ROLE ANALYSIS of the MAIN CHARACTER IN J. R. R. TOLKIEN’S THE HOBBIT

Abstract

Literature is a written material, which has close relation with human experiences, thoughts, feelings, and imagination. Literary work is divided into three forms, namely: poetry, drama, and novel. Novel itself is the reflection of human’s problem and his daily activities. Generally, authors appeal and express ideas to portray the world around them, including their fantasies. The Hobbit is a fantasy heroic children’s novel written by an Englishmen, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. The Hobbit is a high adventure tale, undertaken by a company of dwarves, in search of dragon-guarded gold. A reluctant partner in this perilous quest is Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving, unambitious hobbit, who surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and his skill as a burglar. Tolkien acknowledged that his hero, Bilbo Baggins, was patterned on the rural Englishmen of his own time. It is not only a complete and marvellous tale in itself, but also forms a prelude to its sequel, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The first reason why I choose this novel because this novel has not already been submitted for any studies or any publications in this institution. Secondly, the roles of Bilbo Baggins in this novel are interesting to discuss, because in their quest Bilbo has so many other roles besides his main roles as a thief. Bilbo’s roles are so crucial in order to help the Dwarves win back the treasure stolen by Smaug. Bilbo’s characters also develop while he is on the quest. The goal of the study of this thesis is to describe the roles of Bilbo Baggins, how he applies his roles to help the dwarves, and finally help him to develop into a better person with a better moral value. The approach to use in this thesis is structural approach because it concerns with the characterization and conflicts, which will show Bilbo’s role in his quest with the Dwarves for treasure in which those roles will also develop his character. While the method to use in analyzing this thesis is inductive method.