Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Hobbits are a small people of Middle-earth known for their quiet domestic lives, love of food, gardens, comfort, and peaceful surroundings. Bilbo begins the novel as a respectable resident of Hobbiton who has no interest in adventure, but the wizard Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield’s company draw him into the journey to Erebor.
The word “Hobbit” is Tolkien’s invention in its modern literary use, although he developed related ideas about the people and their history over time. Hobbits are not simply miniature humans: Tolkien gives them their own customs, genealogies, calendar traditions, and regional culture.
Bilbo’s transformation from cautious householder to resourceful adventurer is one of the book’s central themes. He later becomes the finder and keeper of the One Ring, connecting The Hobbit directly with The Lord of the Rings.