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Originally Posted by blantyr
We are expected to understand and have pity on Gollum. It's a recurrent theme all over the books, that even the elves of Mirkwood treated him better than they'd treat, say, a pack of treasure seeking dwarves returning to their ancestral homeland.
But who else among the evil folk are treated with pity? The common response when the darkness rolled over the land was to mobilize and fight. Kill orc folk. Drive back darkness with bright steel. No other words please wild men, nor anyone else.
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Indeed. Gandalf himself urged pity for Gollum, and mercy, though he did not trust Gollum and knew him to be malicious.
To that point, Gandalf even expressed some pity for Saruman, if not Sauron.
Quote:
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'But alas for Saruman! I fear nothing more can be made of him. He has withered altogether.'
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ROTK Many Partings
Gandalf's pity though, did not impact his duty in breaking Saruman's staff, nor did it affect Saruman's fate at the death of his physical body.
What I mean is that the relative need for repentance can be extrapolated by the fates of those who do not seek it.