Leaving Bilbo Character Analysis

One of the traits of being a good leader is selflessness in a sense that a leader should be able to put his or her group before himself, and be able to give up something important to them without having to think about it too much, which is a trait that Thorin did not display in his actions very well. When Bilbo wound up with Gollum, and the dwarves didn’t know where he was, Thorin and some of the other dwarves considered leaving Bilbo behind because they thought that going back would be dangerous and slow the journey down. However, the group should have returned because group members should always stick together, and not leave anyone behind.Because it also would have been dangerous for them to do so, they could have just sent a couple of dwarves,

However, Thorin should not have even thought of leaving behind Bilbo, as he is the leader of the group, and should know that the group must always stick together. This example actually shows both his selfishness and greediness, as a good leader would have put his group before himself even if he thought that this would ruin his chances of getting to the treasure. Thorin’s weaknesses are not a good addition to the group, as he is supposed to be the leader of the company, but fails at showing any signs of leadership or selflessness.
Thorin also overcomes both of his weaknesses towards the end of the book. For example, he began to appreciate Bilbo’s presence more and more, as Bilbo saved their lives more and more. He accepted Bilbo more after hearing about the story with Gollum, saving them from the spiders, helping them escape from the wood-elves, and retrieving Smaug’s cup. For example, when the company was under the mountain where all of the treasure was, Thorin gave Bilbo a small coat of mail, showing his acceptance. On the other hand, Thorin shows signs of leadership when talking with the armies, as they came to the castle before the war, even though he never gave them any gold. He boldly said, “Who are you...that come as if in war to the gates of Thorin son of

An example of his ignorance is when he didn’t like that he was the last one to get in the boat when crossing the river. However, he didn’t realize that there was a reason for this and that him being the largest of the group was a big component when deciding this. Bombur didn’t know that if he were to get in the boat with someone else, the boat would have sunk. Another example of how Bombur was ignorant, was when he was unaware of the reasons that he would have to be the last to meet Beorn. However, this had to be the case, since the group was meeting Beorn in pairs, meaning someone had to be last, and Bombur just happened to be the best fit because he accounted for two people anyway. However, Bombur didn’t understand this and still continued to complain about the situation when he said, “I’m always last and I don’t like it… It’s somebody else’s turn today.” (Tolkien 144). This quote shows how Bombur was unknowing about why he was always last, and it couldn’t have been someone else’s turn. Furthermore, Bombur falling into the water in Mirkwood shows that although the other dwarves didn’t know what would happen if they fell into the water, they still took extreme caution around it, because of the advice given to them by Beorn. Bombur however, seemed to be unaware of the circumstances, and not be as cautious around the water. Because of this, he fell in the water, and the group had to end up carrying him for a