After he escapes from goblins’ cave, he is reunited with the dwarves and Gandalf and they continue their journey. They arrive in front of Mirkwood. Gandalf leaves them because he has an important thing to do. And the new adventure in the jungle begins without Gandalf.
Mirkwood is widely known because it has many dangers. It is very dark inside. The trees are very tall, big and seem tangled to one another so the sunshine cannot go through the leaves. The river is magically black spelled and cannot be drunk. And there are many creatures that they have never seen before. And again, in this situation Bilbo shows his pragmatism.
In the middle of the jungle, Bilbo and the dwarves are lost and meet the giant spiders. All dwarves are caught, made into some bundles and hanged in the branches. There is no other way, only Bilbo that can help them. And he decides to fight the spiders, using himself as a decoy instead of going away.
“’I am going to disappear,’ he [Bilbo] said. ‘I shall draw the spiders off, if I can; and you must keep together and make in the opposite direction. To the left there, that is more or less the way towards the place where we last saw the elf-fires.’” (The Hobbit, p.164)
It is not one time he helps the dwarves. After Bilbo rescues them from the giant spiders, the dwarves are caught by the elves of Mirkwood for trespassing the Elvenking. At that time, again Bilbo rescues them using the invisible ring.
When he is invisible, he follows the dwarves which lead him into a dungeon. His decision is very dangerous but not without his consideration. At the first he hesitates but finally decides not to leave their friends and enters to the Elvenking’s Halls to rescue them.
“Across the bridge the elves thrust their prisoners, but Bilbo hesitated in the rear. He did not at all like the look of the cavern-mouth and he only made up his mind not to desert his friends just in time to scuttle over at the heels of the fast elves, before the great gates of the king closed behind them with a clang.” (The Hobbit, p.172)
The doors of the halls can be opened and closed by magic. Even though Bilbo is invisible, it is still hard for him to find a way out to rescue the dwarves. But he finally finds one way out. He finds that the great gates in the Elvenking’s Hall are not the only entrance to the caves. A stream flows under part of the lowest regions of the palace. Where this underground watercourse comes forth from the hillside, there is a water-gate. But the portcullis is often open, for a good deal of traffic goes out and in by the water-gate.
Bilbo discovers the trapdoors and their use, and lurking there, listening to the talk of the king’s servants, he learns how the wine and other goods come up the rivers, or over land, to the Long Lake. When the barrels are empty, the elves cast them through the trapdoors, open the water-gate, and out the barrels floated on the stream. And Bilbo’s plan is using empty barrels, leaping into the stream after them.
From these two decisions, the thought of pragmatism is demonstrated. As it is delivered by James that pragmatism is not a stiff theory. It is an instrument that provides an umbrella for any thoughts as long as the thoughts can produce real and useful actions. Pragmatism also refuses theoretical argument, priority debate, ideological refute, moral value discussion, and so forth in order to take useful action immediately.
Bilbo’s acts that the writer describes previously are qualified in pragmatism view; real, immediate and useful actions. In addition, it strengthens the explanation that truth is made and expedient.
In Bilbo’s case, the benefit is for the dwarfs. This benefit is indeed partial. Not everyone gets the benefit from what has Bilbo done. For dwarfs, it is very useful, but it is not for the elves. At first, the elves would like to investigate the dwarfs about the reason they come to their forest. It is difficult —if we cannot call it impossibility, to provide benefit for everyone, for every side.
However, in The Hobbit the writer finds that in the end Bilbo is not selfish. He puts aside his own interest or benefit for a bigger and more important thing, which is for a common good. He arrives at Misty Mountain and Smaug is finally slain by Bard. Bilbo and the dwarfs take control of the treasure that once was under the dragon’s wings. Then the people of Lake Town helped by the elves demand to Thorin for their treasure that is also robbed by the dragon before, but Thorin refuses it arrogantly. So they warn that they will surround the mountain and will not let any dwarf pass. Of course Thorin does not give up easily. He asks for a help from Dain, his cousin in the Iron hills near the Lonely Mountain. Dain has more than five hundred well-armed dwarves.
At that time, again Bilbo shows his pragmatism. He takes Arkenstone, which belongs to Thorin’s father as one of his precious treasure, and gives it to Bard. Even to hide the stone is a dangerous act. Arkenstone “is worth more than a river of gold in itself, and to me [Thorin] it is beyond price. That stone of all the treasure I name unto myself, and I will be avenged on anyone who finds it and withholds it.” (The Hobbit, p. 268)
Bilbo’s decision to give Arkenstone to Bard, who is by right descent the heir of Girion of Dale, is basically because it is Bard who kills Smaug the dragon so Thorin’s treasure is free from the marauding dragon. Moreover, the treasure that the dragon has taken mostly comes from Girion and Esgaroth, the area of lake-men town. Further in the last battle Smaug destroys the dwellings of the men of Esgaroth. And the last but not least, Bilbo has thought for the sorrow and misery of Dale people. He does not want any clash occurred between the dwarfs and the alliance of the Lake Town people and the elves.
Arkenstone, in Bilbo’s thought, is capable to make Thorin talk it over and finally give the treasure that belongs to the Dale people. Therefore, a battle between the dwarfs and the alliance of the Lake Town people and the elves will not happen. Consequently, Thorin becomes very angry with him.
“’I gave it them!’ squeaked Bilbo, who was peeping over the wall, by now, in a dreadful fright.
‘You! You!’ cried Thorin, turning upon him and grasping him with both hands. ‘You miserable hobbit! You undersized-burglar!’ he shouted at a loss for words, and he shook poor Bilbo like a rabbit.
‘By the beard of Durin! I wish I had Gandalf here! Curse him for his choice of you! May his beard wither! As for you I will throw you to the rocks!’ he cried and lifted Bilbo in his arms.” (The Hobbit, p. 276)
In this situation Bilbo believes that peace will bring more benefit than a battle will. This is suitable with what William James says that a will precedes the truth where the will is accompanied by a desire to believe.
At first it seems that Bilbo’s act does not give him any benefit. He can even lose a fourteenth of Thorin’s treasure that will be given to him as payment for his service. In other words, what Bilbo has done inflicts such a loss for himself, but he believes that it will be useful for many people or sides and for peace. He puts the others’ benefit or common good over his own benefit. He says: “…Take it that I have disposed of my share as I wished, and let it go at that!” (The Hobbit, p. 277)
And finally, by his pragmatic act, the war between the dwarves and the alliance of the lake-town people and the elves can be avoided. The two groups unite to fight the evil goblins. The goblins can be defeated and the treasures are shared.
Through Bilbo’s decision, it seems that Tolkien wants to show that pragmatism is supposed to be able to give much benefit for many people instead of to one person. With that, it can be seen that good or truth is something that should be useful for many people.