“The dragon sickness is a malady that affects all of us. Well, most of us.” (The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies) J.R.R Tolkien’s literary series that follows the lives of the hobbits and the dwarves of Middle Earth exemplifies a variety of themes and conflicts that leaves the audience reeling for more as the pages grow in number. Many scholars suggest that the ring of Sauron is the ultimate antagonist within the story; however, the ring itself is not inherently evil, nor is it inherently good. The true source of evil in The Hobbit is what is referred to as “the dragon sickness” (Tolkien, 60)- rather, the accumulation of gold and wealth. The greed presented in the prequel to the well-known Lord of the Rings series suggests that it was such
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The “dragon’s sickness” is the lust for gold, and the madness that accompanies it; it is the lust for power, to gain capital to the individual, and to be greater than anybody else. There are a variety of examples of characters within The Hobbit who experience their own conflicts with greed as the main antagonist. For example, Smaug the dragon, who originally had simply been thought to have taken Thorin’s kingdom, is personified to show the true effects of greed. Portrayed similarly to other dragons of mythology, Smaug is given armored scales, intelligence, the ability to fly, immortality, and the love for treasure.. Smaug, despite his powers, was solely driven by his greed, rather than the idea of being entirely evil. “Dragons covet gold though they have no practical use for it, and derive no intrinsic benefit from its possession-yet, they defend it with their lives and visit a fiery death upon those who threaten their hoard.” (Rateliff 280) Thorin describes Smaug’s relationship with gold as simply “they’ll never enjoy a brass ring as long as they live” (Tolkien 23), and suggests that “[dragons] don’t know a good bit of work from a bad one” (Tolkien 23), but the power that Smaug felt while maintaining the treasure was enough to drive him into selfishness and madness. The dragon made many enemies due to his greed, including characters like Thorin and Bilbo, for the sickness led to his own destruction at the hands of Bard in the town of Esgaroth (Tolkien 228-9). “It is here we see how Tolkien criticizes those that lust after wealth and are completely selfish and driven by greed; to hard vast wealth and to keep it all to one’s self of the greatest vices an individual can be guilty of, with the eventual end proving that no good will come from it.” (Laimore
The “dragon’s sickness” is the lust for gold, and the madness that accompanies it; it is the lust for power, to gain capital to the individual, and to be greater than anybody else. There are a variety of examples of characters within The Hobbit who experience their own conflicts with greed as the main antagonist. For example, Smaug the dragon, who originally had simply been thought to have taken Thorin’s kingdom, is personified to show the true effects of greed. Portrayed similarly to other dragons of mythology, Smaug is given armored scales, intelligence, the ability to fly, immortality, and the love for treasure.. Smaug, despite his powers, was solely driven by his greed, rather than the idea of being entirely evil. “Dragons covet gold though they have no practical use for it, and derive no intrinsic benefit from its possession-yet, they defend it with their lives and visit a fiery death upon those who threaten their hoard.” (Rateliff 280) Thorin describes Smaug’s relationship with gold as simply “they’ll never enjoy a brass ring as long as they live” (Tolkien 23), and suggests that “[dragons] don’t know a good bit of work from a bad one” (Tolkien 23), but the power that Smaug felt while maintaining the treasure was enough to drive him into selfishness and madness. The dragon made many enemies due to his greed, including characters like Thorin and Bilbo, for the sickness led to his own destruction at the hands of Bard in the town of Esgaroth (Tolkien 228-9). “It is here we see how Tolkien criticizes those that lust after wealth and are completely selfish and driven by greed; to hard vast wealth and to keep it all to one’s self of the greatest vices an individual can be guilty of, with the eventual end proving that no good will come from it.” (Laimore