Nathan Dennis
Miller
English 12
3 January 2017
The Power of a Dragon
“My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!” (― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit) These words were the beginnings of an old era starting anew; this was the rebirth of the ancient dragon. Many say that Smaug was the last of the ancient dragons. Dragons throughout time have been seen as the greatest foe a hero could face. Then, during the 1800’s dragons lost their power and turned into something like the 1999 show “Dragon Tales.” They were small, kind creatures that would rather have tea with you then burn you to a crisp. From the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Hobbit” Smaug,
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Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. After his father's death on February 15, 1896 he moved to England with his mother Mabel and younger brother. Then in 1904 Mabel Tolkien was diagnosed as having diabetes, usually fatal in those days. She passed away on 14 November of that year leaving the two orphaned boys more or less destitute. After this Father Francis took charge, and made sure of the boys had what they needed. Throughout all this he was introduced to many forms of literature including myths and poems about dragons and because of myths and poems from these cultures he began to fall in love with dragons. He fell so much so in love with dragons he started writing a book when he was only 7 years all about dragons. It is unknown whether the book was named or even finished but this book started him on a new path that would shape the rest of his …show more content…
Tolkien, dragons were nothing close to their true potential. So to find dragons that had the power he needed he looked back in time a century, back to the dark ages, when stories of dragons ran rampant. There he found the two dragons that would help build his dragon, Smaug, the first being the unnamed dragon from Beowulf. Beowulf was written between the 8th and 11th century, but it existed a great deal longer in oral from. The Beowulf dragon is more of a dangerous beast, there is no talking to it, there is no negotiating with it, it is just a pure force of nature. What wakes it up is a thief as it sleeps on a pile of gold. A golden cup is taken and that's what arouses it to anger. When it is awakened it fights with jets of flame and burns the world around the down to the ground, everything burned, towns, villages and even
J.R.R Tolkien's action packed, fantasy driven, inspiring novel The Hobbit shows the message that everyone must know, that you should never give up even if all hope seems to be lost. It shows setting of evergreen forests with villages scattered along the paths of which they must take and mountains just on the horizon. The read must go along with bilbo baggins a hobbit that does not realize there is more to him than just being a baggins and that he will live up to his family's name. Even after gandalf tells him that he will embark on a great adventure he still doesn’t believe he is anymore than just bilbo. Therefor this story is inspiring and shows that with the setting, character, and theme combined make this story a great read.
The dragon is portrayed as the undefeatable evil. He is nearly invincible, breathes fire, and manages to fatally wound the ultimate hero of the poem. This makes him the ultimate evil Although Beowulf does defeat the dragon, the battle ends in a tie, since both sides perish, which shows the never ending balance between the two extremes: good and evil. The theme of loyalty is also explored here. When the battle between Beowulf and the dragon first begins, “[his] hand-picked troop/ broke ranks and ran for their lives” (1129). This is a common archetype that allows the hero to face the antagonist alone, all while having assistance during the journey leading up to the final battle. The author used this to emphasize the Anglo-Saxon belief of fate. Beowulf was supposed to face the dragon alone, thus his comrades had to disappear. The two ways to do this would have been to have Beowulf go alone, which would conflict with the belief of Warrior Culture, or portray his allies as cowards which would also help reinforce the Anglo Saxon values regarding courage. Thus by adding in the archetype of the cowardly allies, the author creates an emphasis on the important parts of Anglo-Saxon culture without relying on
Dragons lie in the realm of fantasy; legendary creatures who are deeply rooted in magic and have captivated audiences for centuries. The depiction
After fighting and winning many battles, Beowulf's life enters a new stage when he finally becomes king of his homeland, Geatland. Even in his old age, his code of honor still obligates him to fight against an evil, fiery dragon. For fifty years he has governed his kingdom well. While Beowulf is governing, the dragon "...kept watch over a hoard, a steep stone-barrow" (Norton 55). Under it lays a path concealed from the sight of men. Over centuries no one had disturbed the dragon’s kingdom until one day when a thief broke into the treasure, laid hand on a cup fretted with gold, which infuriated the dragon. "The fiery dragon had destroyed the people's stronghold, the land along the sea, the heart of the country" (Norton 57).
When the dragon awakes after three hundred years of sleep, he discovers that his cup has been stolen. The dragon, also known as the worm, fills with anger and rage. Even though he is so angry, he does like the idea of battle: “Yet he took joy in the thought of war, in the work of fighting” (Donaldson 40). The dragon cannot wait to ravage the land of the people where one man has stolen from him: “The hoard-guard waited restless until evening came; then the barrow-keeper was in rage: he would requite that precious drinking cup with vengeful fire” (Donaldson 40). The dragon destroys the land and kills everyone around. The dragon even destroys Beowulf’s home.
Unlike the former two “monsters” in Beowulf, the dragon is not characterized among cold, dark imagery. Rather, Beowulf (representing the “good”) must venture to the “flaming depths” to fight the dragon in its own territory (2549). Instead of a dark, wintry description, the dragon is surrounded by hot, light imagery in respect to the fire it breathes. Although this is the nature of the beast (literally), the Beowulf-poet’s choice of a dragon as the third monster is critical in making a statement about “good” in respect to “evil.” In a way, the speaker is bringing Beowulf and the dragon to an equal level; he even regards the two in battle as “each antagonist” rather than one protagonist and one antagonist (2565). In this manner, the line between “good” and “evil” is obscured even
In contrast, Beowulf is seen as a hero, even when exemplifying the violent and dangerous qualities the dragon is feared for. Anglo-Saxon society prized loyalty, personal valor, and fame. In order to be a hero, one must recognize the need to act, and not shy away from it. The dragon, based on that definition, embodies the Anglo-Saxon idea of a hero: it is loyal to its cause, it is a good warrior, and it recognizes the need to act. It even has a sense of justice and a sense of wrong, shown by the way it reacted to the theft of the chalice. The dragon becomes vengeful and defensive, using cruelty as a means to correct the wrong. Described as “the guardian of the mound” (2302), the dragon’s intent is identical to Beowulf’s. Beowulf is seen as a hero not only because of his actions, but because he is human. The only thing that makes the dragon different is its inhuman qualities, and therefore it is a monster, a “ground-burner” (2713). Heroism in Anglo-Saxon society is a concept embodied by warriors and guardians, who would vie to be the most well-known. Heroism, to the Anglo-Saxons, is an excuse to use cruelty as a way to further one’s fame. It is a social crutch of sorts, leaned on for the vain chance to be immortal. When Beowulf agrees to fight the dragon, it is to have a heroic death, so he may be remembered. In the battle, just as with Grendel and Grendel’s mother,
Beowulf’s life was truly epic struggle. The monsters he battled made it so. Grendel and the dragon, capable of crushing men physically, stood for evils that could just as easily crush men in spirit. These two beasts represented society’s greatest fears, as well as detriments, and Beowulf fearlessly took them on. Grendel taught the hero a valuable lesson about maintaining one’s humanity in a world dominated by the dogs of war. The dragon, showed Beowulf’s mortality, his imperfection, but the hero eradicates it nonetheless, saving his people from not only physical threat, but sin. Bringing in such spiritual and moral dimensions, these two beasts certainly give the story of Beowulf depth.
entertainment. There are many precedents for dragons in medieval literature, two of the most prominent
A hero. Today, by definition, to be a hero is to have abundant power, defiance, to attain fame and wealth, and to have the intrepidity to help the ones who cannot defend for themselves. However, Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien, grows to be a hero without possessing any of these qualities after he partakes in an adventure to help reclaim the Dwarves’ homeland from the dragon Smaug. This quest to the Lonely Mountain brings the indolent hobbit into a completely new world, where he faces trouble and experiences a region of supernatural wonder. Bilbo’s adequacy and heroism are shown in the adventure through his latent cunningness and courageous acts, and through the loyalty and devotion he shows to his companions.
Yet this slave does more than stumble upon the dragon’s mound; he also “[handles] and [removes] a gem-studded goblet; it gained him nothing, though with a thief’s wiles he [outwits] the sleeping dragon” (ln. 2216-2219). Thus disturbed, the dragon is enraged. It is due to this slave’s selfish motives—and those of the men with whom he returns to pillage more—that the dragon’s wrath on people burns. Thus, out of revenge “[the] hoard-guardian [scorches] the ground as he [scours] and [hunts] for the trespasser who had troubled his sleep. Hot and savage, he ke[e]p[s] circling and circling the outside of the mound” (ln. 2293-2295).
Change can be shown in many different ways through objects and persons. So how is change shown in The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien? It could be Bilbo, seen as it is, he is at first looked upon as a “cowardly” fellow who was scared to go ten feet from his hole. But as time grew throughout the adventure, it became noticeable how much Bilbo had change since the beginning of the trip. So overall, the theme of change in The Hobbit is, in fact, shown most through Bilbo because in the beginning of the story, he is hesitant and scared to go through with adventure, in the middle, he is starting to believe he can do it and risks himself, and by the end, he is showing bravery, and sometimes stupidity, above everything else. He had changed from an apprehensive Bilbo, to a courageous Bilbo by the end of the tale.
J.R.R. Tolkien Research Paper As many have grown up during this generation, they have been dazzled by the work of J.R.R. Tolkien as well as the artistic interpretation of this trilogy by Peter Jackson. This movement started when Tolkien created The Hobbit and then later the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. However, there are those who have criticized both the books and the cinema for being sexist and/or racist. Tolkien is not sexist because he develops his female characters by revealing their individualism and dynamic features, and is also not a racist because much of the criticism comes from Peter Jackson’s interpretations and because racism is harshly looked upon more in this generation than it was back in the 1940’s.
In Tolkien 's story, good will always win over evil. The first evil that Bilbo and the dwarves come across is the trolls. The dwarves and Bilbo are caught and put into sacks. Gandalf comes and starts a fight between the trolls about how to cook the dwarves and Bilbo. Gandalf keeps them fighting until daybreak and the sun turns the trolls into stone. The adventure from now on would get more dangerous by the minute. There “are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.”(98). Another enemy of the dwarves is goblins. The fight with the goblins is the second adventure in the story. While traveling in the Misty Mountains, they are captured by the goblins. Everyone is captured and carried through the tunnels into the heart of the mountain. Gandalf like always manages to stay uncaptured. Gandalf again comes to the rescue by killing the Great Goblin. For a second time, the forces of evil are destroyed by the good doings of Gandalf and the dwarves. It is Bilbo 's third adventure, however, that proves that good will overcome evil. Smaug is where Bilbo 's full glory was revealed. He stands in front of the beast and talks with it. Anyone else wouldn 't hesitate to run for their lives. Smaug smells the dwarves and tries to kill all of the dwarves when he figures out what they are doing. The battle between good and evil
Everyone except Frodo and Sam arrives at the kingdom of Gondor, and though the people of Gondor are amazed and frightened at first by the huge army of walking trees that accompany them, everyone smiles and accepts them when Gandalf and Aragorn reveal themselves. The brothers Denethor and Boromir, however, see that Aragorn brings knowledge from the North which will give their kingship over to Faramir, the true King, and so they secretly conspire against him. And so later on, when the forces of Mordor arrive to attack Gondor, they successfully plot to have Aragorn positioned so he must face the Witch-King in single combat. The battle is too much for Aragorn, and just as he is about to die he is saved by Eowyn, a woman of Rohan who loves him, and Merry, who slays the Witch-king in single combat by using ancient hobbit-magic and so reveals himself to be the lost Thain of the Shire. Even as the forces of Mordor retreat, they are swept into the Sea by great ships brought by Faramir, the true Prince of Dol Amroth, from the hidden city of Osgiliath further up the Great River.