What role did greed play in Tolkien's books?

[Tar-Jêx]

I've been studying this topic for a while now, and I thought that it would make quite a good thread.

Let's have ALL the walls of text.

I'll start with Thorin II Oakenshield.

Greed was his driving force. He wanted to take back his home, which seems like a righteous cause, but underneath all of that was a dwarf's greed. All throughout his story, he is talking about how the gold is his, and it belongs to him and his people, which it does, but the extent he uses these words to really gives a clear indication that it's not just getting Smaug out of Erebor that he wants, it is his gold.

The Arkenstone had a very strong hold over him, and when his company looked through their treasures after Smaug had left the mountain, Thorin focused solely on finding the Arkenstone. While some argue that it was a Silmaril, and had a hold on him because of that, I debate otherwise. Thorin wanted the Arkenstone because he believed it to be a priceless treasure, worthy of kings. Taking back Erebor and holding on to the Arkenstone surely would have made Thorin a very powerful and respectable king.

Thorin's greed took his company across half of Middle Earth, got 3 of them killed, and resulted in countless casualties on both sides in the Battle of the Five Armies. Thorin's greed led to Bilbo finding the One Ring, and letting it slowly take over his mind, until it was passed onto Frodo. Thorin's greed lasted after his death, too, as when he was buried, it was with Orcrist, which symbolises that the elves respected him, and with the Arkenstone, that he may live after death with the thing he treasured most.

Originally Posted by Tar-Jêx

In his famous novel, 'The Hobbit', Tolkien accentuated how much greed can affect an individual, and how it is important to not overlook such a trait. 'The Hobbit' has a very heavy Norse influence, due to Tolkien’s interest in that period of time, and their language, so it shares names, elements, and strong similarity to the legends from the Norse period. Particular characters, like Thorin and Smaug, show the telltale signs that greed has deeps roots inside them, becoming reckless, overprotective, and unnecessarily violent when their prize is at risk. Greed is such an important theme, because almost all of the events that happen in The Hobbit are either a direct or indirect result of a character’s greed.
Thorin Oakenshield II is an honourable, and noble, dwarf, but is deeply flawed by his own greedy visions. He fills the usual categories that you would expect a dwarf to be; wealthy, hairy, good at fighting, and most notably, fond of treasure. Thorin valued the hoard of Erebor, taken over by Smaug with his fiery breath, so much, that he risked his life, and the lives of all of his companions on a chance to get them back. His entire quest was based around the risk of facing a dragon to reclaim their home, and their gold. While this risk did pay off in the end, putting his friends and relatives at risk, along with contributing to the peaceful town of Esgaroth becoming involved, and attacked, was hardly a considerate or well thought out plan. The point stands that Thorin was more concerned about his stolen wealth, and in particular, the Arkenstone, a special gem which happened to be very beautiful, eye-catching, and a family heirloom which many wanted to get their hands on. After the dragon had been slain by Bard, the bowman, and the men of Esgaroth had come to claim their promised share of the hoard, Thorin refused them, telling them that it was all property of his company. This dispute escalated, and Thorin stopped thinking about what he was doing, which was contributing to the growing tension leading to a battle, and focused solely on what he wanted, threatening Bilbo’s life after learning of his ‘betrayal’ of giving the Arkenstone to Bard. His greed put the lives of his company, those of Laketown, and more characters they met along the way, in great amounts of danger, and he didn’t even take a second to consider the implications of his actions. Thorin’s recklessness is attributed almost entirely to his selfish and greedy aspirations.
On the contrary to the previous statements about Thorin, he is still a genuine leader and does care about his company, even if he does end up putting them in danger with his reckless decisions, and sometimes gets carried away with personal desires. While the dwarves’ quest to reclaim Erebor was incredibly dangerous, to the point of a return journey being and uncertain future, they were all willing to risk their lives trying. All of his company, including Bilbo, felt a sense of duty to return to their mountain, and at least attempt to slay the dragon. They shared the same aspirations of Thorin, putting the quest first, and their welfare second. Thorin may have been motivated by greed, but in doing so in an honourable and respectable fashion, he showed the dwarves why they were on their quest, and why it was worth risking everything for. In times of great peril, when goblins and wargs were set on killing them, Thorin managed to set aside his greed, and become a role model for the party, becoming their inspiration. Because of his position as heir to the throne, and his noble blood, he handled responsibility with ease, and knew when it was time to become an icon for the rest to follow. Even after he found out that Bilbo had discovered the Arkenstone, but given it to Bard as a way to strike a deal, and he was about to kill him, he managed to restrain himself. He remembered all the times Bilbo had saved the dwarves, and decided to choose Bilbo as more important than whoever currently possessed the Arkenstone. While flawed with greed, Thorin could still manage to set it aside and choose the better cause of action. This shows us that Thorin is not just a greedy dwarf, but a strong-willed leader who can think for the greater good, rather than just himself.
Bilbo Baggins, while the protagonist of the story, does not manage to escape the grasp of greed after finding the Ring, which played with the user’s desires. When the party is captured by goblins after resting in a suspicious opening in the side of the mountain, and Gandalf comes to the rescue, Bilbo is left behind, only to find himself very lost. While lost, something was found; a magic ring of ancient times, allowing the user to become invisible, among other useful abilities. The ring did not appear to have anything special about it, but the moment he picked it up, it started to see into his mind, and compel him to use it. The power of this ring amazed Bilbo, enticing him to use it more. In the revision of this section in the story, Tolkien gave us a subtle foreshadowing of what Bilbo could become if he continued to use the ring, in the form of Gollum. Before Bilbo decided to tell the dwarves about the ring, it’s power started to grab him, causing him to keep it as his secret. Unbeknownst to the dwarves, Bilbo’s secret ring was starting to have an effect on him. He was becoming overly protective of it, and developed a Thorin-like sense of greed, which became apparent when traversing the hoard of Erebor, looking for the Arkenstone. Bilbo did, in fact, find the stone, but decided to keep it to himself, just as he had the ring, logically assuming that no harm could come of it, and that could be his share of treasure. Bilbo had become selfish, and greedy, wanting nobody to even set eyes on his treasure. However, Bilbo was an exceptional hobbit, and just like Thorin had demonstrated, managed to set aside his greed. In the giving of the Arkenstone to Bard, the Bowman, Tolkien shows us that Bilbo is still very much himself, managing to see through the veil of greed put in place by the ring. Bilbo is comparable to Thorin, in that he developed selfishness and greed, but his strong will and sense of righteousness overpowered them to cause him to make the right decisions.
The hoard of Erebor is presented almost as ‘cursed gold’, and follows the traditional folklore idea that same treasures carry dark burdens, causing the owner to think only of their prized mountain of gold. The dwarves who had to flee from Erebor had been exposed to this gold, and treasure, for a long time, so it had a strong hold on them, and when it came to it, leaving it behind became a very difficult task. For the whole time before the quest, they longed to be back in the comfort of their halls, and have the sense of security of possessing such a hoard. To a number of the dwarves in Thorin’s party, his quest was not about reclaiming their home, but reclaiming their gold. They craved it so much that it featured as the main motivation in their dirge of the Lonely Mountain. The only thing in the dwarves’ way of going back to Erebor was the dragon who took it from them, Smaug. Smaug shares great similarity to the dragon, Fafnir, from Norse legends, which formed the roots of The Hobbit, who was enthralled by a hoard of gold, and slept over it, keeping it safe and secure. Smaug was so obsessed with the treasures of Erebor, that when Bilbo sneaked in and stole a single goblet, he became furious, and tried to hunt down the thief, causing great calamity around the mountain. Smaug’s very existence was based off of greed, and when presented with a kingly amount of gold, lost his mind over it in joy, excitement, and lust. The Hoard of Erebor had a strong hold over the dwarves, causing them to put even the chance to see it again over their own lives, and when Smaug stole it from them, he too, cared of nothing else.
The Hobbit is very much a book entertaining the notion that greed is a very real trait, and everyone has it inside of them. The Norse origins of the book also detail this negative quality, with characters sharing the same greedy ideals as the dwarves in Thorin’s company. When faced with a particular treasure, making the best decision is often difficult. You could simply reach out, and take what is there, keeping it for yourself, or you could decide to let it alone, and focus on what would be the best thing to do in a particular situation. This issue reached all of the characters, even the hobbit, Bilbo, who struggled against it ever since discovering the ring. Tolkien shows us how greed can negatively influence decisions, causing you to only consider your personal gain. However, he also gives the other side, that even if one is greedy, they can overcome this burden and act with leadership, authority, and honour.

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