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Message: <blockquote data-quote="molonel" data-source="post: 3357908" data-attributes="member: 10412">No, it's not. Because the author creates the work, and the work is the context. The author controls the story, the author controls the story elements and quite frankly the question wouldn't have been knocked around this long if there were absolutely no merit in it, whatsoever.Authors do not create seemless works without holes. This is one of the problems Tolkien didn't close. He answered why the Valar weren't coming in force from the West. He never addressed this one, directly or indirectly.The last part shows me that you're beginning to understand. Since Tolkien didn't close the question, it's anybody's guess. Did he consider it impossible? Perhaps. We'll never know, because he didn't tell us. You see certainty. I see a valid question.No, I'm recognizing authorial control of the material. We don't know that the eagles would have failed 99% or 50% or even 1% of the time. We simply don't have that information. We can make all kinds of assumptions, and the statements you've made are only that.There is no way to determine if it was a workable plan or not. There is speculation, and there is more speculation. Tolkien closed some plot holes. He didn't close them all.You are exactly right in this statement.That's part of the discussion.Nice straw man. I've tried to treat your statements seriously. Please offer me the same courtesy.</blockquote>