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Why Does Thorin Change In The Hobbit?
2026-05-01 20:18:40
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Titus
For so long Thorin Oakenshield had been blindly adhering to the images and expectations that had been created of his grandfather’s heroics, brought up in a home of poverty. The mountain of Erebor became so much more than a mere geographical feature to him – a symbol of validation. But once he stepped foot into the halls of his ancestors’ home, the past consumed him. The gold sickness, as Azog had named it, was not a magical affliction brought upon by Smaug. No, it was simply the culmination of generations of pride and a desperate grasp for treasure to compensate for their decline. Notice the point at which Thorin begins to refer to the gold as his ‘birthright’. Allalong, Thorin has been growing and changing in many small ways: his voice hardening as he dismisses the increasingly concerned Balin, the films’ score transiting from heroic to darker, and the subtle ways in which he slowly loses his trust of Bilbo, the one person that he had come to trust. And in that loss of trust, Thorin unleashes his deepest seated self-loathing upon the humblest of hobbits. His reference to Bilbo as a ‘descendant of rats’ is clearly anger, but also severe self-loathing. His apology to Bilbo on his deathbed is poignant because we see so clearly that Thorin was fighting more than just orcs to reclaim Erebor.
2026-05-02
Zane
Thorin Oakenshield’s change from the beginning of the story to the end is a great example of how power can corrupt. The leader of the group of dwarves at the beginning is very brave, principled and loyal to his friends. However, once the group of dwarves have reclaimed Erebor and there is so much treasure there, all of Thorin’s flaws are magnified. The gold does not change him to worse, but it does bring out the worst in him. There is a great scene where Thorin walks through a lot of gold and he trails his fingers through it like it is a lover. That is a really scary scene and you can see where Thorin’s resolve to regain Erebor was going to change to and that is to an obsession with gold. Smaug is a hoarder as well and he is malice personified, but Thorin’s downfall is so much more tragic because it is human. When Thorin dies his last words are of regret for having wasted his second chance for friendship.
2026-05-03
Owen
This arc is so relatable to me. I’ve been so focused on one thing in my life for so long that I’ve lost sight of just about everything else. Thorin is no different in the brief time that passes after he and his crew finally reclaim Erebor and settle back into their “new” kingdom. For Thorin, it isn’t long before his focus turns to possessing the golden throne instead of working to rebuild their kingdom for all of its citizens. He’s angered when Bilbo steals the Arkenstone, the very item that would bring peace to their war, because he had planned to use it to make himself king. As you can gather from our recaps, Thorin has risked life and limb to save Bilbo from certain death at the hands of Azog on more than one occasion. But that is all forgotten as Thorin threatens to throw Bilbo from the walls of their newly recaptured home. The effect of Thorin’s decline into madness is showcased throughout the remainder of the film through his appearance. He begins to show dark circles under his eyes and he has wild look in them as well. But it’s not a magical atrophy that has taken hold of Thorin, it is a physical manifestation of his inner decay. His redemption is not something that is easily achieved or felt by the viewer. In the end, he does not stand up in front of all of his Dwarf friends and give a grand speech about all that he has learned. Instead, he privately admits failure to Bilbo, and it hurts more than any pride could. The proud fall hard, but they can also rise, for a moment or two at least.
2026-05-04
Wyatt
One can watch Thorin’s descent into madness in slow motion, it’s a car crash in all but name. Remember that lectures Bilbo on the subject of loyalty early on in their journey? It’s a particularly biting irony that he turns on the little creature in the very same circumstances, all for the sake of gold. In this case, the gold is a symbol, a symbol of his identity, and of the return of Durin’s Folk to their ancient home. And that home, Erebor, was proof that the line of Durin had not been broken. The pressure to rebuild must have been immense. One can watch as Thorin becomes more and more obsessed with the Arkenstone, talking to it as if it were alive. It’s chilling to watch, yet one cannot help but feel for the poor man. He’s been in exile for so long, and he’s seen his people suffer so greatly. He believes that this one stone holds the key to all of their problems. The worst part, however, is that he realizes his mistake with only moments to spare before the battle horns begin to blow. The charge that follows is at once heroic and heart-wrenching. One can’t help but wonder what would have happened had he snapped out of it sooner. But, as is often the case, greed is a very hard habit to break.
2026-05-07
Yara
The change in Thorin Oakenshield in ‘The Hobbit’ by Tolkien is a subtle but powerful change. At the start of the book he is a proud, almost haughty, man. He is a noble, after all. As the story progresses, though, we see the cracks in his proud façade appearing one by one. The ‘gold sickness’ as he calls it, is not just a plot device and it slowly eats away at the nobility of the main character. It is interesting to see how Tolkien uses the main character’s thirst for gold to reflect the current Real Life problems of greed. This is especially obvious in the scene in which Thorin refuses to share the treasure with Bard the Lake-man and the men of the town. In this scene Bilbo tries to negotiate with Thorin and is rejected and proclaimed a traitor by the main character. This was a heart breaking moment in the book because it showed the decline of Thorin’s relationship with his only real friend, Bilbo. The final scene with Bilbo in which Thorin makes his peace with the main character is very powerful and goes to show a bittersweet redemption in the way of a great character.
I also like that The gold sickness of Thorin is not excused in this story, but explained. His obsession with gold is rooted in his legacy, his losses, and his desperation. So his final moments are beautifully redemptive, as he regains the honor he lost to the gold sickness. This is a beautifully written story of a dwarf, and I grieve for the better Thorin that he could have been.
I also like that The gold sickness of Thorin is not excused in this story, but explained. His obsession with gold is rooted in his legacy, his losses, and his desperation. So his final moments are beautifully redemptive, as he regains the honor he lost to the gold sickness. This is a beautifully written story of a dwarf, and I grieve for the better Thorin that he could have been.
2026-05-07
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Related Questions
Why does Thorin Oakenshield hate elves?
10 Answers2026-05-01
I'm here for the Thorin. He's in a bit of a mood most of the time: grumpy and proud but with great hair. His hatred of the elves just adds to the drama.
how tall is thorin oakenshield
7 Answers2025-02-01
The History of The Hobbit, a massive compilation of drafts and notes by Tolkien, does not give an exact height for Thorin but describes parameters for the Dwarves that are consistently adhered to throughout his work. In the early drawings by Tolkien himself of the Dwarves, they are depicted as being quite short. This is his authorial intention and so is the ‘closest’ to an answer for their height that we have.
A film would perhaps choose to make the leader of the thirteen dwarves the tallest of the lot to signify his status. That would be a choice though, intended to serve the purposes of the film. Tolkien used prose to bring out the individual personalities of the dwarves in the book, so the ‘real’ height of the dwarves is that of the book, but the ‘effective’ height of them in films and plays is a choice that serves the medium’s purposes. Knowing the source material and the reasons for changes helps one appreciate a character’s transition from one medium to another.
What differences exist between editions of the hobbit novel?
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I prefer editions of The Hobbit that include Tolkien’s own artwork. He wasn’t an artist, and his drawings are not nearly as good as those of a professional illustrator. But there is something raw and map-like about his drawings of Bag End or Smaug that perfectly conveys the sense of another world which he created. These should not be small, black-and-white illustrations inserted into the text. Rather, they should be full-page drawings – sometimes in color – a wonderful part of the book as it was written. The best editions of The Hobbit include all of Tolkien’s sketches and paintings as they were. These are not illustrations added to a published story. Rather, they are part of a recovered artifact from the Middle-earth story itself. There is a huge difference in atmosphere between a published book and a notebook.
How many pages are in The Hobbit by Tolkien?
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For comparison, the graphic novel adaptation of The Hobbit by David Wenzel comes in at about 130 pages. As expected, the more visual graphic novel format can get the same story told across in fewer pages of prose than The Hobbit novel. Tolkien uses all those extra pages to relate his unique narrative voice, to include all the songs from the novel, and lots of very descriptive asides too. Those are things you’re paying for.
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3 Answers2026-04-18
First of all, it’s quite creepy and also very sad at the same time. Poor Smeagol has been alone in that cave for 500 years, with nothing but that Golden Ring and his lies about it for company. So, his long rambling monologues to himself, about his precious, are just the idle chatter of a lonely mind starving for any sort of human company, relieving itself by talking to this thing. Tolkien was a Catholic, and it’s interesting to see in this the twisted form of idolatry, where a personworships an false god, which will devour him. And in a way, the Ring even speaks to Smeagol. The Ring is a powerful symbol of temptation to power, but here it’s shown to be a foul and insidious parasite that gradually destroys it’s host’s mind, and takes over their personality. Eventually it leaves nothing but a pathetic, empty shell, as is shown by the fate of poor Gollum in this story: he was completely consumed by his one terrible addiction.
How do naruto openings change between seasons?
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