The Hobbit blog's: The importance of the ring

              During Bilbo's great adventure, Bilbo came across a unique ring. This ring, when worn, was able to turn him invisible. It had gotten Bilbo out of much trouble. The ring, however, has not only done this for Bilbo, but has allowed his character to grow.
              First, I should mention exactly how Bilbo came upon the ring. He fell down a dark hole after he was knocked unconscious when he and his company were trying to escape the goblin infested cavern in the Misty Mountains. He fell down into dark cavern, and when he awoke and traveled through the cavern for a short while, he found the ring by chance. Throughout his adventure, he has used it to hide from enemies and dodge their attacks. This ring has also allowed Bilbo to commit more courageous actions and grow stronger as a character. For example, he used the ring in order to lead the vicious, carnivorous spiders away from his friends so that he could save them. He even used it in order to confront Smaug himself. The ring is like a catalyst in a chemical reaction, it increased the speed of the reaction of Bilbo's courage growing from his adventure. You could even say that it is like a catalyst because it caused Bilbo's courage to grow.
              I do not believe that the only reason that Bilbo is courageous is because of the ring. Bilbo could have  used the ring to run away from his adventure, abandoned his friends to save himself. He did not, however, run away from the troubles of his adventure and confronted them using  a hide-and-strike method (almost like guerrilla warfare). This proves that Bilbo had some inner courage that needed to be awakened, and the ring was just the tool to awaken it.  

The Hobbit blog's: why breaking tradition can benefit one's character

             Don't have anything to do with adventures, that is one of the main hobbit traditions. Nothing good comes from adventures. A respectful hobbit is one who enjoys the benefits of a peaceful day and the comforts of his/her hobbit hole. Bilbo Baggins is no exception. He would sooner stay at home and relax by the fire before going on an adventure, or at least that is what he used to think before he went on his own adventure.
             Bilbo has grown so much as an individual from the adventure he went on. He has grown in both courage and wisdom. Originally, he was shy and weak. Even in the beginning of the adventure, he was very dependent on Gandalf, the wizard. Later on, however, the dwarves started to depend on Bilbo, and he had to learn how to be strong physically and mentally. One example of how Bilbo grew physically was when he saved his dwarf companions from the spiders. He had to cut the dwarves free from the spiders' webs and he had to fight off the spiders. One example of how Bilbo grew mentally was when he came up with an elaborate strategy for how to get the dwarves out of the wood elves dungeon cells. Basically, after he got them out of their cells, he decided to hide them in barrels that were to be thrown into the river back to where the came (because they were filled with wine given to them by the humans who lived nearby and the elves had to return the barrels). If Bilbo did not go on this adventure, he would not have been able to summon up such courage or be able to think up such clever tactics. By breaking the tradition of not going on adventures, Bilbo was able to become stronger and wiser. He does not seem to regret going on this adventure either, and believes he has also become quite an impressive burglar because of it.