AbstractsLanguage, Literature & Linguistics

Today the world has limited resources such as energy, minerals and clean water. People become increasingly selfish and greedy as the resource become scarce. Money becomes so important in our life that we often forget that there is more to life than material wealth, such as happiness. Tolkien wrote down moral lessons in his children’s story called The Hobbit. One of the important protagonists is the dwarven king Thorin Oakenshield, which this thesis will analyze in detail. It compares him with other characters, examines his actions throughout the story and his death. Tolkien shows that the crownless king (Thorin) has so much weight on his shoulders that his only desire is to take back that which rightfully belongs to him. He becomes blind to the presence of the people around him and focuses only on Erebor and the great jewel called the Arkenstone. These factors lead to his fall into ‘dragon-sickness’. Those who fall into its grips will become oblivious to anything but their own advancement in wealth. Thorin’s actions lead him to his doom in the end. However, he manages to free himself from the dragon-sickness before his death at which time he admits his wrongs to Bilbo; the world would be a better place if people cherished friendship and joy over wealth and success, as the hobbits do.