Who does Bilbo represent?

Answer 1

Due to the fact that the author of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien, was Roman Catholic, I believe that the wizard Gandalf represented Jesus. In the course of the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf: a.) sacrificed himself for his friends in the Mines of Moria like Jesus did on the cross; b.) wrestled a great evil into submission as Jesus did so that people could go to Heaven; c.) came back to life to "complete his task in the world" as Jesus did; and d.) left to go to the Middle-earth equivalent to Heaven with the elves as Jesus left to return to Heaven.

Gandalf's personality is also equivalent to what some people believe Jesus' was like: wise, kind, powerful in a quiet sort of way, and he loved his friends so much that he was willing to die for their sake.

However, Tolkien disliked allegory and had no desire to equate his characters with other people or persons.

In a much more generic sense, Gandalf represents a stock character in the Heroic tradition: the Mentor. This powerful, wise, benevolent, older sage seems to come out of nowhere with advice, wisdom and humor. Although he is NOT the hero, per se, he is immensely important to the protagonist achieving his goal. Other examples in fiction include Merlin the Magician and Yoda from Star Wars, although there are many, many others.

Answer 2

I doubt there's any simple allegorical meaning of Bilbo - Tolkien once wrote that he hated allegory. So, Bilbo won't mean something like the middle-class Britain, or anything like that. But perhaps Bilbo represents an ordinary person in an extraordinary world. Much of Bilbo's dialog is down-to-earth. Many of the things he says and does while in the Shire could have been said or done by a normal everyday human being in a novel set on Earth instead of Middle Earth. In a world of wizards, big Spiders, and Necromancers, left to his own devices he focuses on tobacco, beer, dinner, a comfortable home.... Bilbo is just an ordinary person who is suddenly thrust into a world far vaster than he could imagine filled with wonders he had never conceived existed. I think Tolkien did this was to create a character that the readers could identify with, worry about, and root for. He's a lot like us.