Home » Reading & Literature » J.R.R. Tolkien » Is That an Orc in Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy to Be Evil? - Page 5

Is That an Orc in Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy to Be Evil? - Page 5

© Michael Martinez

There are significant Dwarvish accomplishments in the stories, to be sure. But they do not aspire to leave their mark upon the land, or to extend their rule across vast empires. Dwarvish ambitions are obscure, and though they must represent an aspect of the humane as well, they seem less concerned with owning or making things than either Men or Elves. Treasure is important to a Dwarf, but not as a sign of power. And Dwarves seem to delight in craftmanship more than in its products. Dwarves and Orcs resemble each other in that neither race strives for supremacy in Middle-earth. Elves and Men, on the other hand, spread across the landscape and pursue near total control over their lands. The Numenoreans represent a merger of Elvish artistic ambition with human domination. Hence, immense towers rise up from the mountains at Isengard and Minas Tirith. The gigantic statues of Isildur and Anarion warn hostile visitors to remain in the north. The Numenoreans shape the land to suit their desires, but their desires are still focused on boundaries, treaties, and controlling other people. It should not be surprising, therefore, that the Nazgul turned out to be Men. Of the three races Sauron tried to subvert, Elves, Dwarves, and Men, only Men really nourished the kind of ambition Sauron needed: the Nine proved to be adept at conquering empires. Elven Nazgul might simply have scattered the inhabitants of a land in order to concentrate on twisting the land to reflect Sauron's malice and glory. Dwarven Nazgul might have ignored the land and its inhabitants and just accumulated huge storehouses of treasure to fund Sauron's wars of conquest. He needed generals, not sculptors and bankers. Men were the easiest to ensnare in Sauron's game of conquest and control because, perhaps, those were the kinds of ambitions they cherished. Without the Nazgul to extend his power, would Sauron have become the fearsome overlord Ar-Pharazon felt challenged by? Would Mordor simply have continued, powerful in its own right but unable to extend its will throughout most of Middle-earth? The baddest bad guys seem to be Men. When the Lords of the West lead their small army against Mordor, the Mouth of Sauron turns out to be another man, rather than an Orc or some other creature. Orcs may serve the Dark Lords in droves, but they lack the ambition and initiative that true leadership required. Elves engage in evil, and some might work the will of the Dark Lords (as Maeglin did in Gondolin), but they have no real aptitude for carving out empires. The Feanorians are more accomplished at command and conquest than other Elves, but they negate their achievements by turning upon their friends and allies.

The copyright of the article Is That an Orc in Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy to Be Evil? - Page 5 in J.R.R. Tolkien is owned by Michael Martinez. Permission to republish Is That an Orc in Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy to Be Evil? - Page 5 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.