Build-A-Character: Development
Characters Are Ignorant. That is, by far, the most important rule you have to consider when building your character. There's an intrinsic relationship between the setting, the plot, and the characters. They all interact seamlessly to create an impressive story. But the world will always have a degree of independence from the others, an existence that will still be there if neither of the other two are present. The plot relies on the characters to execute it, but it's only a sum of the characters' actions and how those actions affect the world around them. The characters, on the other hand, don't have this luxury. They're inherently ignorant of the setting around them, knowing only as much as the author gives them. They're entirely unaware of the overarching plot until it's already happened.
The point I'm trying to make is that characters will always have some sort of development before the story begins. Character development might be the most important aspect of a story behind the integral plot and setting, but it's an aspect that is often neglected until the point where the story begins. No matter when a story starts, the characters have existed before that in the setting, and their lives continue on regardless. Thus, even though the majority of a character's development should happen during the plot of a story, there will always be instances before the plot begins that the character has a drastic character development point. It's important not to neglect this, especially when we're going to go so deeply into one particular story to examine why character development is so important.
We tend to look at fantasy fiction on A Day in the Page, even though many of the concepts we discuss are just as applicable to all styles of fiction. Today, we'll take a look at a classic, The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins is an excellent character to examine, so let's take a look at what makes him him.
The Beginning
The best place to begin with character development is discussing the events leading up to the beginning of a story. In this regard, Bilbo Baggins is an excellent subject. Like we talked about above, a character has to have some events that make them who they are in the beginning of a story. In a sense, character development isn't something that can be restrained to a single story. It's a lifelong process that doesn't have a definitive beginning and end. We can, however, determine where the majority of Bilbo's character development takes place, simply by looking through the beginning of the Hobbit. Even in the first few pages, we get an excellent description (though admittedly lengthy) of his upbringing:
"This hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours’ respect, but he gained— well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end."
Already, we have a few excellent tidbits of Bilbo's backstory, as well as several more pieces of information we can infer from the text. While Tolkien's writing may be reminiscent of an older time, where larger blocks of text were more widely accepted, he doesn't skimp on backstory at all. We're able to infer that Bilbo has lived in The Hill all his life, that he is rich, and that most Bagginses never have adventures and don't particularly care for them. This, in combination with the fact that Tolkien tells us that hobbits eat very often, becomes immensely important later on. We can also infer, from the emphasis placed on the fact that Bagginses don't ever have adventures, that an adventure is precisely what drives Bilbo's character development throughout the story.
Bilbo's Transformation
Bilbo's characterisation in the story is a peculiar thing. We can see that his character changes subtly over the course of the story, becoming less of a Baggins and more of a Took, but there are a few pivotal points that spur that change on. Two of them, perhaps the two most important, are the oft-unseen mealtimes and Bilbo's discovery of the One Ring. Now, I know what you're thinking: how does eating food change Bilbo's character? It's really simple, if you take those earlier inferences into account. We know that hobbits like food, and Bilbo has a particular love for meals, even for a hobbit. Once he is strong-armed into an adventure with the dwarves, however, he begins to lose that ability to binge whenever he feels. He only eats twice a day, as opposed to the half-dozen or so formal meals he experienced before. Initially, he is surprised and bitter at the idea of only eating two meals, but over time his character changes. He becomes accustomed to only eating his portion at camps, and appreciates the dwarves all the more for it.
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There is one turning point in the story that really drives Bilbo's character development home, however. That is the Ring. Bilbo's encounter with the Ring could initially be construed as a plot device, were it not for the information that the readers already have to the contrary. We, as readers, know that the One Ring is a tremendously evil magical artefact from our experiences with The Lord of the Rings. Bilbo, however, doesn't know that. He simply believes it is a ring that can turn him invisible when he needs it to. Over the course of the story, however, it leaves its mark on Bilbo. The first sign is when he encounters the dwarves after finding the Ring and escaping from a pack of wolves:
"Indeed Bilbo was so pleased with their praise that he just chuckled inside and said nothing whatever about the ring; and when they asked him how he did it, he said: “Oh, just crept along, you know— very carefully and quietly.”
The fact that Bilbo doesn't immediately share with Gandalf the Ring--even if he didn't want the dwarves to know of its existence--is a bit troubling. Of the entire party, Gandalf obviously places the most faith in Bilbo, and vice versa. Bilbo's inability to share his knowledge of a magic item, to a wizard no less, is slightly concerning. This reluctance becomes even more pronounced in the later chapters of the book, and when Bilbo is finally forced to reveal himself, he does so with great trepidation.
These are only two examples of the immensely complex subject that is Bilbo's character. Entire essays could be written about the character development in The Hobbit, and while we don't have time for a full essay, I hope that we've created a decent summary of the most pivotal points in the plot for him. As with all things, the concepts we've discussed can be applied to more than just fantasy fiction, spanning across every genre of fiction.
Excerpts lovingly provided from the Kindle edition of The Hobbit:
Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Hobbit (Kindle Locations 101-105). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Hobbit (Kindle Locations 1530-1531). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
