Thorin's Purposes: It appears to me that most people who have read The Hobbit might think the whole purpose for the journey was to get gold and become rich. I think that was only part of its purpose. To Thorin, the Arkenstone was the piece of treasure that mattered most. It had been passed down through many generations of his ancestors and it seems to me that he felt that he deserved it. One thing that I found interesting was that Thorin tried to show all the rest of the dwarves that he didn't come for the gold or the treasure, but only for the Arkenstone by saying, "You! You! You miserable hobbit! You undersized burglar!" He said this after he found out that Bilbo had given the Arkenstone to Bard so he could use it against him. I think this shows how much the Arkenstone meant to Thorin. It appears to me that Thorin's main purpose for leading the journey was for revenge on Smaug. When Smaug drove all of the dwarves out of the mountain and their community, I think Thorin knew he would be the King Under The Mountain again because he felt he had to live up to his father's name and leadership. When Thorin regained the position of King, it seems to me that he felt like he was cleansing the community of evil and darkness. I also think he was trying to honor his ancestors by taking charge of his fellow dwarves and wearing the ancient armor that was left in the mountain for the dwarf troops.
2. Harmony with Nature: While reading the book, The Hobbit, I came across this passage and realized that the elves were hand-in-hand with nature throughout the book. "In a great hall with pillars hewn out of the living stone sat the Elvenking on a chair of carven wood. On his head was a crown of berries and red leaves, for autumn was come again. In the spring he wore a crown of woodland flowers. In his hand he held a carven staff of oak." One thing that I noticed was that the author, J.R.R.
