Bilbo's sword, Sting, plays an important role in JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit - a role that seems almost incongruous for its size. Through each of his appearances, Sting's growing significance as a plot element simultaneously symbolizes the strides in Bilbo's journey to becoming a true hero. The roles of the weapon with overlooked potential and the hobbit with underestimated abilities ultimately prove more significant than imagined. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Bilbo's encounter with the trolls is what leads to Sting's discovery. Because his experience with the trolls represents his first encounter with the true dangers of the world outside the Shire, Bilbo's actions reflect those of a typical hobbit with an easy, sheltered life. Although he escapes the trolls alive, in this part of the novel he is depicted as a character of extreme cowardice, hiding in a bush while his dwarf friends take on the status of future fodder for the trolls. However, after the trolls are turned to stone, his success in overcoming the first taste of danger is rewarded with the discovery of Sting in the troll's cave. Compared to the other precious elven-made swords found in the cave, Sting appears insignificant, as “it would have made only a tiny knife for a troll, but was as good as a short sword for the hobbit” (Tolkien 42). ). Like Sting, Bilbo appears useless and incapable of accomplishing great feats at this point in the novel. For a subsequent period of time, during which the dwarves consider Bilbo a burden due to his useless presence, the hobbit forgets about his sword. However, when Bilbo is abandoned in the goblin tunnels, he remembers the dagger in his possession. During this time of despair, Sting brings a ray of hope to Bilbo. While meeting Gollum, Bilbo finds that his hope is justified when Gollum takes on a polite appearance, "anxious to appear friendly, at least for the time being, and until he has found out more about the sword and the hobbit" (73). Sting's presence, combined with Bilbo's composed demeanor, makes Gollum cautious long enough for Bilbo to plan his escape. After this episode, in which Sting plays a small but vital role by giving hope to Bilbo and apprehension to Gollum, the idea of ​​Bilbo being a capable hero becomes less ridiculous to the dwarves. As Bilbo proudly boasts to them about his adventures, they look at him with an awe he had not received before. Although Bilbo gains Sting early in the novel, it is not until he kills the giant spider in the forest that he names his sword: "Somehow, the killing of the giant spider, all alone in the dark without help of the wizard or the dwarves or anyone else, it made a big difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt like a different person, and a much fiercer and bolder man despite his empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back his scabbard. 'I'll give you a name,' he told him, 'and I'll call you Sting'" (156). The scene that follows, in which Bilbo's first impulse upon seeing his friends trapped by spiders is to save them himself, contrasts sharply with the inept way in which he handled his friends' imprisonment by the trolls as a rookie adventurer at the beginning of the film. novel. Such exponential growth in courage and selflessness reflects Bilbo's extreme growth in heroism. Even though Bilbo has already managed to escape from Gollum on his own, the virtue of saving his own life pales in comparison to the chivalry present in the desire to save others...