Archive | 2019
Bilbo’s hero’s journey through the scope of Campbell’s monomyth
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to discuss how J.R.R Tolkien formulated the journey of a hero in his novel “The Hobbit or There and Back Again”. The article is aimed at explaining Bilbo’s journey through the scope of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. The reader is provided with information that helped Tolkien’s work to become successful. In his work, Campbell argues that the events experienced by a mythological, literary or modern hero/person are not usually individual and that these are experienced by others in similar patterns. These similar experiences are presented in an adventurous journey that allows the hero to leave his usual environment, rediscover himself and return to his former life. In addition, it has been discussed with the archetypes of Carl Jung that the character, which is studied, is not unique heroes. While examining the work, it is tried to determine which archetypes Bilbo fits or which archetypes he evolves. Tolkien, in “The Hobbit or There and Back Again”, points out the importance of spiritual and material world. He draws attention to the fact that the courage of a little fellow in a wide world might be for the benefit of the rest. By choosing a hobbit as a protagonist he aims at showing the significance of an insignificant person might be greater. On a larger scale, Tolkien aims at attacking prejudices of humanity.