays the spider. Bilbo experiences a feeling previously unknown to him after his killing of the spider “Somehow...