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The Changing Bilbo Baggins

 

            Since its first publication in 1937, J. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," has been rendered into more than a dozen film adaptations. Each of these films portrays a new perspective to the original work with variations big and small. Essentially, the movie versions can be seen as interpretations of Tolkien's text since visual media cannot fully convey the events and character entirely. Once put on a screen, the plot must be shortened to fit the running time, character simplified and made symbolic. A case in hand is the 2012 movie edition directed by Peter Jackson. The main difference between the film and the text is that the movie focuses more, maybe too much on the character Bilbo Baggins. As a result, in Tolkien's text the story is told by an omniscient narrator whereas the movie from Bilbo's Perspective. Tolkien's description of Bilbo reflects the culture and underpinnings of Middle-earth during the third age by presenting him as a "Baggins", a well-respected family among the Hobbit community, an eager adventurer and a philosopher who is a product of his time while the movie presents him as a cowardly man, afraid of the world outside of the Shrine. Consequently, viewers of The Hobbit see Bilbo differently, which dilutes Tolkien's portrayal of Bilbo's personality trait as a hero.
             Firstly, in Tolkien's narrative text, the themes of heroism and Bilbo's character development from being an average hobbit into the hero at the end of the story looms largely not only as an exposition but perhaps more importantly, forces that lead him into discovering his true inner courage. Through out the story although Bilbo is surrounded by greed, vengeance and anger he prevails and managed to maintain his faith and common sense. The novel begins with a narration describing the life of a hobbit, Bilbo's in particular and the history of middle earth laying out the historical and situational setting of the story.


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