Bilbo’s defection also develops the strain of modern
heroism in the novel, as opposed to the strain of heroism based
on epic literature. Loyalty to one’s lord and solidarity to one’s
group are among the paramount virtues in epic literature, but Bilbo
abandons those virtues by making an independent moral choice, designed
to create the best outcome rather than the outcome willed by his
lord, Thorin. Tolkien further critiques the idea of unquestioned
loyalty by emphasizing Thorin’s pigheadedness and bad behavior.
The moral hierarchy of race that has been developed throughout The
Hobbit is brought into sharp relief with the arrival of
the goblins and the Wargs. The appearance of these truly evil races
forces the essentially good creatures to band together, as the armies
line up according to fundamental divisions between good and evil,
rather than according to claims for money. Certainly, the money
is still at stake in the Battle of the Five Armies—it is the reason
that the goblins and Wargs have come in the first place—but the
more urgent conflict is between good and evil. The dwarves, elves,
and men are all “Good People,” and, as we see here, this division
runs deeper than the family pride of Thorin or even the long-standing
feud between dwarves and elves. The alliance of dwarves, men, and
elves recalls happier days when the three races were peaceful neighbors and
worked together to create great cities.
The goblins’, dragons’, and other evil creatures’ increasing power
and their near-victory in the battle signal the fading glory of Middle-Earth.
Fortunately for the armies of good, one great race—the eagles—has
been preserved almost untouched from the beginning of time. Once
again, we see nature taking a side when good and evil clash. The
pure eagles would not have intervened in a war over gold, but the
involvement of the goblins cries out to their sense of good and
brings them down from the mountaintops. Here Tolkien reiterates
an essential quality of his fantasy world: evil, characterized by
the perversion of nature, may become powerful, but the essential
nature of the world is good.
