No Longer at Home: Bilbo Baggins, Ecological Dwelling, and the Self's Supplementarity in The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

We present an ecocritical analysis of Bilbo Baggins in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, contending that his heroic evolution is most comprehensively interpreted through his changing interactions with the natural surroundings he encounters. This study builds on Elizabeth Anne Turello’s thesis, and looks at Bilbo’s journey from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain through the Misty Mountains. Employing Lawrence Buell’s notion of “place-connectedness,” the research illustrates how Bilbo evolves into a “ecological hero,” prioritising preservation above exploitation. Through his experiences with the uncaring power of the Misty Mountains, the darkness of Mirkwood, and the ruined Lonely Mountain, Bilbo learns to appreciate places for more than just their usefulness, showing that he cares more about protecting them than taking them. But Buell’s theory could make it seem like cumulative coherence is possible. Derrida’s notion of the supplement posits an alternative perspective. The supplement is both an addition and a replacement; it completes what it is designed to serve while taking its place. Every situation that Bilbo meets not only enhances an existing identity but radically reshapes it. The Shire is only made into ‘home’ after someone leaves. The wild shows how imperfect domesticity is. The Mountain changes what ‘home’ means forever. Bilbo does not come back with a bigger self; he comes back with a self that is so different that it cannot be recognized—made up of the places he has left behind. He does not feel at home anymore, not even in his own kitchen. An ecological hero must also be an unsettled self.

کلیدواژه ها:

Bilbo ، ecocriticism ، supplementarity ، place-connectedness ، ecological hero