Actually, if you compare the conversations at the
Green Dragon to the conversations between orc captains, I think I have to conclude that Orcs are of much the same intelligence as hobbits. That, of course, does not include the Four Travellers, Bilbo or Farmer Maggot.
I think that Orcs left to their own devices and given the same opportunities as other races may have had some chance at a decent civilisation. Their carving and painting may not have been up to scratch, but as graffiti artists they were second to none. Unfortunately, Sauron or Morgoth never really lavished the care and attention on them that better masters would have. I guess I see them a little bit as the underprivileged street kids of Middle-Earth, who turn to gangs, robbery and murder, but not because they are inherently evil. I have a lot more pity for Orcs than the average reader does.
But while the average orc may have been a match for the average hobbit in Trivial Pursuit, I think that the leaders of the Orc race were far inferior to the leaders of the other races. Tolkien frequently shows us exemplary elves, men, ents and dwarves. But we never once see a truly exceptional orc. Grishnįkh is the shrewdest orc we come across, but he's not really all that super-intelligent when it comes down to it. Maybe the truly smart ones get killed off as a matter of course. Orcs don't seem to be the kind of people who really value intelligence. Our own society is quite different; as Homer Simpson once said:
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and the weak and nerdy are admired for their computer-programming ability!
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