The Hobbit as an archetypal story The Hobbit, written in 1937 by JRR Tolkien, is an episodic adventure of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo's adventure takes him far from his peaceful hobbit lair in Hobbiton, through countless dangers and hostile encounters, to the lonely mountain where Smaug, the magnificent dragon, lies asleep. As a literary work, The Hobbit expresses the twelve stages of Vogler's journey in a very orderly and concise manner. These twelve stages create a journey with many levels of character development and personal growth. Many other fantasy authors have imitated the literary structure of The Hobbit and modeled it to create their own universe with characters who behave very similarly to Bilbo. One such author is Robert Jordan, author of The Wheel of Time series. Jordan's first novel in the Wheel of Time series, The Eye of the World, follows the twelve stages of the journey much like Tolkien's The Hobbit. By examining Bilbo and Rand al'Thor, the protagonist of The Eye of the World, through their episodic adventures, we can identify the twelve stages of the journey and what key elements Jordan may have borrowed from The Hobbit. In The Hobbit the episodic adventure begins with Hobbiton, the small village where Bilbo grew up and lived all his life. This is the Ordinary World, the first stop in the twelve stages of Vogler's journey, where Bilbo meets the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves. Bilbo leaves the ordinary world of Hobbiton to begin his journey with the dwarves and Gandalf, and when he returns after Smaug is defeated, he finds that the village has remained the same but he has grown and changed since his travel experiences. Bilbo's Special World was... center of card... written by JRR Tolkien and The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan, both show a clear resemblance to the twelve stages of Vogler's journey. Bilbo and Rand both face many of the same challenges that transform their characters into more knowledgeable and experienced heroes at the end of their journeys. From the mentors who guide them, to the friends and companions who help them on their journey; Rand and Bilbo are both different characters who go on an almost identical journey for adventure and personal growth. Works cited "Archetypes on the path". Divine Paradox - Eternal Wisdom in Action - meditation, art, sacred tarot. March 10, 2010. Jordan, Robert. The eye of the world. New York: T. Doherty Associates, 1990. Tolkien, JRR The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966.