Bilbo Greed

In the book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Bilbo, a small hobbit, goes on an adventure with a group of dwarves and a wizard. The goal of this adventure is to retrieve the gold that was stolen from them by the dragon Smaug. Throughout the story, there are many themes that show powerful messages, but there is one theme that is clearly the most important and evident in the book. In the novel The Hobbit, greed is shown as the main theme through setting, plot, and the development of characters. The first way greed is shown as the main theme is through setting. The setting of the novel shows greed because many groups, including elves, dwarves and Smaug, seclude themselves, just to ensure their own safety and self-preservation, and gold, not caring about other

Throughout the story, almost everyone grows greedier and hungrier for the treasure. This shows that the impact of gold on a person can drive them crazy with lust. Some characters in the story even wanted to have treasure so much that they’d either fight for it or die trying. The only person in the story who is not incredibly greedy is Bilbo. Bilbo realizes in the end that treasure was not as important as some other things in the world, and when he finally had the chance to choose his share of the treasure, he didn’t take much at all. “In the end he would only take two small chests, one filled with silver, the other with gold, such as one strong pony could carry” (Tolkien 266). The novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has several themes and messages weaved into its plot. Many of them are very important and well stated, but there is only one that stands out the most: greed. The theme that stands out the most in The Hobbit is greed, shown through setting, plot development, and different characters in the story. "'The king beneath the mountain! ...His wealth is like the sun, his silver like a fountain, his rivers golden run!'" (Tolkien