The Hobbit brings us the beloved character of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit with more to him than at first appears. Here are some quotes from the book which give us a glimpse into Bilbo's character development.
Still it is probable that Bilbo... although he looked and behaved exactly like a second edition of his solid and comfortable father, got something a bit queer in his make-up from the Took side, something that only waited for a chance to come out.
The Tooks are a queer lot in Bag-End. They're adventure-seekers and daredevils, and Bilbo, although only half a Took, is certainly no exception. Though at first he may appear just like his "solid and comfortable father," Bungo Baggins, Bilbo is really a hero in hiding, waiting for his chance to prove it. Even Bilbo himself at times shows an unwittingly Tookish side to him.
“Bless me, life used to be quite inter- I mean, you used to upset things badly in these parts once upon a time.”
The Took has nearly been driven out of him, but not quite. Gandalf can still see it.
“There’s a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself.”
Even before the adventure of the spiders, Bilbo is beginning to show signs of his inner hero. When he comes upon the trolls in the woods, he is frightened, but he goes closer and attempts to pickpocket one of them. Even though this attempt proves fruitless, again and again, we see Bilbo performing small acts of courage that show us his development.
Another example of his courage is when he comes upon Gollum in the tunnels. He is terrified, as any reasonable person would be, but his words and manner are confident, and he even gibes at the creature.
After some while Bilbo became impatient. “Well, what is it?” He said. “The answer’s not a kettle boiling over, as you seem to think from the noise you are making.”
Later in the book, Bilbo is able to save the dwarves from the spiders, coming up with a plan and acting swiftly, alone and unaided by anyone.
Things were looking pretty bad again when suddenly Bilbo reappeared and charged into the astonished spiders unexpectedly from the side. “Go on! Go on!" He shouted, “I will do the stinging.” And he did. He darted backwards and forward, slashing at spider-threads, hacking at their legs, and stabbing at their fat bodies if they came too near.
Bilbo himself acknowledges the change within himself later in the book.
Bilbo began to feel there really was something of a bold adventurer about himself after all.
When the company makes it to the mountain and finds Smaug, Bilbo calmly comes up with a plan and acts upon it, despite the dangers. He volunteers to go down into the dragon's lair again, even though he has already been once and they know that the dragon is very angry.
“Now I will make you an offer. I have got my ring and will creep down this very noon - then if ever Smaug ought to be napping - and see what he is up to. Perhaps something will turn up. ‘Every worm has his weak spot,’ as my father used to say, though I am sure it was not from personal experience.”
And once Bilbo is there, talking to Smaug in riddles to buy time, he finishes his conversation with an almost sassy parting speech.
“Well, I really must not detain Your Magnificence any longer." He said, “Or keep you from much-needed rest. Ponies take some catching, I believe, and so do burglars.” He added as a parting shot.
Bilbo's wit leads Smaug to chase him out with fire, but even after this, Bilbo keeps his head. Later on, he makes an attempt to save everyone the trouble of war by stealing and handing over the Arkenstone.
Yes, Bilbo has changed much from the worried little hobbit from Bag-End, and he returns as a fierce and intelligent hero with more than gold to show for his adventures. As Gandalf himself remarks:
“My dear Bilbo!” He said. “Something is the matter with you! You are not the hobbit that you were.”
In a sense, Gandalf perceives depth to Bilbo's character that other people do not see. It is as much the case that Bilbo's potential has been limited by circumstances and that his adventure with the dwarves gives him the opportunity to fully live up to and into the potential as that he somehow changes character.
At the beginning of The Hobbit, Bilbo appears to be a somewhat conventional hobbit who has assimilated the values of his community, albeit with some minor eccentricities which eventually are revealed as part of his actually heroic nature. He expresses this superficial conventionality in the following statement:
“We are plain quiet folk, and I have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, and uncomfortable things.”
As Bilbo listens to the dwarves, something of his hidden nature begins to awaken:
As they sang the hobbit felt in love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving through him, a fierce and a jealous love, the desire of the hearts of dwarves.
As Bilbo embarks on his adventure, despite complaints about food and weather, he gradually reveals a sort of quiet determination and bravery. One major turning point occurs when he kills a giant spider in Chapter Eight:
Somehow the killing of this giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark . . . made a great difference . . . He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass.
In Chapter Sixteen, Bilbo has done the moral and courageous act of bringing the Arkenstone to Bard. His transformation into a true hero is highlighted by the following statement of the Elvenking:
"Bilbo Baggins!" he said. "You are more worthy to wear the armour of elf-princes than many that have looked more comely in it. But I wonder if Thorin Oakenshield will see it so. . . . I advise you to remain with us, and here you shall be honoured and thrice welcome."
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