Bilbo Baggins - Character Commander (Stephanie)

While The Hobbit is technically an adventure story, the whole book was really about Bilbo, and how he changed. It is a story about a man who found meaning in his life.

To understand how Bilbo has changed throughout the story, lets look at what Bilbo's character was like before the adventure.

• Spoiled
• Prepared
• Didn't like the unexpected
• Proud

At the begining of the book, Bilbo was a very safe Hobbit. He didn't take risks, he didn't try new things. He always wanted to be prepared for something well in advance, and didn't know how to handle unexpected situations. He was also quite proud, but we will get to that later. But even with all this, he still had enough spark in him, enough Took in him, to come along on this crazy journey which led him to become a better person. Even if it took a little push.

By the end of the book, he has gone through many changes.

•  He knows what it means to truly need something 
• Can handle unexpected situations 
• More confident in his abilities
• Humbled

He now knows the meaning of the word 'starving', and knows what it feels like to have little. He would have never experienced that if he had stayed in his well off Hobbit hole. He can improvise, and can make new plans in a moments notice. He has more abilities, and is confident at performing them.

And his pride? I said I'd get to that. He use to think he was very important, very valuable. When he went on the adventure, that kind of shattered his limited world view, and opened his eyes to true importance. Yes, he became more confident in his abilities,  but seeing Gandalf, and Thorin, and even Smaug, he was able to see that he was only a small part of a big picture. It humbled him.

"You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all,"

"'Thank goodness,' Bilbo said laughing, and handed him the tobacco-jar."