Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and have many different and even special qualities. There are types of heroes among these that have different natures. Of course, the characteristics of all heroes tend to be similar no matter which one is scrutinized. Heroism itself has different meanings in regard to the individual hero being examined. Joseph Campbell has taken a look at the heroes chosen by the western world, and he has identified a certain pattern. This pattern can be identified through the Campbellian hero. The proper place to look at the pattern of the Campbellian hero is in Joseph Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. His book identifies common traits used to describe most of the western world's heroes. Of course, to read Bilbo Baggins's story in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit one might conclude that Campbell was reading his story word for word as he wrote his book. Bilbo is a most unsuspecting hero from the beginning because most hobbits are homebodies. However, Bilbo has a "Tookish side", which seems to take over his somewhat subdued manner (Tolkien 3). The novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tokien follows Joseph Campbell's depiction of a hero as written in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces from Bilbo's initial refusal to go on the adventure to his final gift to the dwarves.
The beginning of The Hobbit reads as it should according to the pattern of the Campbellian hero. Bilbo is "called to adventure" by Gandalf and of course gives his initial refusal (Campbell 36). For Bilbo the mere thought of going on an adventure is against everything he believes in and of course everything he has ever been taught. All hobbits are of a homely nature Bilbo is no exception to this rule. When Gandalf first chooses Bilbo he really does not even tell him, he only places a mark on Bilbo's door for the dwarves to see. As the dwarves begin to appear on Bilbo's doorstep he is very puzzled by what they could possibly want.