In The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, the author portrays wealth as an antagonist, he views it as a negative. Tolkien portrays wealth this way by having Bilbo the hero has no material wealth, however, wealth is not viewed the same way by all the characters. Thorin who seems to be a bad leader is really greedy, he does not give up the Arkenstone even if it means starting a fight. Bilbo ends up being a great leader and instead of making enemies like Thorin he makes allies like Bard and the Wood Elf King. So the author is showing that the characters who are good are the ones who are not greedy. Another huge sign that the author views material wealth as negative is how he portrays Gollum after he gains wealth. He shows that after Gollum finds the ring