Wealth in The Hobbit

It seems that greed never allows you to think you have enough, and in the case of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien it demonstrates how corruptive it can truly be. From the surface one may not think of a half sized person as the usual hero. However, by looking into the personalities of the characters from The Hobbit it is obvious that heroes come in many different shapes and sizes. By comparing the various cases of greed and selflessness exhibited by Smaug, Thorin, and Bilbo, it becomes apparent that the what each character valued as important was one of the true driving forces behind their actions throughout the novel. The dragon Smaug is the true epitome of greed. Its conquering of the Lonely Mountain had the sole purpose to collect treasure. It has absolutely no use for the treasure that used to better the lives of people such as those who live in Lake Town. Smaug symbolizes the true extent of what happens when one gives in to greed. Furthermore, any interest Smaug didn't place on his gold was instead focused on himself and his reputation. This is shown when Smaug risks the loss of his gold by allowing Bilbo to live when he is given complements, bolstering his self centered attitude. In a way Thror had taken the place of Smaug long before his conquering when he embraced the power that comes with gold. The day that Smaug came simply shifted power from a figurative dragon to a real one. Although Thorin and the dwarves claim that their journey is to reclaim their homeland, their real motivation is greed to become wealthy once more. This is shown when the dwarves rush to find a way to protect their treasure when the armies of men and elves come to the mountain. Greed even brings Thorin to rather childish behavior of refusing to negotiate with the other races. However, the fact that he does not seek wealth only for himself makes him different than Smaug. Despite being the king of the dwarves he travels with, he asks for a share of treasure of equal