The Hobbit Discussion Director - Week #3 - Ella

Q1: Why did Smaug care so much about one little cup?

A: Dragons are very possessive and particular about their treasure. They keep track of every little piece and get mad when something goes missing.

Q2: Why don’t the dwarves use the ring to go into the mountain instead of Bilbo?

A:  They might be scared of being discovered/killed by the dragon or think that Bilbo will do a better job at sneaking around.

Q3: Why is Bilbo becoming more of a leader for the group?

A: Thorin gets filled with pride and greed when he sees the gold, and doesn’t mind much about the dragon now that he’s in the mountain, and the rest of the dwarves aren’t paying much attention either.

Q4: What might Thorin do now that he has a giant army in front of the mountain?

A: I don’t he’ll do much, or he’ll do something foolish because of his greed for the gold inside the mountain.

Q5: Why do the birds care about the weak spot on the dragon?

A: They might have some sort of problem with the dragon as well, and they want to help Bard kill the dragon.

Q6: Why might the people of Lake-town blame the dwarves for waking up the dragon?

A: They might blame the dwarves because Smaug destroyed the town/their homes and killed quite a few people in the process.

Q7: How could Bilbo solve this conflict between the dwarves and the men and elves?

A: He could offer up the Arkenstone to get Thorin’s attention, and maybe team up with some of the other dwarves or the army to get Thorin to his senses.

Q8: Why don’t Fili, Kili, and Bombur share Thorin’s stubbornness/greediness for sharing the gold?

A: They might be younger dwarves, so the gold under the mountain might be a newer/smaller deal than the older dwarves who have been obsessing over it for a while, especially Thorin.

Q9: When might Gandalf come back, if at all?

A: I think Gandalf might come back to help resolve the conflict, but I think there still might be some fighting between the dwarves and elf/man army.

Q10: Why might there be all this fighting between the “Good People” (elves, dwarves, and men)?

A: I think the greediness/lust for all the gold that has been freed from the dragon might have clouded many people’s judgements and caused them to go against each other.