The Hobbit & The Hero's Journey (lesson plans and resources for Chapters 1-11)

The primary objective behind teaching J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is to demonstrate that the story exemplifies Sir Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey. By identifying certain aspects of The Hero’s Journey while reading, students should be able to follow Tolkien’s work and find trends in the storyline, making connections between the work of fiction and the pattern Campbell lays out for many protagonists in story-writing. Exploring the nuances of The Hero’s Journey will help students understand the importance of character development and teach them the various tenants of Campbell’s cycle so that they can eventually acknowledge these patterns in a variety of texts throughout a number of genres.