There was a little bit of discussion in class today about the parallels between a biblical story and the thrush killing the dragon in chapter 14. While thinking about this I realized that there is another pretty significant allusion to another biblical event in chapter 14 soon after Smaug is killed. Soon after the Bard emerges from the water, he is praised by the towns people who want to make him king. This of course would mean that the current Master of lake town has his position of power put in jeopardy. So, with some clever speech, he convinces a majority of the people to once again see him as master and a hero, despite the fact that he abandoned them to save himself during the attack. The bard then falls back into being some crazed radical in the eyes of the majority of the people, and their blame is deflected from the king to the dwarves and Bilbo for betraying their trust. Thus, the people praise the liar and traitor and condemn their savior.
This is extremely similar to the story of the condemnation of Jesus Christ by the people of Jerusalem after his trial with Pontius Pilate. though crowds had gathered to follow and listen to Jesus prior to his arrest by the high priests, and clearly respected him and praised him as their savior, the people suddenly changed their minds during the trial. The high priests, who felt that Jesus was a threat to their positions, bribed and threatened the people to ask Pilate to release a murderer from prison instead of Jesus, to which the complied. Jesus was now condemned to death for blasphemy despite the fact that the high priests used religion as a front to gain personal power and exploit the people who trusted them. Thus, the savior is now the criminal and those in power became more powerful.
As we have seen, Tolkien references a lot of biblical events in this book, but does so in such a way that the overall message is still effective even if the reader didn't know it was an allusion. However, I found the inclusion of this specific allusion to make a lot of sense. Honor is a huge theme throughout the Hobbit. Specifically, how one is able to gain honor, and also how one can lose honor. In both the Hobbit and biblical story, this event reminds the reader of how easily our opinion of what is right and honorable can be skewed if we do not consider the whole picture, or let fear and greed control our perspective. I think this realization is best summed up in Thorin's last words to Bilbo "If more of us valued and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world" (312). Honor isn't about how much power an individual has, but how they use the power or opportunity they do have to help others and bring peace and compassion into the lives of those they meet. Bilbo is not honorable because he gains the treasure of the mountain, but because he was willing to sacrifice himself and his reputation to save his friends and those he respected.
I appreciate that Tolkien includes Christian allusions in his works. They add a deeper weight to the story he tells and reinforce the worldview he held. A writer who does not write--or allude--to the most important factor of his life, namely religious faith, is likely doing a disservice. For Tolkien, it seems in our readings of his major works and his essay "On Fairy-Stories, that his Christianity was important to him and shaped much of what he wrote. While arguably not as allegorical as the works of his friend, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien's literary accomplishments do not conceal his great and religious inspiration.
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