The ruffians cause more destruction in a moment of heightened defiance and stress, displaying that their core nature is to destroy, not to protect, even in the place they’ve claimed as their home. The scale of the hobbits’ fatalities, though small compared to the battles the four hobbits have taken part in, is monumental for the peaceful Shire. This demonstrates how profoundly the war and its fallout have affected the Shire, even though most of the hobbits are unaware of what’s gone on abroad.