“There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed” ~Mahatma Gandhi. Take a glance at the world around us, our society now consists of grounds of greed and avarice. Individuals have other dreams regarding social life, money and aesthetics rather than focusing on relationships, respect, reputation and trust. The world can’t provide any more than our necessities: nature, food, fresh water and oxygen, yet people ask for more. In addition, around a year ago researchers had a study called “The Science of Greed” conducted by Paul Piff and it described how people would react if they were rich. They started with a rigged game of Monopoly so one would start with three times more money than the other. During the course of the game, they noticed the richer person would tend to get ruder as the game progressed. The person laughed at the other person, lied to the other person and acted more dominant compared to the other.
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In conclusion, this study relates to The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien since Tolkien clearly portrays evil through greed. And in this novel, various characters are driven by greed. In relation, I believe that this real life scenario is something we see everywhere. In the novel, The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, the ruthless battle between good and evil is portrayed through three significant characters: Thorin the dwarf, Sméagol the hobbit and Thranduil the Elvenking which teaches us that the root of all evil is greed.
In The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, son of Thror starts to reveal his greed after the dwarves successfully recollect their long lost gold. Firstly, Thorin had one mission from the beginning which was to obtain the precious Arkenstone as all dwarves are naturally greedy. Not to mention that when Thorin realized that Smaug died, he had no thought of the wrath Smaug could have possibly caused, taking into account that it is he who destroyed the city of Dale in an instant. Correspondingly, Thorin’s only desire was gold thus it came upon Thorin who gave up lives of innocent men and women yet the dwarf was untroubled and delighted as he sat in solitude gazing at the gold he retained. Additionally, Thorin was so in need of the Arkenstone that he was even dreaming about it, “The Arkenstone! The Arkenstone! murmured Thorin in the dark, half dreaming with his chin upon his knees.” (Tolkien.215) This represents that Thorin needs the Arkenstone and because of his greed, he would have done anything to obtain it. Secondly, Thorin showed his rage when Bilbo confessed he had taken the Arkenstone to Bard to resolve this problem. As the Arkenstone was Thorin’s prized possession, Thorin went furious and nearly killed innocent Bilbo, “You undersized-burglar! … said Thorin dropping Bilbo on the top of the wall.” (Tolkien.254) Of course, nearly killing his close friend Bilbo was due to Thorin’s extraordinary value for this gem. Lastly, Thorin showed that he wasn’t able to control himself when it came to gold. As a matter of fact, he lost his friends and his life due to gold, he also declined to give Bard his deserved portion of the gold for killing the dragon and attempted to keep it all for himself, “How came you by it! (Arkenstone) Thorin yelled.” (Tolkien.254) Bard needed to use the valued Arkenstone to convince Thorin but that led to further conflicts. To conclude, I state that Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King under the Mountain doesn’t live up to his title due to his greed. He put every gold coin above his friends, fellow dwarves and even Bard. Thorin is solely responsible for his actions which led to his disloyal death. Ultimately, Thorin’s lead for showing evil is the obsession and greed for wealth. Another primary character who displays his greed in The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R Tolkien is Gollum who is also known as Sméagol. He is often referred to as Gollum as that’s the sickening-like sound that comes out of his throat randomly. Sméagol is a hobbit; specifically an early type of hobbit called a stoor (one that loves water and is mid-sized) and his evil obsession started on a
In conclusion, this study relates to The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien since Tolkien clearly portrays evil through greed. And in this novel, various characters are driven by greed. In relation, I believe that this real life scenario is something we see everywhere. In the novel, The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, the ruthless battle between good and evil is portrayed through three significant characters: Thorin the dwarf, Sméagol the hobbit and Thranduil the Elvenking which teaches us that the root of all evil is greed.
In The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, son of Thror starts to reveal his greed after the dwarves successfully recollect their long lost gold. Firstly, Thorin had one mission from the beginning which was to obtain the precious Arkenstone as all dwarves are naturally greedy. Not to mention that when Thorin realized that Smaug died, he had no thought of the wrath Smaug could have possibly caused, taking into account that it is he who destroyed the city of Dale in an instant. Correspondingly, Thorin’s only desire was gold thus it came upon Thorin who gave up lives of innocent men and women yet the dwarf was untroubled and delighted as he sat in solitude gazing at the gold he retained. Additionally, Thorin was so in need of the Arkenstone that he was even dreaming about it, “The Arkenstone! The Arkenstone! murmured Thorin in the dark, half dreaming with his chin upon his knees.” (Tolkien.215) This represents that Thorin needs the Arkenstone and because of his greed, he would have done anything to obtain it. Secondly, Thorin showed his rage when Bilbo confessed he had taken the Arkenstone to Bard to resolve this problem. As the Arkenstone was Thorin’s prized possession, Thorin went furious and nearly killed innocent Bilbo, “You undersized-burglar! … said Thorin dropping Bilbo on the top of the wall.” (Tolkien.254) Of course, nearly killing his close friend Bilbo was due to Thorin’s extraordinary value for this gem. Lastly, Thorin showed that he wasn’t able to control himself when it came to gold. As a matter of fact, he lost his friends and his life due to gold, he also declined to give Bard his deserved portion of the gold for killing the dragon and attempted to keep it all for himself, “How came you by it! (Arkenstone) Thorin yelled.” (Tolkien.254) Bard needed to use the valued Arkenstone to convince Thorin but that led to further conflicts. To conclude, I state that Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King under the Mountain doesn’t live up to his title due to his greed. He put every gold coin above his friends, fellow dwarves and even Bard. Thorin is solely responsible for his actions which led to his disloyal death. Ultimately, Thorin’s lead for showing evil is the obsession and greed for wealth. Another primary character who displays his greed in The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R Tolkien is Gollum who is also known as Sméagol. He is often referred to as Gollum as that’s the sickening-like sound that comes out of his throat randomly. Sméagol is a hobbit; specifically an early type of hobbit called a stoor (one that loves water and is mid-sized) and his evil obsession started on a