The concept of heroism has fascinated us for centuries because we are able to empathize with the hero and see in him a reflection of ourselves. Heroic literature was expanded and modified, but scholars such as Joseph Campbell believed that many of these stories shared a similar structure, which he described in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. It also suggests how many of the archetypal heroes we know are just variations of the same hero and how many of their quests concern us, giving us a sense of security. The quests in both stories hold great importance in the characters' lives and are similar in intensity. While the external conflicts in The Hobbit and Incarceron explore the concepts of recovery and freedom, Bilbo must deal with the internal conflict of stepping out of his comfort zone, while Finn struggles to find his true identity. Their quests were significant in that they were life-changing for both heroes and they were both higher on the intensity scale. At the very beginning of the novels, both protagonists seemed to lack heroic traits. Bilbo was more than happy to relax in his cozy hobbit hole and Finn stayed in his cell all day sulking. However, after their quests, we really see them transform from underdogs to heroes in their own right and they clearly move beyond their old lives. The quests were also significant in the way they impacted the lives of the people around them. Bilbo's quest changed the lives of the people of Laketown, the Durin Folk, and the citizens of Middle-earth. During his quest, he also found the ring which will play an essential role in the adventures to come. After Finn completed his quest, he gave the prisoners new hope and promised to talk better with them as they completed their quests. We may not need to escape from prison or slay a dragon, but we can still learn lessons from these heroes that might help us in the best and worst journey we have to go through……. That's life. Works Cited Campbell, Joseph. The hero with a thousand faces. Novato, CA: New World Library, 2008. Print. Fisher, Catherine. Incarcerate. New York: Firebird, 2010. Print.Jason. “What makes a hero?” Infographic Digital Art Community for Artist Work Tutorial Art Concept Art Portfolio. CGMeetup, January 24, 2013. Web. April 21, 2014. “Lonely Mountain.” The one wiki to rule them all. Wikia, 2014. The web. April 21, 2014. .Tolkien, JRR The Hobbit, or there and back. London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2012. Print.