#DoVMultiChallenge| The Similarities Between Tywin and Smaug

Greetings all, today I'll be completing another component of the #DoVMultiChallenge. I do realize that in the last one I said I probably wouldn't do anymore, but when it comes to statements like that I'm extremely unreliable. Plus, this little thought popped into my head and I couldn't shake it. So here we are.

If you haven't already guessed from the title I'll be comparing the characteristics of Tywin Lannister and Smaug. I realize that at first glance they may seem like they have absolutely nothing in common; I mean, a fire drake and the Lord Paramount of the Westerlands? But once you delve deeper into their personalities and what drives them, you will see that this is in fact an obvious choice. So let's just jump straight into it

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Greed for Gold

I chose this as my starting point as I feel like this is the most obvious of the similarities. Both Tywin and Smaug are infamous for their obvious gold fetish. They are both driven by a hunger to remain wealthy, ferociously guarding their gold and decimating all who threaten to take it from them. This is most evident in Tywin's character during the events that lead up to the destruction of house Reyne of Castamere.

Tywin's father Tytos, was a feeble man who leant out much of House Lannister's gold. The other lords of the Westerlands took advantage of this and refused to pay their debts. Tywin although young was not happy with this arrangement, and so took it upon himself to restore the wealth of his house. He demanded immediate repayment of the loaned gold, those who were unable to repay immediately were to send a hostage to Casterly Rock until their debt was paid. Of course many Lords were not happy with this treatment and it resulted in a revolt, which Tywin successfully managed to crush, exterminating all of House Reyne and Tarbeck. It is quite an interesting story, I recommended reading up on it if you haven't already. But I feel this adequately shows the extent to which Tywin will go to protect his family's wealth. He ruined two powerful houses, just because they wouldn't give him gold. This may have been his first real show of greed, but it most certainly wasn't his last.

I don't feel like I need to give much of an example for Smaug. Anyone even briefly familiar with The Hobbit, whether it be the novel or movie trilogy, should be aware of his love for gold. He literally sleeps on a mound of gold and other fine treasures.

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Intelligence

There is no disputing the fact that both Tywin and Smaug are extremely intelligent, and calculated individuals. During his brief conversation with Bilbo, Smaug was easily able to surmise the true reason for his presence, as well as uncover his alliance with the Dwarves. Where as Tywin has manipulated the ream to suit his needs numerous times, being an extremely politically astute man.

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Hatred for Dwarves

Another obvious if not slightly humorous comparison is their shared dislike for Dwarves. Both Universes might have an entirely different concept on what dwarves are, but there are dwarves none the less.

Smaug stole an entire mountain from them, taking all their treasures and leveling the small town of Dale. All surviving Dwarves were driven into exile. ittedly Smaug's dislike for them appears to be much more pronounced then Tywin's. However this can probably be contributed to the fact that Smaug is a dragon, with no familial connection to the Dwarven race. Where as Tyrion is after all Tywin's own flesh and blood. (He's not a Targaryen if he was his name would be Aegon )

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Fatal Arrogance

There is no escaping the fact that Tywin and Smaug share some strong personality traits . They are both under the impression that everyone else is beneath them. They see themselves as the most powerful and intelligent individuals and seem to believe themselves nearly untouchable. This arrogance was their downfall, causing the pair of them to undervalue their adversaries on many occasions.

For instance Smaug saw Bilbo as nothing but a very minor nuisance. He laughed at the fact that a Hobbit would even attempt to take something from him. Instead of killing Bilbo the moment he sensed his presence, Smaug instead decided to brag about his power and superiority. During which he displayed his jewel encrusted underbelly and revealed to Bilbo his one soft spot.

The same can be said for Tywin who displays strong egotisim on more then one occasion. He very nearly loses a war to an inexperienced commander due to misjudging Robb and his Direwolf's prowess in battle. Luckily for him he came to his senses just in time, and disposed of the threat with a much more underhanded method.

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There are many other similarties between this seemingly odd pair. They share many of the same personality traits, and what drives them is more often then not the same. However I only wanted to outline the most distinctive of the parallelisms.

#CharacterComparison

#HighScrolls

#BoD