How Does Bilbo Use Internal Conflict In The Hobbit

In many fantasy stories, and in general fiction novels, a character must face a daring challenge and overcome it in the end to reach their final destination. This challenge could be a physical enemy that they need to beat, or an internal conflict. When starting to read The Hobbit, the reader may be inclined to think that Smaug is the main physical antagonist and a challenge for Bilbo Baggins to overcome. In reality, The Hobbit falls into the second category, and Bilbo’s main struggle in the story is to keep balance between his two inner selves, his Baggins side and his Took side. Bilbo is not the only character that faces inner conflict throughout The Hobbit. J. R. R. Tolkien uses internal conflict to show the gradual character development
Bilbo’s cloak’s “buttons burst off in all directions” (89), symbolising how he is growing from his child-like character. While traveling through the Mirkwood Forest, this character development is clearly shown. When Bilbo and the dwarves are captured by the spiders, Bilbo is able to use his wits from his Baggins side and the courage from his Took side. Tolkien uses this internal conflict, in this case Bilbo’s Baggins and Took side, to show the gradual development throughout The Hobbit. Compared to the low-mimetic hero of Bilbo, who is described as a small hobbit under the hill, Thorin is first introduced into The Hobbit as “enormously important” (10) and the great son of Thrain, King under the Mountain. Unlike Bilbo, Thorin is not a hero, and even the author uses authorial intrusion to state that, “dwarves are not heroes” (213) since they value wealth over the greater good. Even though Thorin is not a hero, he still struggles with internal conflict much like Bilbo, but instead of the dual nature Bilbo struggles against, he struggles between greed and generosity. Greed causing conflicts and corruption is a recurring theme throughout the story, not just by