We do have a rather significant example of Tolkien's "heroes" feeling clear pity for the "enemy." In "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit":
Quote:
Then suddenly straight over the rim of their sheltering banks, a man fell, crashing through the slender trees, nearly on top of them. He came to rest in the fern a few feet away, face downward, green arrow-feathers sticking from his neck below a golden collar. His scarlet robes were tattered, his corslet of overlapping brazen plates was rent and hewn, his black plaits of hair braided with gold were drenched with blood. His brown hand still clutched the hilt of a broken sword.
It was Sam's first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace.
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This is not a reaction of contempt. And I have often felt that in it are echoes of Tolkien's own experiences in WWI, what he felt when he experienced the reality of war for the first time. Even when the person is in strange clothing, has different colored skin, and bears the label of "enemy," he is still another living being (or on this case,
was a living being), and might well have the very same thoughts and feelings about being a part of this war as an ally. If you prick an enemy, even an orc, they still bleed, and suffer, and die. It is to both Sam's and Tolkien's credit that he is able to look upon a fallen foe and not only feel pity for him, but also also a kind of kinship.