Quote:
Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne
Neither do I truly understand why Bilbo is on the quest... Why did they need a burglar? Bilbo himself establishes that the treasure is much too large for him to steal piece by piece, and they clearly did not hire him to murder the dragon. What was his purpose, to be a scout of sorts?
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I think Bilbo's main purpose was to open the secret door. However, the Dwarves do much exploitation along the way. "You have to earn your share..." Also, Smaug does not know Hobbit smell - which is a big point in this chapter.
I have to say that this is my favourite chapter in the book too. It's witty, it's funny, its full of danger, and I love Bilbo. I agree that we learn a lot about Smaug and dragons in general, but that's not the reason I like the chapter so much. I love the battle of wit between Bilbo and Smaug and that's that.