The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again Chapter 17 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
But the [Elvenking] reckoned without the dwarves. The knowledge that the Arkenstone was in the hands of the besiegers burned in their thoughts; also they guessed the hesitation of Bard and his friends, and resolved to strike while they debated.
Suddenly without a signal [the dwarves] sprang silently forward to attack. Bows twanged and arrows whistled; battle was about to be joined. (17.39)
Dain, Thorin's cousin, is actually willing to ambush the elf and human armies just so he can get to his cousin in the Lonely Mountain. We have discussed that the dwarves seem to operate in a moral grey area that the elves do not seem to share – would Tolkien's elves be capable of this kind of treachery? What do you think would have happened at this stage if Gandalf hadn't suddenly called a halt because the goblins are coming?
Quote 2
So began a battle that none had expected; and it was called the Battle of the Five Armies, and it was very terrible. Upon one side were the Goblins and the Wild Wolves, and upon the other were Elves and Men and Dwarves. (17.44)
The goblins and wild wolves (a.k.a. Wargs) are so evil that the good and basically decent peoples – men, elves, and dwarves – agree without hesitation to band together. It must be nice having such an easily defined, obviously wicked enemy to fight against. When you start grouping these characters into good and bad races, their loyalties are much easier to identify. Thus, the morality of Tolkien's novels seems difficult to apply in the real world.
Quote 3
"It will not be long now," thought Bilbo, "before the goblins win the Gate, and we are all slaughtered or driven down and captured. Really it is enough to make one weep, after all one has gone through. I would rather old Smaug had been left with all the wretched treasure, than that these vile creatures should get it, and poor old Bombur, and Balin and Fili and Kili and all the rest come to a bad end; and Bard too, and the Lake-men and the merry elves. Misery me! I have heard songs of many battles, and I have always understood that defeat may be glorious. It seems very uncomfortable, not to say distressing. I wish I was well out of it." (17.62)
Perhaps one reason why our hero Bilbo stays on the sidelines of the Battle of Five Armies is to show how un-glorious battle really is: unlike the people in the midst of the fighting, Bilbo has the space and time to realize that war is "very uncomfortable, not to say distressing." Even if his friends are fighting on the right side, that's not much comfort when he begins to think of the cost in lives.
Quote 4
I am betrayed [...] It was rightly guessed that I could not forbear to redeem the Arkenstone, the treasure of my house. For it I will give one fourteenth share of the hoard in silver and gold, setting aside the gems; but that shall be accounted the promised share of this traitor, and with that reward he shall depart, and you can divide it as you will. He will get little enough, I doubt not. Take him, if you wish him to live; and no friendship of mine goes with him. (17.19)
Thorin, of course, only sees that Bilbo has taken the Arkenstone from him – he doesn't see Bilbo's larger effort to keep the peace. Without the drastic intervention of the Battle of Five Armies, do you think Thorin could ever have forgiven Bilbo for what he tried? Why do none of the dwarves, some of whom feel pity and shame watching Bilbo go, stand up for him?
Quote 5
It was a terrible battle. The most dreadful of all Bilbo's experiences, and the one which at the time he hated most – which is to day it was the one he was most proud of, and most fond of recalling long afterwards, although he was quite unimportant in it. Actually I may say he put on his ring early in the business and vanished from sight, if not from all danger. (17.49)
At the moment when more traditional heroes like Bard and even Thorin are front-and-center at the Battle of Five Armies, Bilbo's standing invisible on the sidelines. Having crept down to face Smaug in his lair, Bilbo seems to have exhausted all of his courage. How are Bilbo's courageous deeds different from Thorin's? Do they seem any more or less valuable? Do you think Bilbo would describe himself as brave? Why or why not?
Quote 6
Suddenly there was a great shout, and from the Gate came a trumpet call. They had forgotten Thorin! Part of the wall, moved by levers, fell outward with a crash into the pool. Out leaped the King under the Mountain, and his companions followed him. Hood and cloak were gone; they were in shining armour, and red light leaped from their eyes. In the gloom the great dwarf gleamed like gold in a dying fire. (17.55)
Thorin bursts out of the Lonely Mountain, looking every inch the King under the Mountain in his final battle charge. Morally speaking, does Thorin's last stand balance out the war he almost caused against Bard and the Elvenking? What is your final judgment of Thorin's courage?
Quote 7
Ever since the fall of the Great Goblin of the Misty Mountains, the hatred of their race for the dwarves had been rekindled to fury. Messengers had passed to and fro between all their cities, colonies, and strongholds; for they resolved now to win the dominion of the North. Todings they had gathered in secret ways; and in all the mountains there was a forging and an arming. then they marched and gathered by hill and valley, going ever by tunnel or under dark, until around and beneath the great mountain Gundabad of the North, where was their capital, a vast host was assembled ready to sweep down in time of storm unawares upon the South. (17.44)
The elves were the first to charge. Their hatred for the goblins is cold and bitter. Their spears and shields shone in the gloom with a gleam of chill flame, so deadly was the wrath of the hands that held them. (17.50)
The goblins hate the dwarves as a race. And the elves hate the goblins as a race. So, race determines not only your moral character, but also your loyalties and your enemies, in Tolkien's world. What do you think of the ethics of this depiction of race? In what respects do Tolkien's races (elves, goblins, hobbits, etc.) differ from real world racial divisions?