Monster Character WiKi

Smaug The Magnificent

By: Jessica Mazzur

One of the most popular movie series in our culture currently is

The Hobbit.  It was originally a book written by J. R. R. Tolkien

which was later made into a movie after extreme success from

The Lord of the Rings, another series written by Tolkien.  This

series happens after The Hobbit but is located in the same world,

Middle Earth.  The Hobbit is a story about dwarves and a hobbit

traveling to fight Smaug, a powerful dragon who had stolen the

dwarves’ gold.  It later ends up being a huge battle between 5

armies of different creatures including dwarves, men, elves, orcs,

and wolves.  After reading the book and watching the movies, I

found that Smaug was a very interesting character whose

motives can sometimes be confusing.  Viewers often don’t

realize how differently Smaug is portrayed in the book than he

is in the movie.  The image Tolkien had of Smaug was one very

different than the one the director, Peter Jackson, shows in the

movie.

 

Who is Smaug?

Tolkien first revealed Smaug in the Sack of Erebor and later gave him an appearance in The Hobbit.  Smaug was the last dragon to exist in Middle Earth.  He was said to be over 85 feet long covered in impenetrable armor with the ability to breathe streams of searing flame onto his enemies.  He first appeared in Middle Earth in T.A. 2770 after hearing about the wealth held in the Lonely Mountain.  He attacked the Dwarven kingdom of the Lonely Mountain forcing the Dwarves from their home, killing anyone he saw and keeping all of the treasure for himself.  Only a few dwarves escaped, including Thorin, but they had to leave their kingdom behind.  However, being stubborn and proud, dwarves would never allow anyone, not even a dragon to steal their heritage; they would one day return to take back what was rightfully theirs.

 

After almost 200 years of hiding, Smaug’s rule was disrupted

by Thorin and a few dwarves in a company of 12 with a hobbit,

Bilbo Baggins.  When Bilbo was sent into the dragon’s

chamber, he attempted to steal a piece of treasure and Smaug

was immediately wakened.

 

Tolkien’s Portrayal:

In Tolkien’s novel, Bilbo only tried to steal a small golden cup. 

Smaug immediately went into a rage, destroying a nearby

town.

In the movie, Smaug had a short conversation with the hobbit

where he came to the conclusion that Bilbo had come to aid

Thorin and his company in an attempt to steal back the

mountain and the treasure it contained.  After this, Smaug

rose in a rage flying over a nearby town, burning everything

in his path. 

 

Peter Jackson's Portrayal:

In the movie, Smaug had a short conversation with the hobbit where he came to the conclusion that Bilbo had come to aid Thorin and his company in an attempt to steal back the mountain and the treasure it contained.  After this, Smaug rose in a rage flying over a nearby town, burning everything in his path. 

 

The end of the story was the same in both the novel and the movie.  While he was flying over the town, Bard the Bowman fired a black arrow into Smaug’s one vulnerable spot.  Smaug was killed and fell from the sky, landing in the devastated town he had destroyed.  His death symbolized the end of dragons in Middle Earth.

 

Analysis

In the novel, Tolkien portrays Smaug is greedy creature who cares about no one but himself and the treasure he holds.  Rather than thinking of him as an evil villain, he should be thought of as someone who has one primary goal in life and is only motivated by one thing- gold.  His desire for gold is impossible to fulfil and he will stop at nothing to keep what he believes is his.  His immense greed is obvious in his reaction to Bilbo’s theft.  Smaug can have an entire mountain of gold sitting under him, but having one piece stolen is enough to put him into a rage to destroy an entire town.  He doesn’t go looking for trouble unless trouble comes to him.  While he was allowed to have peace, he was perfectly content with living undisturbed in the mountain with gold.  After Bilbo stole the golden cup, Smaug immediately destroyed a local town in retaliation.  Rather than waiting for an explanation or trying to take the cup back, Smaug felt no remorse or sympathy for the innocent.  He didn’t care who he was killing, as long as people knew how powerful he was and what the punishment would be for anyone who tries to steal from him.

 

In the movie, Smaug is portrayed as extremely arrogant in addition to greedy.  When Bilbo enters the mountain, he tries to steal the Arkenstone, a wondrous gem greatly valued by the dwarves.  Smaug woke up and had a conversation with Bilbo as to why he was there.  While they were talking, Bilbo attempted to use flattery to persuade the dragon into letting him go.  At this flattery, Smaug began to show off his magnificent body, which led to his downfall.  As he was showing his body, he revealed a weak spot on his stomach.  Smaug was eventually pierced in this same spot with a black arrow, ending his life.  Before his death, the dwarves entered the mountain and begin to battle Smaug for the treasure.  Smaug became furious with the dwarves after they covered him in molten gold and then he decided to get his revenge by destroying the local town.  In the movie, the dragon has more patience than in the novel.  He mainly just wants to kill the dwarves to prevent them from stealing his treasure.

 

Although there are some major characteristics that are different between these two literary works, the most important thing to realize about Smaug, is his greed for wealth.  He will do anything to keep the treasure he holds in the Lonely Mountain.

 

In pop culture, Smaug is thought of the greatest dragon and deserves special recognition.  Smaug is often referred to as “Smaug the Magnificent.”  Not only does he have a terrifying appearance which is enough to scare almost anyone away, he also has extremely impressive abilities including flying and breathing fire.  The reason Smaug is so terrifying is because he not only has generic dragon characteristics, but he also is incredibly clever and has a very short temper.  His short temper is seen in the novel when he is enraged by a single cup being stolen.  His cleverness can be seen in the film when he converses with Bilbo and discovers that he has come with dwarves to steal back the mountain.  Due to his intellectual capability, he introduces a new aspect to dragons which has not yet been seen by our society.  This new development leads to the fear viewers have of him.