Establishing Thorin Oakenshield as a Hero Thorin Oakenshield is rarely seen as a sympathetic character after the death of Smaug. This is in part because of his refusal to share the treasure with the people of Lake-Town, but also because of his general attitude and how he becomes aggressive towards people who have done him no wrong. From the beginning, the character possesses the not-entirely-endearing traits of a strong sense of self-importance and impatience. After the company reclaims the Lonely Mountain, his character becomes even less appealing. However, Thorin Oakenshield has redeeming qualities, such as his loyalty and courage. He is never entirely a villain, but becomes temporarily cast as one due to circumstance. In class, Thorin was compared to the King Hrothgar from the epic Beowulf. I would like to argue that Thorin is more relatable to the hero of the …show more content…
Thorin being a hero The Hobbit is the major point that makes him and Beowulf similar, but from there we can draw other comparisons between the two stories that show Thorin is a hero in numerous ways. Hrothgar was once a great warrior, yes, but now in Beowulf’s time he is too old to fight. He cares for his people but is unable to protect them through taking violent actions- mostly he is good for diplomacy purposes. Beowulf, however, must physically fight to protect his followers and home of his people, much like Thorin. Hrothgar is powerful because he has wealth to buy loyalty from other tribes and countries. Thorin distributes the wealth he comes across among those who are already loyal to him- it is important to make this distinction because whereas Hrothgar buys loyalty, Thorin is rewarding it. It’s also interesting that Thorin distributes the gold equally among the company, meaning he gets the same share as everyone else though he is technically a