1. What are Dain's plans? Does he have any? Roäc doubts that any good can come
from Dain's arrival--is there any way for Dain's arrival to lead to a good
outcome for the dwarves?
A.1: Dain's plans are to get to the mountain and support Thorin. Beyond
that, I think he and Thorin are playing it by ear. Thorin comments that he
hopes to find the men to be "in softer mood to parley with". I think that
Thorin is not trying to get rid of the men without giving them anything,
but rather get rid of the elves without giving them anything, and to get
the men to ask for their gold as between equals instead of trying to obtain it
by force.
Roäc doesn't think a fight will turn out well for the dwarves, and he's
probably right. But until Dain arrives, a fight would not be a catastrophe for
the elves and men. Now, with 500 dwarves behind them and the moutain on the
other side, the elves and men can really only hope for a Pyrrhic victory. This,
in turn, will make them negotiate on more even terms.
2. If Dain is willing and able to mobilize 500 dwarves on short notice to come
to Thorin's aid, why didn't more dwarves join Thorin's expedition in the first
place?
A.2: It's one thing to come to reinforce a dwarven stronghold against men
and elves. It's totally another to contemplate an attack on the dragon that
utterly destroyed that same stronghold in the first place. The former is
reasonable, the latter is practically impossible.
3. Why does Roäc think the counsel he brings is bad? What does he think Thorin
et al. would have done had they not known Dain was coming? What do you think
they would have done?
A.3: Roäc is concerned that a battle will turn out very badly for the
dwarves and, like the narrator, doesn't seem to think that the dwarves are
being rational in their attempts to hold on to the gold they have regained.
Roäc clearly would have preferred that Thorin paid off the men and elves to
gain peace. I think that Thorin might have done so had he no other choice, but
Thorin is not one to give up when there is still a
chance.
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"Virtue is not always amiable."
-John Adams
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