Character Analysis
A Role Model for Adventure
Bilbo sure is one adventurous hobbit. As a member of a race famous for not being famous, Bilbo breaks the mold.
You may have heard of a little book called The Hobbit or There and Back Again, which is Tolkien's first published venture into the world of Middle-earth. Bilbo has seen cave trolls turned to stone, the inside of an elven prison, a lair of Mirkwood spiders, and real, fire-breathing dragon, just to name a few.
So it's no wonder that Bilbo is so eager to go out in the world again. He's tired of reenacting the saga of the cave trolls to silly hobbit children. He wants to wander through the Misty Mountains once again, or ride the backs of Great Eagles. It's this same "real spirit" that lead Bilbo to adopt Frodo; he sees a bit of himself in his nephew.
But let's not forget that Bilbo is still a hobbit through and through. When he first greets Gandalf he immediately begins hustling about the house trying to prepare a decent hobbit-style meal:
BILBO: You've caught me a bit unprepared. I'm afraid we've only got cold chicken and a bit of pickle—oh and there's some cheese here, oh no that won't do! We've got raspberry jam, an apple tart but we've not much for afters. Oh no we're all right; I've found some sponge cake.
Not only is Bilbo a snack-loving gourmand, but he's also drawn to the quaint beauty of the Shire. He talks of Frodo being in love with "the woods, the fields, and the little rivers," but he himself speaks of them so wistfully that it's obvious that Bilbo too is very much attached to his home.
The Ring-keeper
So if Bilbo is so attached to his old stomping-grounds, why does he say:
BILBO: I need a holiday...a very long holiday and I don't expect I shall return... in fact, I mean not to.
Well, Bilbo also says that he feels "thin... sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread" (a hobbit simile if we've ever heard one). The problem is that this feeling isn't from being at home in Hobbiton, like Bilbo suspects. What's stretching Bilbo is the Ring.
Bilbo has had the Ring for six decades; a very long time for possessing something so hyper-addictive that it ensnares Boromir in a matter of seconds. Bilbo has become to attached to the Ring that he calls it "my precious" (a phrase borrowed from Gollum) and turns him into a demon when he sees it around Frodo's neck in Rivendell.
Ultimately, being a bearer of the One Ring allows Bilbo takes a ship with the elves to the Undying Lands where he can live out his life in a final, peaceful adventure.