Common
Fantasy
Archetypes
The Hobbit
The Quest
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The main objective that the
hero and his party must
accomplish in the story
In most fantasy stories, the typical objective is to
defeat a great evil, right a wrong, or restore order
The fight of good against evil is key
The quest is epic in proportion – the need to
succeed dominates the story and the characters
and audience are frequently reminded of this
Long journey (both in time and distance) packed
with hardships, close-calls, and battles
Questions for The Quest
1.
2.
3.
Explain how Bilbo’s objective in the story
demonstrates the quality of a quest
Give two reasons why the events in the story
can be seen as a fight of good vs. evil
Give two specific examples from the novel
(including page numbers) that demonstrate
the story’s epic nature.
The Hero
 The
protagonist of the
story who others rely upon
to succeed in the quest
 The hero usually has special abilities (strength,
intelligence, resourcefulness) that make
him/her the only person who can truly
succeed in the quest
 The hero frequently grows and matures as a
result of the experiences he/she has during
the quest, especially if the hero is a child or
displays childlike qualities
Questions for The Hero
 Explain
what makes Bilbo Baggins the
hero of this story, including any special
abilities
 Explain two ways in which Bilbo displays
“childlike qualities” in the novel
 Explain how Bilbo matures as a result of his
experiences on the quest
The Party or Family
 The
party is a group of secondary characters
that assist the hero in the quest
 They frequently allow the hero to unlock his
true potential and discover things about
himself that he never knew, either by sharing
their own feelings and experiences, or else by
putting him in situations that force him to rise
to the occasion
 Additionally the party members will
frequently learn things about themselves
through their interactions with the hero
The Party Questions
 Name
at least three other members of
Bilbo’s party, not dwarves
 Give a specific example from the book in
which you explain how Bilbo’s party helps
him grow or mature
 Give two examples from the story showing
how Bilbo helps the members of the party
to learn or progress as characters
The Old Man
A
character that may or may not join the
hero’s party, but who still helps the hero to
succeed by offering wisdom, advice, and
knowledge
 The old man frequently has magical
powers
Questions for The Old Man
 Explain
what purpose Gandalf serves in the story
 Give one specific piece of advice, knowledge,
or property Gandalf give the party that allows
them to complete their quest, then explain how
they could not have done so without it
 Give one example of Gandalf’s use
of magic in the story, explaining how
he used his powers to assist the party.
The Villain and
Monsters
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The antagonist of the story that prevents the hero
from succeeding in the quest
The villain may be humanoid or monster, but in
fantasy literature, the villain’s evil is usually
noticeable in their appearance as well as their
actions
Regular monsters are defined by simple emotions
like greed or hunger or anger and exist only to
satisfy those needs by robbing, eating and killing
Villains are intelligent – can create complex plans
and execute these over time. Many of these are
designed to trick the hero into failing
Questions for
The Villain and Monsters
 For
any monsters in the story, give one specific
quality for that monster that makes it monstrous
 Explain how and why Smaug represents the
story’s villain, using two specific examples from
the book.
 Contrast any one of the monsters from the book
with Smaug; explain what separates them and
why the monster you selected is NOT also the
story’s villain
Animals
 In
fantasy literature, animals play an important
role
 Most times, animals assist the hero and are often
on the “good” side
 It is usually because they dislike the “evil” side
and not because they like the hero
 Animals (who often have magical powers)
represent nature and the “evil” is often
destroying nature, so the animals help in order to
preserve nature, not to be helpful
Questions for Animals
(includes: eagles, Beorn, the thrush, the ravens)
 Select
one animal from the story and give an
example that shows them to be on the “good”
side of the conflict
 Give a specific example from chapters 14-19
where an animal helped to turn the tide of any of
the numerous conflicts described in favor of the
“good guys”.
 For any of the animals in the story, find proof from
the novel that they are helping Bilbo and his
party for selfish reasons
Literary Concept Bildungsroman
 This
is any story in which the protagonist,
who is usually a child living a comfortable
lifestyle, gets kicked out of that lifestyle
(and typically his home) through some
sudden and/or tragic event, then learns
and grows as a person as a result of the
experiences he has had in the story
Your Personal Essay
the concept of Bildungsroman to
Bilbo Baggins. Utilize examples from the
novel. Please include at least five specific
instances that you can quote from the
novel.
 Apply
Bilbo’s Self-Discovery
 Ch
1 – Bilbo is recruited to be a burglar
 Ch 2 – Bilbo’s interactions with the trolls
 Ch 4 – Bilbo’s interactions with Gollum
 Ch 8 – Bilbo’s interactions with the spiders
 Ch 9 – Bibo rescues the dwarfs from the
wood elves
 Ch 12 – Bilbo’s interactions with Smaug
 Ch 15 – Bilbo’s theft of the Arkenstone
and betrayal of the dwarves