T1__Full text Institutional Repository | Satya Wacana Christian University: Reading the Society of J.R.R, Tolkien’s The Hobbit: A Marxist perspective T1 Full text

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Reading the Society of J.R.R, Tolkien‟s The Hobbit:
A Marxist Perspective
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Sastra

Richardo Keni Sutejo
392012601

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2016

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Reading the Society of J.R.R, Tolkien’s The Hobbit: A Marxist Perspective
Richardo Keni Sutejo

Introduction
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold,
it would be a merrier world” Thorin Oakenshield (Tolkien 263)

Everyone needs money to survive and to afford a good life because they are not free.
Even one may need to pay to breathe clean and fresh air. For example, they may have to buy a
ticket to enjoy the fresh air along the beaches or a park. Clean water is also not for free either.
People have to pay taxes to live in their house or on their own piece of land that is why so many
things in the world seem to be measured with money. Money is an exchangeable tool that
somehow works its way from the thing that is used by people to the thing that uses people. Often
people focus more on making money without actually knowing what to do with them. This idea
is supported by Marx‟s statement that says, “Money is the universal, self-constituted value of all

things. It has therefore robbed the whole world, human as well as nature, of its own values.
Money is the alienated essence of man‟s work and being, this alien essence dominates him and
he adores it” (qtd. in McLellan 22).
People believe that having money or any kinds of measurable treasures are things that
objectify social class. According to Karl Max, there are two kinds of classes. One is the have the
power to dominate the lower class. For example, the upper class use their money to build
factories and run businesses, which are done by the lower class. However, they do not pay the

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workers decently compared to the profit they get from the businesses. Unfortunately, many
workers seem to be fine with the condition because they think that is the amount of money they
should earn. They have to struggle to fulfill their daily needs so that it will be harder for them to
change their economic condition. The upper class do not care for this situation because they see
the lower class as their labor and tools to do things as they wish. Because of their power, they
make the lower class think that it is a privilege to work for them. So they do not respect the
other‟s hard work (Delahoyde 1).
Simply put, the upper class are the ones with power and control and the lower class the
powerless. However, both classes depend on each other to survive. As (Delahoyde) states, “In
bourgeois capitalism, the privileged bourgeoisie rely on the upper class--the labor force

responsible for survival” (1). Despite the lower class‟ contentment, the upper class need to
maintain their domination, while some lower class members want to change their economic
condition, meaning they would like to be one of the upper class. Therefore, from time to time,
social class has been a sensitive issue. Consequently, it easily leads to conflict.
The issue of social class does not only happen in real life. As an imitation of what happen
in the real world, literary works may raise such an issue. According to Leninist Marxist, literary
work must be used as a tool against the condition (qtd. in Baraka 1). One of the examples is, a
famous H.C. Andersen‟s fairytale story entitled “The Little Match Girl” which tells us about a
poor girl who worked even on Christmas Eve, hoping that someone might buy all her matches.
However, nobody paid attention to her and she was out cold in the winter until she died the next
morning. The Hobbit is another example of the never ending connection between those two
classes. Depicting the long journey the dwarfs made to regain their stolen wealth, the novel may
be considered as race‟s attempt to reclaim his class status. This is one of the reasons why the

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novel has been selected as the subject of this study. Another reason is its popularity, which
implies its potentially big impact on the readers or society in general novel, but also an award
winning one. More than 100 million copies have been sold since its first publication in 1937.The
novel is also considered the “Most Important 20 th-Century Novel (for Older Readers)”

(10mosttoday). In April 1983 it was awarded by New York Herald Tribune the juvenile (i.e.
written for children) story of the season (tolkiensociety). These tell us that The Hobbit is an
interesting and meaningful novel, although it is classified as a work of popular literature, which
is also called trash literature.
The book portrays the adventure of the Dwarfs from the peaceful Shire to the dreadful
lonely mountain to fight against Smaug, a talking dragon who had taken over the kingdom, and
to reclaim their stolen treasure with the help of Bilbo, a hobbit. Their struggle for gold exposed
them to many difficulties as they had to deal with danger, monster, even the force of nature.
However, these did not discourage them. The dwarfs used to be a respectable social group who
were famous for their great smith skill and their prosperity. They had a mountain of gold so that
their race was considered one of the richest in Middle Earth as reflected in the many poems and
songs describing their prosperity and incomparable gold (Tolkien 15). However, after their
treasure had been stolen by Smaug, the dwarfs were no longer revered. In contrast, they were
mocked and later their greatness was forgotten. Even their prince had to work as a blue collar
worker after he had lost his throne (Tolkien 15). This means that by losing the gold the dwarfs
lost not only their wealth, but also their social status.
However, as the proverb “money is the root of all evil” goes, a cooperation aimed for
money commonly creates problem. Similarly, The Hobbit portrays how the pursuit of the
treasure creates greed and conflict, making this old story relevant to today‟s life in which some

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people may even exchange their honor for money. In other words, despite the magnificent
adventures along the journey, Tolkien seems to want the reader to see that even in magical world
where human, elves, and dwarfs live side by side, money, gold, and treasure still become an
issue that may lead to conflict. Therefore, this study would like to examine the story from the
perspective of Marxism. Marxism has been selected because it aims to change a society and
bring about a system with no differing economic classes (Storey 194), which implies conflict
between social classes. In a classless society, the lower class would enjoy a higher social status.
On the other hand, the upper class will not be happy to lose their social status. Marx and
Engels understand that capitalist societies bring many problems to both the lower and the upper
class. The lower class who are seen as the victims, do suffer more because they are the ones who
do all the work. It does not mean that the upper class does nothing. They have to maintain the
rules so that the lower class stays in their place (Bertrens 94). Since the novel basically describes
a race‟s attempts to reclaim their treasure, which represents their social status, this research aims
to examine the representation of Marxist‟s concepts in the novel The Hobbit. To dig these out,
this study would emphasize on examining the society, including its members, and what they do
as described in the story.
Some literary works are rooted in or reflect things that happen in the real life. Because of
this, by analyzing The Hobbit we can see ourselves in how we see money. We are able to realize

the power and the threat of money so we can be a better member of the society. As today‟s world
is a material world, where money is sometimes considered one of the most important things in
life, one needs to have money to live and to have a wise and critical perspective about money.
“materialism is not the greedy desire for material goods, but rather the belief that the
fundamental reality of the world is material; idealism is not the aspiration toward lofty and

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laudable goals, but rather the belief that the fundamental reality of the world is mental or idea -

like” (Smith).
The findings of this study may help reader understand today‟s material world better so
that they are able to take a more critical perspective to it. They may also deepen their knowledge
about Marxism, and help them be more aware of ideological practices in real life so they can
cope with them better. The older generation may also realize that a literary work may be an
effective means for educating the young generation about money and life
This research requires learning many things and reading many journals, which leads to
the world of Tolkien Works. It discusses a huge range of research field from the trilogy novel of
“The Lord of the Rings” until “The Hobbit”. I have searched for journal articles about Marxism
in The Hobbit and found some articles about Marxism ideas related with all Tolkien‟s worlds;

One is Stefansson‟s analysis entitled “J.R.R Tolkien, A Marxist Reading” (2014), which focuses
on Tolkien as an author. He claimed that the author‟s background influenced the literary work.
“Marxist literary criticism revolves around the idea that the input of an author affects his output,
i.e. the condition, environment, education, religion and historical reality of the author affects his
writing and the views expressed there within” (Stefansson, abstract). By using the theory, he
clarified the political leanings of both the author and the novel.
Another journal article that I found was on Silmarillion Weebly web page. The writer
stated that as an author J.R.R Tolkien was creating the image of dwarfs who are known „bornstone‟ which means stubborn. The image of the dwarfs expresses Tolkien‟s opinion about greed
and the centralization of wealth. Those two representative journal articles prove that this study
has not been done before. They focus more on how the author reflects his opinion and

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surroundings into literary works; whereas, my work would focus on what Marxist notions are
represented in The Hobbit.
Marxism
Founded by Karl Marx (1818-1883), a German philosopher, and Friedrich Engels (18201895), Marxism is a theory which shows how “one social class is exploited by another to show a
modern industrial capitalism” (Barry 106). The aim of Marxism is to bring about a classless
society, based on the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange.
Marxism is a materialist philosophy: that is, it tries to explain things without assuming the

existence of a world or of forces beyond the natural world around us, and the society we live in
(Barry 107). While other philosophies merely seek to understand the world, Marxism seeks to
change it. Marxism sees progress as coming about through the struggle for power between
different social classes. For Marx, classes were the basic social group by means of whose
conflict society develops in accordance with changes in its economic substructure (McLelan
177).

Marx believes that society
is formed by the base structure
and the superstructure. The base
is at the bottom, representing
money

or

economics.

things
The

related
top,

to
the

superstructure, refers to anything

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else: education, religion, arts, philosophy, etc. Marx believes all of the above categories depend
on money as its base (Engels 58). Therefore, I would say that Marx would agree with the saying
that “money makes the world go „round‟.” Even Marx believes that religion depends on money.
To build worshiping places, people need money to purchase land and materials. Money offerings
are taken from the congregation because even religious institutions are not free or immune from
the need for money to exist (Habib 18). Therefore, everything that human does is based on
economical procedures, including their decision to do some work. Marx maintains that the
society is divided into the bourgeois or the upper class and proletariat or the lower class. Those
two different classes depend on each other for survival. Capitalism requires both proletariat (poor
people) and bourgeoisie (rich people). Marx said that when profits or money is used to establish

more factories, it means making the bourgeoisie wealthier and the workers grow poorer. The
workers or the lower class, have undergone reification which means the way in which capitalist
societies reduce human beings to becoming things or machines. The upper class does not
consider the lower class as people with individual needs and abilities. Rather, the lower class is
reduced to only what they can provide for the upper class (Brooks 1). The ones who suffer this
type of exploitation are lower class. The ones who exploit the lower class by forcing them to do
these tasks are called the bourgeoisie, or the upper class. (Ollman 1). According to Brizee and
Tompkins, there will always be conflict between the upper, middle, and lower class (1). It means
that no class is in the safe area. Even the bourgeois has to experience a class struggle in order to
preserve their class. They have to make rules and control the society so they can maintain their
position in the society. It is the same for the lower class who have to struggle to be accepted in a
better social class.

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Ideology and Hegemony
To understand the idea of Marxism, we have to know the ideology. Ideology is a
representation of the imaginary relationship of individuals to the real condition of existence only
now the concept is also the name for the process by which the relations of production are
reproduced. Ideology is no longer seen as an idea but as lived material practice that is reproduced

trough the practices (Storey 2). So, the society doesn‟t realize that they are living within the
ideology and they do not question it and they are affected by ideology as they live (Tyson 54).
This means that, people do not realize the ideology that surrounds them simply because they live
in it.
Rivkin and Ryan add that ideology is like false consciousness which is a set of practice
that sustains an individual‟s imaginary relationship to his or her material conditions of existence
(693). In here, ideology is seen as guidance to explain who we are and what we do. Even though
it is just a reflection of our reality.
However, it is impossible for us to escape from ideology. According to Althusser,
ideology is like a fish tank that trapped the fish that swim and breathe within it (151). They
believe that they are free to swim around but actually the tank keeps the fish inside. The tank is
transparent and the fish do not notice they are confined. Based on this analogy, the society is
trapped within ideology. Ideology is invisible but it keeps people doing what they do even
though they think that they have choices. Ideology makes their reality in constituting them as
subjects (Bennet and Royle 173).So, the ideology make them do and think. It goes to the heart of
the personal identity of how they conceive themselves as subject in the world and all that
involved.

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However, to maintain ideology so the upper class can control the people, they use
Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) and Repressive State Apparatus (RSA). Eagleton writes that
”Ideology is now to be seen not positively as a material force for the reproduction of subjects
distributed within the labor process, but negatively, as that which by forestalling the release of
contradictions within the subject helps to secure the conditions of existence of the dominant
social relations of production” (70). This statement implies that ideology is used to control the
situation and to prevent any conflict within the lower class. ISA idea is about reinforcing the rule
of the dominant class primarily through ideology (Leitch 91). It means that one class can
succumb to another dominant class voluntarily through ideology like churches, schools,
advertisement, and family.
For example, the slogan of the famous perfume brand, Axe, is “The Axe Effect, Even
Angels will fall”. The advertisement depicts a man spraying his Axe on and suddenly Angels fall
into his house. This gives the audience and idea that Axe is a powerful tool which attracts
women, as if smell is the most important thing that a man has to concern about when he wants to
attract beautiful girls. The slogan is ideological. In here, the Axe Company is working with ISA.
Using the advertisement, they lure men to use Axe because of its effect by instilling the slogan
and its visualization into the viewers‟ mind.
On the other hand, the idea of RSA is about a tool that used by the ruling class to
suppress and dominate the lower class. The punishments to the people who do not obey the rules
are the RSA. For example, when the society does not pay tax the government will give
punishment. In here, the government is the RSA who control the society. ISA and RSA are used
to control the society, even though the society does not realize it. This is called hegemony.

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Hegemony is a concept of social power or domination proposed by Gramsci. He states
that power can be maintained without force if the consent of the dominated can be obtained
through education and through other kinds of cultural labor (qtd. in Rivkin and Ryan 673). When
a hegemonic situation is created, the lower class happily accept the ideas suggested by the upper
class in exchange of things that they believe will be given to them. The lower class believe that it
is only natural or how things are (Barry 165).
On the other hand, the lower class may also be a target and victim of hegemony. The
ones that have power tend to control the lower class. As Rivkin and Ryan maintain, “It is the
appetite of the mind, and as natural as hunger to the body. The greatest number of things have
their values from supplying the wants of the mind” (672). It means that the desire to control the
lower class is only natural.
In order to maintain their status and power, the upper class had to keep the lower class
consciously or unconsciously believe that they are supposed to work for the upper class. If they
could not maintain the condition or the lower class started having power, they will lose their
status as bourgeois. To be considered as a rich man, the upper class need to have more than
others. They have to make a situation or rule which dominate the lower class.

Brief Description of The Hobbit Society and Its Members
In literature works, especially in fiction stories, character is the key element of the story.
Character and its characterization helps the reader to understand the story better. It makes the
story alive and reasonable. That is why before the writer discuss more about the discussion, first
the reader need to know about the character in the hobbit.

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There are 6 different races in the novel; dwarfs, men, elves, sorcerers or witches, hobbits,
and orcs. Each races are famous for something and they have their own culture. Dwarfs are
famous of the kingdom under the mountain. Their daily job are mining the treasure inside the
mountain. They are extremely rich because of it. Men are famous of their ability to fish and
make things and then sell it in the market. Some of them are also famous for their archery skills.
Elves are immortal, they only eat vegetable, and always dress gracefully in their kingdom. They
have magic that can heal people. Elves are very good at archery and sword skill. There are only 4
sorcerers in the story. They are powerful and full of magic. Their power force them to keep the
world in balance. Physically hobbits are similar to dwarfs, but they have different way of live.
Contrary to dwarfs, hobbits do not like to mine and do combat, they like to farm and gardening.
The last race is the orcs. Orcs are very big creatures and they like to eat flesh. Their giant bodies
give them advantage in combats. They can easily kill their enemy just by one swing of their
hands.
Each character in the novel is unique and influences the story. The protagonist, Bilbo
Baggins is a rich hobbit who adores perfection. He likes to tidy things up and organizes his
appliance. The way he cooks stated that everything has its own place. Before he eats his food he
will put the food in the nice plating. Bilbo interacts with all his neighbor and like to stay in his
warm house. But then, he is a kind hearted person, so he allowed the dwarfs to come inside his
house for the first time. The antagonist of this story is Smaug the dragon. Even though, he only
appears on the first and the last chapter, he is still being the main reason why the protagonist go
to a journey. He is a greedy and evil dragon who likes to conquer treasures from kingdoms
without any specific reason since he cannot use the treasures. The other protagonist who has
dynamic character is Thorin the King of Dwarfs. He is brave and assertive. He adores treasures

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so much since he was born to a rich family. He will do anything to get his treasures back even
though, there are things to be sacrificed. He is respected by all his minions and also other race.
However, after he successfully regain his treasures, his character changes. He does not care
about people anymore. He does not want to share it to people he promised to.

The Base-Super Structure in The Hobbit
Led by the Oakenshield family called The King under the mountain, the Dwarfs were
known as the rich clan under the mountain. Thorin, the last descendant of the family, was about
to be crowned when Smaug the dragon came and destroy the kingdom. His father accidentally
left the Arkenstone, which was a symbol of the Kingdom, in the palace. Thorin was left
penniless and had to work to get food. This made him eager to get the Kingdom back so that with
the help of Gandalf, the wizard, he made a plan to gather the very best Dwarfs to go to the
Lonely Mountain, where Smaug lived.
Thorin, the leader of the Dwarfs, is described as one who sees everything based on how
much it is worth. He would not take any step if it did not benefit him. Even, the friendship that
they built is based on the vision to regain their wealth. This can be seen when Thorin and the
other dwarfs went to Bilbo‟s house separately to ask for the help to get their treasure back
(Tolkien 10-12). Thorin and the Dwarfs‟ decision to regain their gold and to ask for Bilbo‟s help
reflect Marxist concept of Base and Superstructure. In the story, the base is represented by the
money, gold, jewels, and all other kinds of treasure in the kingdom under the mountain; while
the superstructure is represented by the friendship, family, and other kinds of relationship. In the
story, it can be seen that they all went separate ways and are gathered by Gandalf the wizard to
discuss the plan to regain their wealth. The plan, solidarity among the dwarfs, the dwarfs‟

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determination that their stolen treasure must be reclaimed are parts of the super structure which
are built upon the base structure; i.e. wealth. They look for friends to help them. Even they have
to “buy” person to help them. The help that Bilbo gave also based on the money that he will get.
The dwarfs feel that Bilbo works for them so they can easily order him to do dangerous work. In
doing the dangerous work they do not force Bilbo, rather he do it voluntarily, because of the
money that they promised to him.
The reason for recruiting Bilbo, whom they acknowledged as a burglar, into the team was
also a form of base and superstructure relationship. Gandalf went to Bilbo‟s house to invite him
to join an unforgettable journey, even though he knew that Bilbo might get hurt along the way,
especially because he did not use to going on an adventure. It was all for the sake to help Thorin
and his fellow regain their treasure. All of the Dwarfs also came to Bilbo‟s house for the purpose
to gather up and took what were supposed to be theirs. If there was no reason to meet up, they
would not know who Bilbo was and came to his house.
Besides, the Lake-town Mayor‟s attitude towards the dwarfs is affected by money and
gold. At first, before knowing who Thorin was and what he was after, the Mayor underestimated
them. “Very well! We‟ll see! No treasure will come back through Mirkwood without having
something to say in the matter. But I expect they will all come to a bad end, and serve them
right!” (Tolkien 137). However, after Thorin told him about his journey and the Mayor came to
understand who Thorin was and what he was capable to do, he started to respect him and talked
good about him. “You must claim your own. The hour is at hand, spoken of old. What help we
can offer shall be yours, and we trust to your gratitude when your kingdom is regained” (Tolkien
138).

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In here, the Lake-town Mayor also sees everything based on money. The friendship that
he made was based on the treasure that he desired. He wanted to do good things as long as there
was something for him return. This fact is also in line with the theory of base and superstructure
which propose that any kinds of things, feeling, or human‟s relation are based on price or money.

The Social Structure in The Hobbit
Similar to Marxist perspective of a society, the society depicted in The Hobbit is a
structured one based on groups of race. Each group can be considered hierarchal. However,
unlike Marxist class division which is based on material, those races in the hobbits story view of
social classes differently according to their race. Constituted of the Dwarfs, the Elves, the
Human, the Troll, the Wizard, and the dragon, the society seems to put the Dwarfs at the highest
position although they are neither the others‟ master nor employer. The Dwarfs appear as a rich
community that makes them respected by the other races, especially the mortal man.
“Anyway they (the dwarfs) grew immensely rich and famous and my (Thorin)
grandfather was king under the mountain again, and treated with great reverence by the
mortal man… as far the valley overshadowed by the Mountain…Fathers (human race)
would pay us handsomely, and especially in food supplies which we never bothered to go
or find for ourselves” (Tolkien 22).
This quotation proves that the dwarfs were greatly respected by the human race because of their
wealth and power. They do not have to be concerned about food because there are other people
that can provide it for them in exchange of their skill in teaching combat.
Thorin‟s statement that his grandfather was king again implies that the dwarfs used to be
the ruling race. They seemed to lose the throne once and regained it as they grew to be

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extraordinarily rich. This may imply that the power to be the ruling race is parallel with the
wealth a race has. This reflects Marxist beliefs about base and superstructure that people are
respected in their society if they have money. As Storey, quoting Marx and Engles, states, “The
ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling
material force in society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force”. It means that the one
who has control over material (can be gold or money) has control over intellectual production
(99).
Being the immensely wealthy and powerful, the dwarfs position themselves as masters
who have authority over their subordinates. In Marx‟s terms, the dwarfs act as the dominant
group.
“I like six eggs with my ham when starting on a journey: fried not poached and mind you
don‟t break „em. After all the others had ordered their breakfast without as much as a
please (which annoyed Bilbo very much) they all got up. The hobbit had to find room for
them all, and filled all his spare-rooms and made beds on chairs and sofas before he got
them all stowed and went to his own little bed very tired and not altogether happy.”
(Tolkien 26).
The Dwarfs treat Bilbo as their maid although he was there to help the dwarfs in their struggle to
reclaim their gold. In other words, the dwarfs should be in a lower position than Bilbo, the
hobbit. However, as a race who used to be very rich and powerful, the dwarfs seem to still put
themselves in a higher position than Bilbo so that without hesitantly they asked Bilbo to prepare
for their breakfast and make their bed. On the other hand, even though Bilbo was annoyed with
the Dwarfs‟ behavior, he served them (Tolkien 5). This implies the dwarfs‟ efforts to revive their
domination and the hobbit‟s subordination. They were the ones who decided instead of the

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hobbit, who had no choice but to obey the dwarfs. This meets Marxist idea that the ideas of the
ruling class ideas are the ruling ideas (Storey 99, Tyson 54).
The human race also shows a great respect toward dwarfs even though the later own less
money, “Then all the more reason for taking us (dwarfs) to him (master). We are worn and
famished after our long road and we have sick comrades. Now make haste and let us have no
more words or your master may have something to say to you (the guard).” (Tolkien 181).
Despite the entire struggle the dwarfs have done and all the sorrow that they have felt, they still
consider themselves the master. They even think that the human race have to feel grateful to
them, because they used to help the human race. They used that fact to feel more superior and
have a chance to bargain. “I am Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror King under the Mountain! I
return” (Tolkien 181). Thorin uses his status as a King to command the Master of the Human
race. This shows that the Dwarfs, especially Thorin, are respected by most of the races in the
Hobbit world, because of his status as the ruling class. As Tyson said, the bourgeois control
world‟s natural, economic, and human recourses (Tolkien 54).
Being the richest, the dwarfs used to rule the society, even one of them, Thorin‟s
grandfather, used to be the king. Thus, the dwarves used to be powerful because of their wealth
and to have authority as the ruling race. The other races in the hobbit society seem to feel
consent having the dwarfs as the ruler of the society, creating a hegemonic situation (Gramsci
qtd. in Rivin and Ryan 552). On the other and, the dwarfs seem to be successful in maintaining
their hegemony so that they are still the ruler even though they have lost their richness.
Aside from how the other races see the Dwarfs, each of the races has its own social class
issue; they have different ideas of grouping their members in the social class. Even though, all
dwarfs are all rich, they still pay more respect to the heir of the King, Thorin. Even Gandalf, the

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wizard, who is in a high position, treats Thorin differently. When he took them to Bilbo‟s house,
he said, “It is not like you, Bilbo, to keep friends waiting on the mat, and then open the door like
a pop-gun! Let me introduce Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and especially Thorin!” (Tolkien 11). The
others glorify Thorin as their leader. Similarly, Thorin considers himself higher than anyone so
that he deserves to be honored. Everybody who came to Bilbo‟s house paid him a respect by
saying “At your service”, but he did not bother to say that. “Thorin indeed was very haughty and
said nothing about service” (Tolkien 11). This proves that the dwarfs respect money and power.
It is like the perspective of Tyson about bourgeois class the ones who has power can control
everything. Gramsci in Storey (10) the bourgeois class poses a capability to absorb the entire
society and assimilate it with their own cultural level. It indicates that the bourgeois is the ruling
class who takes control of any culture including behavior of how they treat people.
The other races like Elves have their own perspective in seeing who the ruling class is
and the subordinate are. They respect people with higher social rank like the nobles and warriors
and pay less attention to the minions. “Elrond the master of the house was their (elves) chief. He
was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior.” (Tolkien 49). The Human
are not far different from the dwarfs. They desire prosperity. The bourgeois classes in the Human
village are the ones who have gold and power like the Mayor and the lower class are the ones
who work in the market and have so little money. “They (dwarfs) were expensive to keep, and
their arrival had turned things into long holiday in which business was at a standstill… What
help can we (human) offer shall be yours (dwarfs) and we trust to your gratitude when your
kingdom is regained” (Tolkien 185) However, the Trolls and Wizards are much like Elves. There
are no social classes in their groups. They work together very well. The trolls are concerned
about food only; they are too poor to think of money. This fits Marxist ideas. Being occupied

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with fulfilling their daily needs, the trolls indirectly maintain the social hierarchy. They do not
even think of trying to move to the higher class or question their social condition. The trolls‟
attitude reflects that they are victims of the upper class‟ hegemony. Therefore, “hegemony is
maintained by the dominant classes or groups making concessions to the subordinate classes or
groups” (Storey 119)
Similarly, the wizards concern about magic and the balance of the world. The wizards are
well-respected because they help the other races solve many problems. Even in this journey, he
helps the dwarfs to get to the Lonely Mountain using his powerful magic. However, he is not
used by the dwarfs. Quite contrary, he tells to dwarfs what to do. In other words, the wizard
actually has more power than the dwarfs so that the dwarfs treat him differently than they do to
Bilbo. However, wizardry does not one of the elements that influence people in differentiating
social class.
The Hobbit lives in such beautiful surroundings. They built places they call home that
bring comfort. Society in Hobbit race respects the ones who are extremely rich and have a
normal life. The Bagginses was one of the richest families in the Hobbit society.
No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these),
wardrobes (he had whole room devoted to clothes), kitchen, dining rooms, all in the same
floor… deep set round windows looking over his garden, and meadows beyond, sloping
down to the river (Tolkien 1). … ”People considered them very respectable, not only
because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did
anything unexpected” (Tolkien 3).
This is ideological because it is considered the way things should be from their ideological
representation of ideology. Once they believe in one ideology they will try to “act according this

23

idea” (Rivkin and Ryan 696). This is also a means to maintain social harmony and power. Doing
anything unexpected may threaten social harmony and the powerful as they cannot predict what
one will do.
Hobbits are not very fond of adventures. That is why they consider adventurous hobbit is
not hobbit-like. For example, Bilbo‟s mother is the heir of Took family, who are adventurous
hobbit. Even though they are rich, the other Hobbits still do not respect them so much. “The fact
remained that the Tooks were not as respectable as the Bagginses, though they were undoubtedly
richer” (Tolkien 4). That is why at first Bilbo rejected the offer to join the adventure.
Although both the Bagginses and the Tooks are rich, they used to be poorer than the
Dwarfs. Being the richest, the Dwarfs held the power and be the ruling race, setting up the values
and regulations to secure their position as the ruling race. It is understandable that they dislike
adventurous race and prefer those who do not do unexpected things because adventurous hobbits
may threaten their position as the dominant race. It seems that once they gained power, the
dwarfs tried to maintain the hegemonic situation in ideological ways; i.e. by using values that
they created when they were the ruling class (Rivkin and Ryan 3). This ISA proves to be longlasting and effective because the hobbit society still considers the dwarfs their masters although
the latter have lost their wealth. This situation implies the big power of the values which respects
those who do not do anything unexpected (Tolkien 3)

The Dwarfs’ Class Struggle
The Dwarfs‟ struggle to reclaim their wealth may be considered a form of class struggle.
Used to be known as the rich of the rich, they owned every treasure in the world. Even the
poorest of them had money to lend and spend, and leisure to make beautiful things just for the

24

fun of it (p. 22). When they were bourgeois class, all people respected them so much. After the
greedy Smaug came and left them penniless outside their kingdom, they became the lower class,
they were forced to work to get food. “After that we went away, and we have had to earn our
livings as best we could up and down the lands” (Tolkien 24). Therefore, seen from Marxist
belief, this shows that the richest race holds the power to take control of the society so that the
other races, who do not have as much richness as them have to except what are served to them.
Likewise, Marxism maintains that the social class work and the upper class exploit the lower
class. However, in order to maintain its social class the upper class need to control the lower
class so that they cannot be the upper class. This explains why the Dwarfs help human race so
that the dwarfs can control the human and the human feel obligated to comply with the dwarfs.
Even though they have already tried to maintain their position, Smaug the dragon make their
economic position equal to lower class. Therefore, the dwarfs‟ attempt to reclaim their wealth
can be considered as a class struggle to regain their social status. The Dwarfs issue is similar the
concept of class struggle.
In class struggle, everyone has to work their way to the designated class. The Dwarfs
condition which were very poor, have to work very hard to get to their previous class. They do
everything possibly done so that they can be rich once more. The journey that they take is very
dangerous, but they do not consider the tremendous danger they might meet along the way. Or,
they consider the hardships they will have to face along the journey are worth taking because
their wealth is even worthier. They only think about regaining their wealth. They are so
determined to do the journey and make sure nothings in their way. It proves they experience the
class struggle and social position in a divided hierarchical society as the upper class party. Their
struggle may be considered as an effort to maintain their power and authority. This also reflects

25

the base structure and super structure relationship Marx suggests. “The ultimately determining
element in history is the production and reproduction of real life… The economic situation is the
basis, but the various components of the superstructure also exercise their influence upon the
course of the historical struggles” (qtd Engels in Storey 99).
On the other hand, Smaug who was a very greedy dragon that liked to lie down in the pile
of gold tried to stop the dwarfs struggle to regain the wealth. It attacked the dwarfs so that they
would not get the treasure. “It was an unfortunate remark, for the dragon spouted terrific flames
after him, and fast though he sped up the slope…. He had been feeling rather pleased with the
cleverness of his conversation with Smaug, but his mistake at the end shook him into better
sense.” (Tolkien 208). Even though, the dragon did not use any of the treasure he still want to
keep all the gold without sharing it to anybody. Its act was triggered by the richness of the
dwarfs, as it is in the dragons‟ habit to steal gold and treasure. “Undoubtedly that was what
brought the dragon. Dragons steal gold and jewels from men and elves and dwarfs… and never
enjoy a brass ring of it… Probably, for that is the dragons‟ way, he has pilled it all up in a great
heap far inside and sleeps on it for a bed” (Tolkien 23). The dragons see gold and treasure as the
symbol of power and wealth. The fact that power and wealth are the main requirement to be the
highest social rank like bourgeois make them steal the gold. In Marxism, dragons are like the
bourgeois, in order to always be the bourgeois they have to control the society so that the lower
class will always stay at their social rank which is lower than them.

Conclusion
The discussion reveals that The Hobbit reflects Marxist concepts, such as base-super
structure, ideology, hegemony, and class struggle in different parts of the story. The idea of base

26

and superstructure is mirrored in the characters‟ attitudes which are based on money. Because
most of the races depicted in the novel respect money, which is a source of honor and power, the
society in the hobbit novel can be said to represent the base structure and super structure that
Marx suggests. The work itself is basically a class struggle as represented by the dwarfs‟
attempts to regain their wealth and kingdom back from the dragon is a form of regaining their
lost power, honor and authority.
The society is structured in the way Marxism views a society. The upper class controls
the lower class. As long as the people have money; thus, power they belong to the upper class,
and the ones who have less belong to the lower class. Marx believes that the upper class has the
power to control the society and the lower class has to do accordingly, which is reflected in
Thorin‟s attitude and the way the dwarfs treat Bilbo.
The Ideological State Apparatus takes the form of, among others, the social norms of
hobbit race which greatly respect those who do not have adventures nor do unexpected things as
well as Gandalf‟s reminding Bilbo of his Tooish blood. These norms are effective ISA to
maintain hegemony, which means the upper class‟ domination. The dwarfs‟ promise of reward to
Bilbo is also an ISA which puts Bilbo as a victim of the dwarfs‟ hegemony as he becomes their
thief and does dangerous things for them.

27

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