The hobbit has most definitely grown since the beginning of the book. When we first meet Bilbo, he is an almost cowardly creature, trying to stay out of trouble and anything even minutely related to it. He’d rather stay home than get involved in dangerous adventures. But as the story progresses, we watch Bilbo make an incredible change. Mid-way through the book we see the hobbit in a new light, a hero. The situations that he experienced transformed him into a braver person, one not afraid to take chances. Why was the hobbit effected in this way? What made him face his fears? I think it was a lot of factors put together.

I think that the hobbit changed for a lot of reasons. I think that in the beginning, he felt inferior to the rest of the dwarves and that’s why he has the urge to go on the adventure in the first place. In the beginning, I’m sure Bilbo was scared out of his mind, but to try and remain equal to his partners, he had to keep up and fight through it. The pressure to keep up with his friends forced the bravery out of him. He had to be brave to find acceptance in his friends. You could say it was peer pressure that forced Hobbit to gain his bravery.

Now, as he enters Mirkwood, the hobbit is faced with another step to take in the development of his fearlessness. Gandolf puts him in charge of the dwarves just before he leaves on his own business. Bilbo now has to become a leader as well. The lives of the people he directs are basically given to him. This will take more effort on the hobbit, and will push him a little more to release all of his adventurous side. The hobbit is faced with a hard situation throughout the book. He has to forget his old self, and develope into a more daring person. If he doesn’t, he puts the lives of the people he is with at risk. The hobbit is slowly being forced to open up and experience adventure for himself. He’s learning that there is more to the world then his home, and i think he’s beginning to like it.