By this he meant that the conversation was at an end" (Tolkien, 5). Bilbo meant to see Gandalf off immediately without allowing him to explain his presence at Bilbo's hobbit hole. Although annoyed with Bilbo, Gandalf does not hold it against him. This is only one instance when Bilbo is given another chance to prove himself as the hero he is expected to be.
As the story continues, the way Bilbo reacts to certain situations gives the reader more and more information to determine what kind of character Bilbo is. Prior to his finding of the ring, Bilbo is timid and unsure of how to complete his duties as the burglar for the elves. When stuck in a position of proving his stellar burglar skills, he fails. "Of the various burglarious proceedings he had heard of picking trolls pockets as the least difficult, so at last he crept behind a tree next to William.Then Bilbo plucked up courage and put his little hand in William's enormous pocket" (Tolkien, 36). Moments later the trolls notice their being had and capture him. The elves must come to his rescue. Not only was Bilbo not successful in pick-pocketing the trolls, he had to be a sneak about it. Instead of boldly approaching the "enemy", the trolls, he snuck upon their camp and tried to burglarize them without leaving any sign of his presence, rather than letting the trolls know that the good hero would prevail over them. This is not the honorable way heroes usually deal with their enemies, one sign of Bilbo's anti-hero tendencies.
Independence is crucial to being a hero. When a hero is sought out for a certain duty, he has very few companions to accompany him. Not only does Bilbo have 13 companions, he cannot function without those companions. He is completely dependent on the elves for protection, food, and direction. While wondering the caves of the goblins, Bilbo's first fear is that he is all alone and will not know the way. "He could not think what to do; nor could he think what had happened: or why he had been left behind.