The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again Chapter 12 Quotes
The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again Chapter 12 Quotes
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Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 10
Naturally the dwarves accepted the offer eagerly. Already they had come to respect little Bilbo. Now he had become the real leader in their adventure. He had begun to have ideas and plans of his own. When midday came he got ready for another journey down into the Mountain. (12.40)
Bilbo's "offer" here is to go down and have a second look at the dragon, now that he has stolen this golden cup. The dwarves have now been walled into the Lonely Mountain because the dragon has blocked the side door with trees and rocks and things, so Bilbo agrees to go spy on the dragon once more. What do you think the dwarves are hoping Bilbo will achieve here? Isn't there strength in numbers – is this the most sensible plan you can think of for dealing with Smaug? How might the following events of the novel have changed if Bilbo had actually succeeded in catching Smaug asleep a second time? Do you think Bilbo would have it in him to kill Smaug himself, under any circumstances?
Quote 11
When Bilbo first gets a glimpse of the "gold beyond price and count," he suddenly feels "the lust, the glory of such treasure." How does Bilbo manage to move past the "enchantment and [...] desire of the dwarves"? Which other characters are less successful at getting past dragon-sickness? And what seems to be the cause of this bewitchment?
From that the talk turned to the great hoard itself and to the things that Thorin and Balin remembered. They wondered if they were still lying there unharmed in the hall below; the spears that were made for the armies of the great King Bladorthin (long since dead), each had a thrice-forged head and their shafts were inlaid with cunning gold, but they were never delivered or paid for; shields made for warriors long dead; the great golden cup of Thror, two-handed, hammered and carven with birds and flowers whose eyes and petals were of jewels. (12.94)
Quote 12
While the dwarves clearly love gold for its own sake – it's pretty much their thing – Thorin (and Balin, in this passage) seems to use this particular gold as a symbol for the past. He doesn't just value it because it's valuable. He also wants to remember "the spears that were made for the armies of the great King Bladorthin" and "the great golden cup of Thror." These things are meaningful to Thorin because they represent "warriors long dead." For more on Thorin's association of wealth with the past, check out "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory."
"The Arkenstone! The Arkenstone!" murmured Thorin in the dark, half dreaming with his chin upon his knees. "It was like a globe with a thousand facets; it shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the Moon!" (12.95)