> But Bilbo WAS hired specifically to be a thief.  From picking up
something 
> on the floor and keeping it, even knowing it 'belonged' to someone
else (who
> himself stole it) to actual thievery from a dragon (who also stole his
> hoard from the dwarves)... it's almost like Biblo is a sanctioned
thief, because 
> the beings from whom he steals are much 'worse'.  
> 
> darkelf, pickin' on da hobbit
> 
> Agreed.  Actually, as an adult, I find that one of the more
interesting
> aspects of the story is Bilbo's ambivalent attitude to being the
official
> "thief".  Not quite the occupation for a well brought up Hobbit, what?
> 
> Actually, to my way of thinking, the only thing Bilbo really stole was
the
> Heart Jewel (Arkenstone?  You know the one I mean).  Of course, he was
trying
> to end the war . . .
> 
> Oh, and food and such from the elves.  Of course, he was trying to
stay out
> of their dungeon . . .

Heh.  One wonders why the dwarves chose a hobbit to be their thief, no?
A
middle-class, well-to-do hobbit, a bunch of poor-but-noble-descended
dwarves
(at least Thorin was, but I thought the rest might have been, too)...
hmm.  I
feel a classist reading of Tolkien coming on.  

darkelf, probably will make me unpopular

Even so, it was a reality of Tolkein's life and times. Chances are he
wasn't able to imagine a world without class divisions. Even if he had
been, he didn't set out to write science fiction, he set out to write
myths and legends, of which class divisions were a substantial
under-structure.

Laurie that would make an interesting thesis Phoenix


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