Heroism in The Hobbit

The topic of my Inquiry Project is heroism through the ages. My first book choice is The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book appealed to me because the protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is not a typical epic hero. In the book he is referred to as a "expert burglar", instead of a hero.

I am a little over half way through the book, and I have noticed a significant shift in Bilbo's heroic acts. Towards the beginning of the book, Bilbo had no idea how to protect himself or his friends. He cowered in fear when facing the cave trolls. It was Gandalf the Grey wizard who saved Bilbo and the dwarves in that instant. Something I found strange about this part of the book was that Gandalf did not use magic to save them. Instead he mimicked the trolls voices so that they became confused. I think he did that to show Bilbo a way to help and protect the company. Later in the book Bilbo uses a similar technique, with the help of a invisibility ring, to lead the giant spiders away from his friends. In the instance with the spiders, Bilbo taunts them into following him deep into the forest.

From my reading thus far, I have deducted that the hero sometimes has a mentor of some sort that teaches him/her skills that will help the hero perform the heroic deeds necessary to protect his/her friends, family, and/or the innocent.