The American Heritage dictionary defines a hero as "A man noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose" or simply "someone who fights for a cause" by WordNet. Bilbo Baggins of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit is not a hero. He might possess a few heroic traits and he might have done a few heroic things, but hero? I think not! The key to both of those definitions is the .".. of purpose" or .".. for a cause." One can't merely do brave things. He must do them for the greater good, not in self-interest as Bilbo did.

I concede that Bilbo did some things that seemed pretty heroic but the one truly heroic thing Bilbo did, the one selfless act, was when he snuck out of his camp in the lonely mountain to the elves and gave them the Arkenston, giving up his treasure, and risking the...