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Mahaffey

Sean Mahaffey

The Hobbit

October 4, 2009Word Count: 591

Religious Symbolism in: The Hobbit

The Hobbit , by J.R.R Tolkien, contains many different literary elements, but the

most prominent of them all is that it is an allegory. The entire book is full of symbols that

all point back to one thing. In the world conceived by Tolkien, magic is a substitute for

religion. The people in this world worship sorcery and monsters.

Every religion has a god or superior being of some sort. In this book, it is a wizard

named Gandalf. This is true for many reasons. First, he seems to appear only when

needed and vanishes without warning when he is not. This is a characteristic he shares

with a savior. This is best expressed when he appears seemingly out of nowhere and

saves Bilbo and the Dwarves from some hungry Trolls (Tolkien 39-41). Which leads me

to my next reason; he only helps the good guys. Nowhere in the book is he seen helping

anyone who could remotely be considered “bad.” Furthermore, he helps only those who

are good by means of his magic, which is always some sort of flash or light, and light is a

symbol for good or purity. This is proved when the Dwarves are once again attacked, this

time by Goblins. Gandalf kills some of these Goblins with a flash of bright light. Then

helps the Dwarves escape by providing light to see in the tunnels (60-65). These elements

point back to the fact that Gandalf is a savior or god of some sort.

In every religion, there is someone or something that opposes civilized life or

good in some way. In this book, it is the many monsters that have an undying hate for the

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“good guys.” The first ones encountered in this book are Trolls, who love the taste of

Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, etc., which proves their opposition to “good.” Also, they turn to

dust if they are exposed to light, which is a symbol for good in this book (35-41). While

Trolls may be the first monsters, they are not the only ones. There are also cave dwelling

Goblins who, on many occasions, attack the humans and have gone to war with the

Dwarves several times (102). They also thrive in the dark and avoid the sunlight at all

costs (96). All the monsters in this book show the same characteristics as the Goblins and

Trolls. This shows that the monsters in this book are symbols for “demons.”

The last thing missing from this “magic” religion is an ultimate evil of some sort,

some opposing force that is as strong if not stronger than Gandalf. That opposing force in

this book is Smaug. There are many characteristics about Smaug that are evil. He cold-

bloodedly killed an entire city of Dwarves and stole their treasure (23-24). Furthermore,

he is tricky and seems to even be able to put thoughts into people’s heads(225). He does

just that in a conversation with Bilbo in his cave. Smaug is nearly immortal(23) and very

hard to kill(226-227). His very name represents poison and evil. All these things make

him the perfect opposite of good.

In conclusion, this book is an allegory which represents religion. Almost

everything in The Hobbit can be related back to some aspect of religion, be it good, evil,

or neither. Gandalf symbolizes goodness and purity in all aspects, while the bad side is

made up of monsters or demons, Smaug being the greatest of them all. It is for all these

reasons that this book was challenged; it was perceived as an attack on religion.

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Works Cited

Tolkien, John. The Hobbit . New York: Ballantine Books. 1965.

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