Harry, Bilbo, and Their Rites of Passage, By Fricka |
 Dec 7 2008, 10:02 PM
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Chief Cat Herder  Posts: 3,514 Joined: 10:28am August 6, 2005 Location: In the Corner Booth - home of the elusive Holy Grain!    |
Harry, Bilbo, and Their Rites of Passage
A Comparison of the Characters of Harry Potter in Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone and Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit By Fricka Biography: Coming soon! Abstract: This essay deals with the characters of Harry Potter and Bilbo Baggins. Through the examination of magical possessions and creatures, it compares how J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien use adventure as a way to develop bravery in their protagonists and set an example for children (and adults). This essay can be read here. --------------------  To listen and share great filks, check out Swishandfilk.com New stuff: Nina's Piece of Me, MJ's Return to Forever & my Now We'll See |
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Dec 8 2008, 09:41 AM
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Doctor Filibuster's Junior Assistant  Posts: 1,963 Joined: 8:57am March 12, 2005 Location: at Home or somewhere in between |
Nicely done, Fricka!
 I especially like the concept of adventure in helping us grow, and that only through venturing out, can we experience all that life has to offer. What I have gathered is that both Bilbo and Harry "pass their tests" with flying colors, but even close to death, Bilbo looks upon his travel to the Grey Lands another adventure, and Harry realizes that although he defeats Voldemort, he must still strive forward, and live a life that is filled with unpredictability. 
-------------------- Avatar made with Poser 6 and Photoshop Elements
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Dec 17 2008, 06:23 PM
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Muffin Mistress  Posts: 2,477 Joined: 10:42pm March 8, 2008 Location: RG Cookie Factory - reciting: "Oven at 350 F is too warm to touch with bare hands" |
Awsome Fricka!
I especially liked your mentioning that the heroes-to-be starts out as small! Bilbo of course never grows bigger as he is a fully grown Hobbit, but Harry grows although we are lead to believe he never gets to become particularly "big" as JKR leaves us the image of a rather slender young man even as he reaches adulthood. So we get the notion from both writers that our heroes don't need to LOOK like heroes. The don't fulfill any measurements for models, but is rather a bit like anti-heroes? In spite of fear our guys proceed and even with magical mentors and magical devices, as you point out, they still face the music alone and conquer not only their images of who they are themselves but also their impressive opponents! I like you're remaining in the beginning of each hero's journey here, and you're also good at pointing out the differences! Only thing I can point out about this essay is, that it seems you're maybe a little more HP-fan than LotR-fan? The child in me cheers the little heroes! Btw: I'm still a bit dumbstruck by your specific wish that I should read this?  Thanks for challenging me!
This post has been edited by The-T-Dane: Dec 17 2008, 06:28 PM -------------------- |
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Dec 20 2008, 09:51 PM
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Grammar Posse Posts: 2,729 Joined: 3:59pm May 15, 2008 Location: Sunny Phoenix, Arizona("It's a Dry Heat!") |
Oh, well, T-Dane, I saw that you were planning to visit this site, so I thought it would be nice to get some feed back from you, as I know that English is not your first language. I wanted to be sure that my essay could be easily understood, I guess.
As to your thinking that I tilt more to HP than Bilbo, that probably is because I ended up cutting quite a bit out of the essay that tended to be more lop-sided towards Bilbo than Harry. My original essay, for example, had a section on goblins, only there was a lot more about goblins in The Hobbit than in PS/SS, and it became clear to me that there was not really much of any way to even it out. A few comments about goblins when Hagrid took Harry to Gringotts did not match up with the depth of detail that Tolkien had on the goblins that Bilbo and company had problems with. I had a really good editor, too, Melissa, who helped me add certain observations in places, and moved around some of the chunks of my essay to make points more effectively. --------------------  __________ Phoenix avatar from ofenjen; AZ Raven siggy from Victoria Page |
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Dec 22 2008, 10:00 PM
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Knight Bus Driver in Training Posts: 566 Joined: 2:43pm January 28, 2005 Location: Out there, doing it for Dumbledore!  |
QUOTE(momwitch @ Dec 8 2008, 09:41 AM)  Nicely done, Fricka! I especially like the concept of adventure in helping us grow, and that only through venturing out, can we experience all that life has to offer. What I have gathered is that both Bilbo and Harry "pass their tests" with flying colors, but even close to death, Bilbo looks upon his travel to the Grey Lands another adventure, and Harry realizes that although he defeats Voldemort, he must still strive forward, and live a life that is filled with unpredictability. This would be why I would compare Harry more to Frodo than to Bilbo. After all, both lost their parents early in life due a tragic happenstance. Both were raised by 'distant' relatives -- Frodo by the several times removed cousin Bilbo, and Harry by the emotionally unreachable Dursleys. Both bore scars that responded to evil -- Harry the lightning shaped curse scar, and Frodo the scar in his shoulder from the Morgul blade. Not that there weren't clear correlations to draw between Harry and Bilbo. It's a question of magnitudes though, the commonalities between them and those between Harry and Frodo. In fact, the invisibility magic artifact cane as an inheritance to them both, rather than a fortunate stumble in a dank mountain passageway. Also, more of Frodo's choices and actions hinged on his bravery and strength of spirit, as did Harry's, in contrast to the clever-wittedness of Bilbo in deceiving the three trolls, outsmarting the giant spiders, eluding both the goblins and the elves, even outmaneuvering Thorin Oakenshield with the Heartstone. Harry was, as was Frodo, acting out of more generous impulses in the main, having the interests of others ahead of their own, as when Frodo decided to part ways with the Fellowship to take both the temptation of The One Ring and hopefully the attention of the Uruk-Hai away from his compatriots. To wit, at the end of Half Blood Prince, when Harry decided he would go alone after Voldemort, only to have his truest companions, Ron and Hermione, tell him in no uncertain terms that they were coming with him. Can't get more Sam Gamgee than that, eh? Again, I am in no way discrediting the original essay's points, only bringing up alternate points of my own observation. -------------------- "Daaawlish" -- it's the new "Smurf"! "The name is Dawlish. John Dawlish."
My Wand: Wood type~olive, Length~11 inches, Core~Unicorn Hair |
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Dec 28 2008, 02:37 PM
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Grammar Posse Posts: 2,729 Joined: 3:59pm May 15, 2008 Location: Sunny Phoenix, Arizona("It's a Dry Heat!") |
Thank you momwitch and Whisperwing, for reading my essay and then posting your reactions to it. And T-Dane, of course.
Whisperwing, you asked a very valid question of why I used Bilbo rather than Frodo for my comparison. It is true, of course, what you point out about Frodo also being an orphan. I did consider Frodo in the very first planning, but it became apparent to me fairly quickly after that, that there were some problems I would face with that choice. For one thing, I consider The Hobbit to be much more child- reader oriented than the Lord of the Rings trilogy is. One of the main themes of my essay was how children could relate to both Bilbo and Harry as role models. A rather more practical aspect determining my choice is that there are three LOTR books to contend with in discussing Frodo's character, and (at the time of my initial writing), six Harry Potter books. I wanted to keep it simple--use one book each to discuss the changes that each character went through in the course of the book. Another consideration of mine is that in The Hobbit, the Ring is a much more neutral agent, as is the Invisibility cloak of Harry's. Bilbo and Harry could choose either to use their magic possessions for good or for evil. By the time the ring comes into Frodo's possession, however, it has become clear that it is anything but a neutral device. That simply would not compare properly with Harry's cloak in my approach to comparing how the devices led their owners becoming braver through using them. I also think that Frodo's mission with the Ring is more of an anti-quest--that is, his mission is to destroy the ring. Harry, in contrast, never even has to consider getting rid of his cloak because of possible evil magic it might perform. These are just a few of the things that I considered in choosing Bilbo over Frodo. -------------------- __________ Phoenix avatar from ofenjen; AZ Raven siggy from Victoria Page |
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 Feb 1 2009, 02:00 PM
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Just Through the Brick Wall Posts: 6 Joined: 11:31am January 31, 2009 |
This is incredibly accurate, you've obviously spent alot of time on this essay!
It took my ages to read, but I was glad that I read it <3 It's very in depth =D Both the authors I adore (JK and Tolkein) both mentioned on the same page made me smile   -------------------- 'Harry was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy.'
Death Eates LUUVV their ickle Voldie (Especially Bellatrix) <3  |
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Feb 17 2009, 06:31 PM
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Professional Diagon Alley Window Shopper Posts: 68 Joined: 8:53pm May 30, 2007 Location: Flourish and Blotts |
I really enjoyed the essay, Fricka.
I'm a Tolkien fan and I love comparing it with HP. I thought you had a lot of great ideas and you shared them very clearly. I could tell you put a lot of work into this. It's wonderful!
--------------------  "An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness." |
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Apr 5 2009, 12:05 PM
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Cauldron Bottom Measurer Posts: 131 Joined: 10:57pm January 10, 2006 Location: In the library |
This was a very interesting and well-written essay! I really like the concept of the unlikely hero. The fact that neither Bilbo nor Harry looked or felt like a hero at the beginning and yet bother were able to face incredible dangers is inspiring. If an "ordinary" hobbit or young boy can overcome evil, then maybe we readers can too. We just need the help of friends, some cleverness, and willingness to face danger to do what is right.
-------------------- Fight Evil ~ Read Books  Daughter, friends, and me as Molly Weasley |
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Nov 9 2009, 05:09 PM
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Claw-Clipping Kneazles at the Magical Menegerie Posts: 2,447 Joined: 1:37pm November 9, 2009 Location: In the little brook by milde's hall and river  |
That made great reading
although I thought you were a little hard on the dwarves! They were a species apart from Bilbo after all, not to mention the fact that one of them was very high-born. It was Bilbo's job to impress and help them in return for payment, rather than learn magic alongside him and grow up together. Thorin might not have been kind to Bilbo but he did end up listening to him and gave him a massive payment with the mithril mail coat without explaining just what a unique and valuble he had given to him, not to mention forgiving and praising him at the end, despite his betrayal. Bilbo grows emotionally in response to their growing trust and his increased responsability - in that sense I think they were instrumental if not exactly supportive. But Harry was taken from solitude into sudden popularity and friendship that he had to live up to, when Bilbo was taken away from respectability and friendship and into a group of strangers that were disappointed in him from the start. And both Dumbledore and Gandalf were quite mean in pushing them into situations way beyond anything they'd ever experienced before! Dumbledore in giving Harry the cloak without explanation and helping him find out things that would be useful to him in a dangerous situation without a real warning, and Gandalf basically lands Bilbo in it and leaves him, just because he was friends with his grandfather, who was adventurous! But I'm rambling now - I loved the essay, was what I wanted to say. --------------------  "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." -- Gandalf, FOTR |
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