Read Richard H. Tyre’s article “You Can’t Teach Tolkien,” which you can find in the Permanent Documents and Web Links section, and apply his observations about the hero’s journey to maturity in The Hobbit. Identify the hero and trace his/her journey through the novel. Explain thoroughly, using direct textual evidence (quotes from the book), the SIX steps discussed by Tyre. Examine how the novel fits the steps literally and/or figuratively. For example, when you identify the first step (those who hunt for treasure), you must explain who the hero/treasure hunter is and what the treasure APPEARS to be. For another step, you would need to think about whether the trip takes place literally at night or if night is symbolized in some way. For yet another step you would need to decide if it is literally blood that the hero sheds or some other body fluid (explained in Tyre’s article). And it has to be about BILBO’s experiences. Somewhere in there, explain how the outcome of the novel shows the hero as isolated from his/her community. In the conclusion, comment on the value/merit of such a journey and explain the universal implications of the novel.
