Throughout all the discord between friends--dwarfs, and men and elves--the main character Bilbo, a hobbit, is able to remain pleasant. He sees all the bad that is going on, and he is just looking for peace. This is another one of Toklien's ways of making the story different from other epic journeys, which are usually violent. In those as well, the main character usually possesses some heroic traits, such as great strength. Bilbo, however, is a little hobbit and is not very strong at all, although he is very sneaky and cunning. These traits are usually not those typical of a hero, but in this instance they are.
This conflict arises from the treasure, which in fantastic epics is the thing that the hero is seeking, but in this novel conflict comes about because of it. Again, Tolkien shows the reading that his story is different from other epics. The gold and treasure is being sought by everyone, but when they finally get it, happiness is not achieved, but instead more problems are started.
These problems are similar to those that arose after World War I because they both resulted from good, but in actuality they made things much worse. Germany was made to pay everything for the war, which made conditions in that country terrible.
Article about the effects of the Versailles Treaty: http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/02/reporters_scholars_and_patriots
No comments:
Post a Comment