The Veracity of Bilbo Baggins: Was He Overly Adorned with Heroic Deeds?

In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is often depicted as a courageous and resourceful hero. However, can we truly believe every word Bilbo tells us about his adventures? Through a detailed examination of character motivations, cultural context, and specific instances, we can explore whether Bilbo might have exaggerated or even invented some of his heroic deeds.

Narrative Perspective and Bilbo’s Dragon-slaying Tale

The narrative is told through Bilbo's perspective, which can color the events and his interpretation of them. As a hobbit, Bilbo is not accustomed to the grandiosity of heroism. His storytelling might reflect a desire to embellish his experiences for the sake of impressing his audience.

Hobbit Nature and Heroic Deception

Hobbits are typically characterized by their love of comfort and aversion to adventure. Bilbo's journey is a significant departure from his normal life. His retelling of events might serve to reconcile his experiences with his identity, leading him to elevate his role in the adventure. This is seen through his actions and the way he narrates his experiences.

The Influence of Others and Cultural Expectations

Bilbo shares his adventures with others such as Frodo and the other hobbits. In recounting his story, he may have felt pressure to make his deeds sound more impressive, especially when compared to the more traditional heroics of figures like Thorin Oakenshield or the other dwarves. Additionally, the cultural context of Middle-earth, where tales of bravery and heroism are common, suggests that Bilbos retellings might align with a cultural tendency to glorify adventure.

Memory and Myth-making

As time passes, memories can become distorted, and Bilbo's experiences, especially those involving danger and excitement, could have been embellished in his mind. Over time, these distorted memories transform into legends as he recounts them, possibly altering the original truth of the events.

An Inductive Approach to Bilbo’s Exploits

While Gandalf's comment in Unfinished Tales that he might tell the tale differently does not necessarily indicate that Bilbo exaggerated, we can examine Bilbo's exploits more closely. For example, in the chapter "Roast Mutton," the trolls are verified as turned to stone in The Lord of the Rings (LoTR). Bilbo's role in this encounter is to fail as a burglar, get everyone in his party caught, and need rescuing by Gandalf. The only room for a lie/exaggeration is maybe the Bill's purse didn't magically talk and he just stepped on a twig or something. But there's lots of evidence in LoTR that hobbits can be very quiet when walking in a forest if they need to.

In the chapter "Goblin-cave," Bilbo sounds the alarm, which allows Gandalf to escape and eventually come to the dwarves' rescue. But otherwise, he does not have much to be proud of. He does not wield Sting in anger, does not do anything particularly brave, and falls behind during the escape.

In "Riddles in the Dark," Bilbo does lie about how he obtained the Ring. That aside, Gollum asking riddles is verified by Gandalf in LoTR, it provides a "signature" that reveals his Stoor nature. Bilbo does not win the contest fairly - "what have I got in my pocket" is not a proper riddle. And before that, he stumbles on one answer "time" without having actually solved the riddle. So he doesn't come off as the greatest riddle-master ever or something.

In "Out of the Frying Pan," Bilbo lies to the dwarves and Gandalf about how he snuck up on Balin and how he escaped the goblins. Otherwise, the dramatic parts of this chapter are all Bilbo "along for the ride." And he does have plenty of witnesses for those events.

In "Beorn’s House," Bilbo doesn't really do much here other than eat and sleep a lot, and misunderstand Gandalf's report that Beorn has gone towards the mountains looking for goblins. He thinks Beorn has betrayed them and will lead the goblins to them. So again, he doesn't come off as some master of cunning and adventure.

In "Mirkwood," Bilbo might have lied about climbing to the top of the tree, but even then, his climb fails. He can't see Erebor and the narrator tells us that he doesn't "have the sense to see" that they are in a valley. When they see the elves' fires in the distance, Bilbo agrees with Bombur that they should leave the path against Beorn and Gandalf's warnings and Thorin's protests.

In "Spiders," Bilbo comes into his own and saves the dwarves independently of Gandalf. However, the exact sequence of events remains open to interpretation. While some of his actions, such as throwing stones, cutting with Sting, and using the Ring, are very hobbit-like, the others are not. If we believe that Sam took on Shelob and won, why not believe this of Bilbo? The dwarves, incapacitated for much of the action, came out of the encounter alive and participated in the battle towards the end. Therefore, the Wood-elves likely rescued them, but did not capture Bilbo in the process.

In "Barrels Out of Bond," most of Bilbo's success is due to the Ring. He is clever in this chapter but not unbelievably so. And of course, he arrives at Laketown drenched and with a terrible cold, hardly a heroic figure.

In "On the Doorstep," Bilbo, while scouting with Fili and Kili, who do not survive the Battle of the Five Armies, finds the path up to the doorstep. He does not take credit for their discovery. In "Inside Information," Bilbo goes into the mountain, comes out with a silver chalice, and about 10 minutes later, Smaug comes out and wrecks the place. Little reason to doubt his account that he stole that chalice from the dragon's hoard. In "The Arkenstone," there are lots of witnesses that the stone managed to get into Bard's hands, and it seems inconceivable that one of Thorin's cousins would have given it away. So, an accomplished burglar at last - but not proud to be one and unable to embrace the burglar 'lifestyle.'

In the "Battle of the Five Armies," Bilbo plays little role, gets knocked out, and is not a great warrior. His heroic deeds are more symbolic and less physical than direct combat.

Through a nuanced analysis, we can see that while Bilbo achieves significant risks and notable feats, the nature of storytelling, his own personality, and the cultural backdrop of Middle-earth suggest that exaggeration or invention could be part of how he narrates his adventures.

Keywords: Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit, Heroic Deeds