Chapter Twelve: Inside Information

The dwarves argue about who will enter Smaug's cave and since Bilbo is the burglar, Bilbo must go ahead and face the challenge. He follows the treacherous course into the heart of the cave and though he is sure he is in danger, he is attracted by a red glow that compels him to approach. This is the glow of Smaug. Bilbo manages to steal a cup and hurriedly exits but Smaug awakens and begins to rage. The cowardly dwarves decide that Bilbo must re-enter the cave and somehow alleviate the situation as Smaug is now set upon destroying the countryside and has already prevented the company from escaping because he has destroyed their ponies. Bilbo has returned to the cave and though he is on his guard, he riddles and discusses various topics with Smaug. He escapes with his life and as Smaug begins a rampage on the countryside, Thorin sees his imminent kingdom approaching. For once, Smaug is gone, the prophesied reclamation of old dwarf treasure will come to pass. Analysis:

What we find in "Inside Information," is an array of images that are based upon various Greek and Anglo-Saxon representations of the mythological underworld, dragons and wealth. First, we should notice that Smaug is a "red-golden dragon" whose "fires were low in slumber." In the Greek god of the underworld, Hades, was also the god of wealth (mines and metals are his domain) and so the juxtaposition of fire and gold may seem atypical, but the fusion of these images makes perfect sense within a literary project that is seeking to combine as many different motifs as it can. The strongest and most important thing to gather from this chapter is the power of allusion. When reading this chapter, any number of scenes may come to mind (David and Goliath, Indiana Jones, "Jack and the Bean-stalk, etc.) because this scene is not a very unique one. It can't quite be labeled as an archetype because dragons and monsters and miniature heroes and theft appear separately more often than they do as a unit. We can use allusion as a means of understanding how Bilbo is a traditional hero. The Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf, is Tolkien's major source for this scene‹the villains are dragon-like creatures whose hoards of jewels and treasure must be reclaimed by heroes who are often young but always stand in contrast to the other characters who reveal themselves to be cowards. The simile that describes Smaug as a "worm" is not an accidental reference to the word "wyrm," used in the Anglo-Saxon epics to describe dragon-like monsters.