The Hobbit: Tests, Enemies and Allies

Question: How did facing the tests, enemies and allies change Bilbo's perspective on his life?

Answer: The tests, enemies and allies changed Bilbo's perspective on his life in many ways. Firstly, facing some of the tests and enemies made Bilbo realize how dangerous the world could really be. He was born and raised in the Shire; a very sheltered area of the world, and until he started his adventure he was completely unaware of the perils of the outside world.
Another way Bilbo's perspective on life changed was that he realized how much in his life he had taken for granted. He was well off, he had a comfortable, safe and relatively normal life, and he didn't realize how fortunate he was to have all of that until it was gone.
Another thing that Bilbo learned from the tests, enemies and allies was that there was a lot more to the world than the Shire. There were so many opportunities for adventure, all he had to do was take them.

The Hobbit: Refusal of the Call

In The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, the main character Bilbo refuses his call to adventure because he doesn't want to leave his home, the Shire, or the comfortable life he's been living. Another reason he doesn't want to leave is because hobbits don't go on adventures, and he doesn't want people to think he's different.
I think that the significance of the refusal of the call is mainly to introduce the reader to the main character by revealing some of his character traits. It shows that Bilbo is a shy hobbit with both an adventerous side and a cautious side, and the cautious side usually wins, untill now.
The author also seems to enjoy bringing up the refusal of the call by saying.
" 'I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!' It was not the last time he wished that!" (Tolkien, The Hobbit 31)

Old Magic: Crossing the Threshold

In the book Old Magic by Marianne Curley there are two main characters; Jarred Thornton and Kate Warren. From a flood that washed away their house, to a fire that destroyed an entire wing of Jarrod's school, the Thorntons have been plagued by bad luck. When Jarrod's father injured his leg the family decided to move to Ashpeak to start a new life. In Ashpeak, Jarrod meets Kate - a witch in training who is certain that Jarrod's family is cursed, but she has a hard time convincing him.

Jarrod's call to adventure happens fairly late in the book when his father tries to kill himself. Jarrod realizes that Kate might not be entirely crazy, and there might be something to her theory about the curse. Kate's grandmother creates a spell that takes the pair back in time to when the curse was placed on Jarrod's family. When Kate crosses the threshold, she is excited, and can't believe she actually went back in time, but Jarrod is more interested in finding the sorcerer who put the curse on his family, and stopping him.

"I yank open the door, my heart thudding somewhere in the vicinity of my tonsils When I see him . . . I can't help but scream a kind of strangled gasp . . . He can hardly speak, his eyes sunken half into his skull, vicious dark circles surrounding them, his skin ashen grey. He doesn't say much except, 'Dad tried to kill himself.' . . . I wait silently while he attempts to pull himself together. When he does, he looks at me, his head tilted, and says, 'I want a shot at Jillian's plan.' " (Marianne Curley, Old Magic 148, 149)