Quote:
Originally Posted by Sauron the White
How does destroying the bridge to the land help the people of Laketown agains a flying fire breathing dragon who does not need that bridge in the least?
Nobody has answered that key question.
|
Perhaps no one has answered that question because it is entirely irrelevant, since Smaug clearly *does* "need the bridge in the least", while the hypothetical dragon who doesn't fails to enter the story?
Now, if you meant to ask how destroying the bridge helps the people of Laketown against
Smaug, that question has been answered several times. To sum up these answers (as I see them - forgive me if I misinterpreted someone's point):
1. Smaug could not land in Laketown without the bridge.
2. Because Smaug could not land, his vulnerable underbelly was exposed. He was, in fact, killed because of this.
3. Smaug feared the water, and the text itself says, in as many words, that he "was foiled", and describes him as originally making for the bridges in his attack.
4. The bridge did not offer a viable escape-route anyway, because the water itself offered more protection from a fire-breathing dragon than did the land.