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<blockquote data-quote="Ydars" data-source="post: 4553509" data-attributes="member: 62992">Grimstaff; cast your mind the the following scenes and you will see what I mean;&nbsp;Theodan King has just cast off the power of Saruman and is about to kill Grima Wormtongue when Aragorn prevents him saying &quot;enough men have died on his account&quot; or something similar. Grima is allowed to leave.&nbsp;Also, Treebeard is NOT a lover of battle and he also lets Saruman and Grima leave Orthanc unmolested. He fought to defend his forest but took no joy in battle beyond that feeling that naturally accompanies battle.&nbsp;Or when Sam and Frodo return to the Shire for some &quot;smackdown&quot; as you put it. I think you will find that Frodo is described as being &quot;sick of the battle&quot; and will touch no weapon and finally orders that Saruman be let go, even after all the evil he has done. Saruman himself then says something like &quot;You have grown great young halfling&quot; before Wormtongue kills him. THIS is where Tolkien is telling us the right way to behave, according to him.&nbsp;I know what you mean about some of minor characters, but not every character in the book is &quot;carrying Tolkien's moral philosphy&quot;. Just look at Boromir; the contrast with him and his brother also illustrates what I mean. Faramir is described as a bookish sort who only fights because he must. Boromir wants power, represented by the Ring, and he is one of the only members of the Fellowship to die. He is described as a fighter and his instincts are always aggressive. The same is true of Isildur.&nbsp;The only place that Tolkien appears unremitting is with Orcs, which never seem to come in for the mercy treatment.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ydars, post: 4553509, member: 62992"] Grimstaff; cast your mind the the following scenes and you will see what I mean; Theodan King has just cast off the power of Saruman and is about to kill Grima Wormtongue when Aragorn prevents him saying "enough men have died on his account" or something similar. Grima is allowed to leave. Also, Treebeard is NOT a lover of battle and he also lets Saruman and Grima leave Orthanc unmolested. He fought to defend his forest but took no joy in battle beyond that feeling that naturally accompanies battle. Or when Sam and Frodo return to the Shire for some "smackdown" as you put it. I think you will find that Frodo is described as being "sick of the battle" and will touch no weapon and finally orders that Saruman be let go, even after all the evil he has done. Saruman himself then says something like "You have grown great young halfling" before Wormtongue kills him. THIS is where Tolkien is telling us the right way to behave, according to him. I know what you mean about some of minor characters, but not every character in the book is "carrying Tolkien's moral philosphy". Just look at Boromir; the contrast with him and his brother also illustrates what I mean. Faramir is described as a bookish sort who only fights because he must. Boromir wants power, represented by the Ring, and he is one of the only members of the Fellowship to die. He is described as a fighter and his instincts are always aggressive. The same is true of Isildur. The only place that Tolkien appears unremitting is with Orcs, which never seem to come in for the mercy treatment. [/QUOTE]

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