ilbo fits this description perfectly and that is why he is described as “ . . . the ultimate anti-hero, a reluctant adventurer from start to end.” (Acton 1). Bilbo eats at least four meals a day, which include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and tea time. Bilbo finds pleasure in sitting on hisfront porch smoking his pipe after a meal. Even though Bilbo is not the adventuring type, he is akey character throughout the novel. Another key character is Thorin Oakenshield. Thorin is thelead dwarf in the party traveling to the Lonely Mountains. Thorin is a very good dwarf, but he isalso stubborn and set in his ways. Thorin is so stubborn that he won’t even share some of histreasure with the people that have helped him the most. Among the many people that have helped Thorin one stands out among the rest and this man’s name is Bard. Bard is the captain of the guard in the town of Esgaroth on Long Lake. Bard is a very courageous man with the heart of a king. Bard is not the kind of person that would just walk out on his friends in their time of need. He stands strong and fights until the end. Tolkien says, “And they praised the courage of Bard . . . ” (250). Bard is a very good and loyal person, unlike the last two major characters ofthe novel. The first of these is Gollum. Gollum is a very strange creature that resides in the lower tunnels of the Misty Mountains. Gollum spends most of his days paddling around on a lake inside and at the bottom of the Misty Mountains. Gollum is described as “ . . . a small slimy creature . . . as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face.” (Tolkien 71). Gollum hunts the fish in the lake as well as the goblins in the tunnels for food. Another creature that lives in a mountain and eats whatever it can find is Smaug. Smaug is a verypowerful and large red dragon. Smaug is the great dragon that drove dwarves out of their homes i...
