While it may be easy to underestimate the importance of scenic descriptions, setting plays an important role in most literature, including character-driven fantasy. The setting can be written to represent conflicting forces or ideals and to help illustrate the conflict and general idea of ​​a story to the reader. A literary work that uses setting to emphasize conflict and enhance plot development is JRR Tolkien's novel The Hobbit. Throughout the novel, Tolkien emphasizes the importance of two central locations: Bilbo's home on The Hill and the mountain where the dragon Smaug lives. These places not only differ in location, as many miles separate The Hill from the Mountain of Smaug, but they also represent contrasting traits from Bilbo's point of view. Through the contrast between The Hill and the Mountain of Smaug, Tolkien illustrates how the character of Blbo develops throughout the story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay From the beginning of the novel, when Bilbo first describes his hobbit hole in The Hill, the importance of the hobbit hole to Bilbo is obvious. Not only does the picturesque hobbit's lair represent safety, comfort and happiness for Bilbo, but it also contains countless memories of his family, who originally built the house, and of his childhood. Bilbo acknowledges his love and familiarity for his home when he says “…it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort” (Tolkien 1). Essentially, the hobbit's lair represents everything Bilbo has ever known and everything he cares about. As the story progresses, however, and Bilbo moves further from his home on The Hill, Bilbo's character changes dramatically: he becomes more knowledgeable and his values ​​change. By the time he reaches the Mountain of Smaug, Bilbo has faced numerous conflicts, from getting lost in Gollum's cave and managing to escape to battling spiders that attacked him and his friends as they walked through a forest to reach the army. Overall, The Hill helps convey to the reader how Bilbo's character develops and becomes a hero: as his journey progresses, he learns to grapple with his fears and discomfort, the opposite of what The Hill offered to him, and learns that the adventure isn't as bad as he had thought it was at first. While the Hill is a safe and comforting place for Bilbo, the Mountain of Smaug contains the opposite: an unknown territory of danger and malice. The mountain looks threatening by the second Bilbo and the others reach “…the dark cavernous opening in a great rock face between the arms of the Mountain” (Tolkien 189). For Bilbo, the Mountain of Smaug is the pinnacle of the less favorable aspects of the adventure and represents exactly what Bilbo seems to fear: danger, discomfort and change. Before Bilbo even knows what the adventure will be, he vehemently rejects Gandalf when he first goes to Bilbo's house on The Hill to propose the idea of ​​the adventure. Bilbo justifies his rejection of adventure by stating, “We are simple, quiet people, and have no use for adventures… I cannot think what other people see in us” (Tolkien 6). However, when Bilbo reaches the mountain, his vision of the adventure, along with his character, have changed drastically. Along the way, Bilbo not only experienced danger, but learned to face and overcome it. Bilbo's journey and the conflicts he faced throughout it developed and revealed his inner hero. When he finally reaches the Mountain of Smaug, the final goal of the adventure, Bilbo is no longer the same shy person he once was. Even though.