by Elros-(Valar)
Oct. 20, 2000
J.R.R. Tolkien has written many books. His books
have been critically acclaimed and loved by millions of people. In
fact, most archetypes that exist are symbolized in his book. For example,
the mentor would be symbolized by Gandalf, while the hero can be symbolized
by Frodo. One of his most popular characters is the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.
Bilbo himself symbolizes many archetypes in the children's book, The Hobbit
. However, one of the most noticeable archetypes that he can represent
is the initiate.
Bilbo starts off as a very sheltered person. He
has never left his small country and doesn't like anything adventurous.
He is unknowingly submitted into a group of treasure hunting dwarves as a
professional burglar by the traveling wizard Gandalf. The dwarves are
not sure he is good enough to be in their party and would not have accepted
him if it weren't for Gandalf's reassurance. Bilbo is very angry and
annoyed at first but as the story goes on he gradually proves his worth time
and time again. The dwarves eventually accept him as a friend and companion.
Bilbo's role as the initiate takes on a slightly different
form in this book. The quest is to retake the Lonely Mountain and his
ceremony or tasks are more in the form of a long journey. This journey
goes over hill, under dale, and through wood to its end and is a very well
written piece of literature. Many tasks are performed by Bilbo that
raise him up in the dwarves' eyes.
Bilbo himself is a very sheltered and innocent person.
He has had the same life for a long time and he does everything on schedule
and never has had or wants an adventure. In the beginning of the journey
the dwarves think he is good-for-nothing and worthless. However, when
they get captured by three trolls, Bilbo tricks the trolls into arguing long
enough for the sun to come up. The trolls turn to stone and the dwarves
are saved.
When the party travels through Mirkwood, the dwarves get attacked by
giant spiders and are tied up in cocoons. Bilbo evades capture because
his magic
ring makes him invisible. He taunts the spiders and throws rocks at
them. The spiders get angry and chase the noises. Using his sword
"Sting" he frees the dwarves and kills many of the spiders. Bilbo has
lost much of his old innocence at this point and can't remember when he lived
in Hobbiton.
Traveling on, the dwarves anger the Elven King and are
placed in his jail. Bilbo hides the dwarves in barrels and they escape
down the river. Next,
Bilbo confronts Smaug and tricks him into thinking he is a fierce warrior.
Smaug is angered and attacks the Lake Town where he is killed by the archer,
Bard. Finally, Bilbo steals the Arkenstone from Thorin so that he does
not start a war with the Elves and Men.
Throughout his journey Bilbo proves his worth to the dwarves.
This is very much like the initiate of other stories. The initiate
has to pass some sort
of test to prove his worth and eventually saves the day. The same happens
to Bilbo except he proves his worth many many times. The fact that
Bilbo is
the initiate in this story makes a tremendous difference. His character
on the inside and outside slowly transforms throughout the whole book.
If he
did not go on the journey, the dwarves would have probably failed their mission.
Many alternate characters exist as initiates. Examples of
initiates would be Daniel in the "Karate Kid", Eldrahere in The Book
of Knights, and Sabriel in Sabriel.
The initiate archetype is very
important to society today. It forms the backbone of many stories, poems,
and movies. It explains to people that they can do anything if they
practice and set goals. The initiate can also take the form of a college
student. The student needs to pass through the arduous tasks of college
to get to his goal of the degree. People themselves should care about
archetypes for a few reasons. One, they allow for easy comparison among
similar characters. Two, they provide a base on which to create
a character. And three, they can be a new or different way to describe
a character.
Bilbo Baggins is a perfect example
of an initiate archetype. Many archetypes are part of society today and the
initiate is just one of them. Archetypes are necessary to provide form
and function for many different characters and conflicts.
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