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squire
Half-elven
Oct 18 2012, 3:42am
Views: 389
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A. How would dwarves reward sentient ravens?
I imagine that Thorin foresees a restoration of the Kingdom under the Mountain. In that former time it seems the Ravens were privileged in some way that makes them still loyal to the dwarves after many many years of absence. Easy food? Safety from predators? Someone to talk to who is not a carrion bird?
B. Does anyone want to defend Thorin’s reaction?
I don’t know about “defend”, but I think Thorin is acting perfectly in character here. He is who he is, and can do no other, etc.
C. Did the thrush let Bard know what the dwarves were doing? Why or why not?
Bard shows no sign of any knowledge of the dwarves’ doings when he shows up at the gate in the coming scenes, so I would say no.
D. Why is this the first time we have heard about Thorin’s cousin Dain and his many people well-armed?
More dramatic? I don’t know. This belongs in the same category as the many other questions about the plotting of the latter half of The Hobbit, which are so easily ignored if one is simply enjoying the ripsnorting pace and color of the story itself. Why is Bard’s appearance so unforeseen? How did Thorin expect to defeat the dragon, burglar or no burglar? What does Smaug feed on if there is no living thing in his territory?
E. Why didn’t the dwarves consult Dain or all the other dwarves in the area before challenging Smaug?
Hoping to succeed without needing help and sharing the wealth afterwards, I guess.
F. Are they going to share the treasure with Dain?
Well, one has to assume that even Thorin would accept the need for that, if Dain shows up and saves the day. But just now Thorin is thinking about kin and clan, not gold and silver, and I bet Dain will feel the same when he gets the summons.
G. Why wasn't the adventure over, properly speaking? Why didn't Tolkien just wind things up quickly? What point is he trying to make?
He is a sucker for tales of cursed treasure, and wars brought about by conflicting fates, as we know from reading the Silmarillion which he was just whipping into shape at the same time he was writing this story. Bilbo has always been in the position of being caught up in something larger than himself. His adventure with Smaug was ultimately not a final test of his quality, because he was not the hero who slew the dragon. To end the story now leaves Bilbo’s development at an odd place: his courage fully developed, but with no outlet scaled to its size. He is no dragon-slayer, but he is truly a burglar extraordinaire. The coming conflict will give him the chance to end an entire war through stealth.
Frankly, the adventure I could do without is not the siege of the Lonely Mountain by Bard and the Elven King, but the Battle of Five Armies that follows and spoils Bilbo’s final triumph. Not here, but there in the story is the point where I usually think, “Oh God, more trouble” before expiring.
H. The tools are still in good shape? How so? Why haven’t they rusted?
“Dwarf tools do not rust.” See, I said it, and it sounds good. Why? I don’t know – why does the hidden door work the way it does? How did those crystal cave lights work that allowed the Dwarves and Elves to live underground for centuries? What is mithril anyway?
I. What was Bilbo thinking while the dwarves were fortifying the entrance? What was he doing?
Probably helping them in some way calculated to involve as little physical labor as possible.
J. How did the dwarves go about building a stone wall so quickly?
They don’t work stone with their fingernails, as Gimli points out in LotR. But these dwarves have the proper tools. Merely squaring stone and laying it without mortar might go quite quickly when done by these legendary folk. I kind of like that they don’t attempt to build a proper gate – that’s what shows, by omission, that what they did do was not all that hard for them in the time and conditions they had.
K. How strong would the hastily-built wall have been?
Strong enough. Stone is quite heavy. I imagine the wall was crafted so it pushed outward a lot easier than inward, since later on the dwarves break their way out so very dramatically.
L. Are other birds bringing the Elvenking constant tidings, or Bard? Why or why not?
As I noted above, we are given no sign that those two have any advance intelligence of Thorin’s doings at all.
M. Where did they get their cram? It didn’t come from Lake-town, did it? Didn’t they lose all their other supplies when they were captured by the elves?
Why not Lake-town? They would have learned a thing or two from the dwarves in the past, and cram is useful for anyone making long journeys.
N. Where did they get their ladders? If they made them, what did they use for materials? Isn’t the area barren?
The illustration of Smaug in the book clearly shows ladders to reach into the pots of treasure. I’m sure those are the ladders the dwarves used here.
O. Does the wide pool blocking the entrance remind anyone of anything?
Well, the pool in front of the West Gate of Moria in LotR; and also the pool that backs up behind the wall at Helm’s Deep.
P. Any other comments about these passages?
Yes, why didn’t they slaughter the ponies and cure the meat as jerky?
squire online:
RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'.
Footeramas: The 3rd (and NOW the 4th too!) TORn Reading Room LotR Discussion; and "Tolkien would have LOVED it!"
squiretalk introduces the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: A Reader's Diary
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Raven wanna cracker?
