The Cleverness Exhibited By Bilbo Baggins Essay

, Research Paper

The Cleverness Exhibited by Bilbo Help’s him Throughout The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien is a masterful writer, and envelops the reader in his fantasy world through his hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Throughout the story, Bilbo exhibits a certain mixture of bravery and cleverness that many times saves his life, and the lives of the dwarves. Exercising this cleverness, he successfully deals with the goblins, Gollum, the spiders, Smaug, and many other things. I will tell about how his cleverness saves his life in some of these occasions.When the wizard Gandalf first comes to Bilbo, he is a meek, polite, and gentle creature. Soon however he has been changed into a brave, clever, yet somewhat less homely hobbit. He convinces Bilbo to embark in a series of adventures that ultimately leads to facing the great dragon Smaug, and only by facing his fears and using his uncanny wit, does he succeed in his adventures. He has the ability to think quickly on his feet. Such as his encounter with Gollum. Here, he has to quickly answer and come up with riddles to avoid being eaten! Another example of this is when the giant spiders of Mirkwood forest attack his group. He saves his friends and cuts down the Spiders. This is a great skill and advantage that he possesses. Bilbo is able to use his superior wits when he is dealing with Smaug. By speaking in riddles, he is able to buy himself time to escape, and to learn if Smaug has any weaknesses that could be exploited. By speaking very broadly, he is able to keep Smaug guessing, and therefore, he is off his guard. When Smaug questions him, he answers in a way that is confusing. However, he does make one mistake. That is when he angers

Smaug and sends him down the mountain in a rage. It’s not usually wise to anger a dragon if it can be avoided.He also has the ability to plan his actions wisely and carefully. An example of this is after he finds the Arkenstone of Thrain. Because he knows that the wealth has affected Thorin’s judgement, and made him greedy, Bilbo wisely conceals the Arkenstone, and gives it to the Lake-Men. By doing this, they can exchange it with Thorin for gold and silver. This way, they can rebuild their town, because Smaug damaged it. He carefully puts his plan into action by sneaking out one night, when he supposed to be on guard. He goes down to the camp that the elves have made, where he is taken to Bard, and gives him the Arkenstone. The next day they are able to barter with Thorin for money in exchange for the Arkenstone. In this way, all of them are together, when Gandalf brings word that the Goblins are on the move, making their way to the vast treasure, now unguarded. He saves many lives, because they then have a chance to prepare for their attack. In a sum, Bilbo uses his sharp wits to prevail against all the challenges and problems set before him. I have said how he uses his quick wits, how he is able to plan out his actions, and how his quick thinking has saved his life through the story. Because of this, his greatest ally truly is his himself. In this way, he is able to come out of his adventure virtually unscathed, and not without reward for his troubles. Not only does he acquire some wealth, but also he has memories and stories that are priceless. He can never go back to being that same meek, quiet na ve little hobbit that he once was.