The Enmity Between Thorin Oakenshield and Smaug

Thorin Oakenshield, the heir of the ancient line of Durin and the rightful King under the Mountain, nurses a profound and unyielding hatred for the dragon Smaug. This enmity is not a mere personal grudge but a dynastic wound, rooted in the catastrophic destruction of his family's kingdom and the theft of their immeasurable wealth. The dragon's attack, which Thorin himself witnessed as a young dwarf, obliterated the prosperous dwarf-realm and the neighboring town of Dale, forcing the survivors into a life of exile and menial labor. This foundational trauma defines Thorin's identity and his single-minded purpose throughout the narrative.

Origins of the Enmity: The Fall of the Mountain

The hatred between Thorin and Smaug originates in the dragon's sudden and devastating assault on the Lonely Mountain. As Thorin recounts to the company at Bag-End, Smaug, a "most specially greedy, strong and wicked worm," flew south one day, descending upon the mountain in a "spout of flame." The dragon destroyed the woods, routed the warriors of Dale, and then crept through the Front Gate, routing out all the halls and tunnels, and claiming the dwarves' entire hoard for himself. Thorin, who was outside at the time, was one of the few survivors. He later saw the dragon "settle on our mountain in a spout of flame" and watched as the woods went up in fire. The dragon's subsequent raids on Dale, where he carried away people "especially maidens, to eat," completed the ruin of the region. This act of annihilation, which killed most of Thorin's kin and stole the legacy of his people, forged an unbreakable chain of vengeance in his heart.

The Quest for Revenge and Recovery

Thorin's quest is explicitly framed as a mission of both recovery and revenge. In his speech to the assembled dwarves and Bilbo, he declares their object is to reclaim their "long-forgotten gold" and to "bring our curses home to Smaug—if we can." This dual purpose—to restore the dwarves' heritage and to exact retribution—is the moral and emotional core of the expedition. The song the dwarves sing, "Far over the misty mountains cold," encapsulates this drive, ending with the defiant line: "To win our harps and gold from him!" The treasure is not merely wealth; it is the symbol of their lost kingdom, and Smaug is the usurper who must be overthrown. Thorin's personal stake is immense, as he is the grandson of Thror, the last King under the Mountain, and the rightful heir to the throne.

The Enmity's Influence on the Journey

Thorin's hatred of Smaug directly shapes the strategy and perils of the journey. The entire plan hinges on stealth and burglary rather than open warfare, a direct concession to the dragon's overwhelming power. Gandalf explains that he settled on burglary because "warriors are busy fighting one another in distant lands" and a direct assault would require a "mighty Warrior, even a Hero." The secret door, the key, and the map are all tools designed to circumvent Smaug's strength. The dragon's presence also dictates the landscape; the lands around the Mountain are a "Desolation of the Dragon," a bleak and barren waste that serves as a constant, grim reminder of Smaug's destructive power. Even the advice from Beorn about the dangers of Mirkwood is colored by the ultimate goal of reaching the dragon's lair, and the forest itself is a barrier that must be crossed to fulfill the quest for revenge.

The Climax of Hatred: Confrontation and Aftermath

The enmity reaches its peak in the direct confrontation between Thorin's company and Smaug. Bilbo's theft of a cup awakens the dragon's fury, leading to a devastating attack on the mountain-side that nearly kills the dwarves. Smaug's rage is described as "the sort of rage that is only seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy suddenly lose something that they have long had." The dragon's subsequent attack on Lake-town, motivated by his suspicion that the Lake-men aided the thief, is a direct consequence of the dwarves' actions. The dragon's death at the hands of Bard, however, does not end Thorin's enmity; it merely transforms it. The treasure, now unguarded, becomes the object of a new conflict, and Thorin's dragon-sickness—a greed and paranoia inflamed by the hoard—leads him to view all others, including the Lake-men and the Elves, as enemies. His final, fatal sortie in the Battle of Five Armies is a last, desperate act of defiance, not against Smaug, but against those he perceives as threats to his reclaimed inheritance. He dies with the Arkenstone, the symbol of his kingdom, laid upon his breast, his hatred for the dragon having been the catalyst for his rise and his fall.