Essay 1
A hero is a person who is distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility and strength. There are two types of heroes: Ancient heroes and modern heroes. Ancient heroes have exceptional courage, nobility and strength as do modern heroes, but modern heroes use these qualities in an unconventional way. An ancient hero uses physical strength while a modern day hero uses his mental strength. Ancient hero uses his courage fighting monsters and saving the day while a modern day hero uses his courage when he has his back against the wall in a sticky situation. A modern day hero is noble to people around him and an ancient hero is looked to as noble. Bilbo Baggins is a modern day hero.
Bilbo, being a hero, uses exceptional courage and like a modern day hero he uses it in unconventional ways. Bilbo is a little tentative before doing dangerous or taunting deeds. When Bilbo was in Gollum’s cave he did not know weather he should go into the lake or turn back. An ancient hero would have went straight through the lake and find the way out but Bilbo wanted to stay put until he was confronted by Gollum. Once he was confronted he wanted to get out of the cave immediately. This proves that Bilbo does have courage but he only uses it when he has to. When Bilbo finds the exit to Gollum’s cave he notices that it is guarded. Bilbo decides he is going to sneak past the guards. Bilbo seeing that his only exit is blocked uses his courage and sneaks past the guards. This is another example of Bilbo being a modern day hero. He chooses not to fight, but to sneak by the guard. Bilbo shows he is a modern day hero by using his courage in unconventional ways.
Bilbo is very noble to Gandalf in the story up until he leaves. Bilbo always stands by Gandalf’s side and trusts in him. Right after Gandalf told the dwarfs Bilbo had potential he stood by Gandalf. When the dwarfs were captured by goblins Bilbo knew that Gandalf would come and save them. Since he trusted...