I got an idea of this thread some time ago and since I think the Books forum needs some sort of a kick, I decided to contribute to this kick. Whether it will interest you or not is another question which can be answered only if I post it. So, here is the idea:
We all know that the Orcs in Middle-Earth are bad and nasty. They serve Sauron, or Saruman, or Morgoth. Most of the time, the Orcs simply represent an obstacle for the heroes to overcome. But there are quite a few Orcs portrayed in Tolkien's works to such an extent that we learn something about their personalities and they are not just faces in the crowd. One can easily start to think about them more - at least I did when I read LotR for the first time. I was intrigued by the Orcs who had names, who had their own personalities. Who were these Orcs? What were they like in their "private life"?
It's hard to find the answers, and maybe they won't be even as pleasant: for example, I could quite well imagine, but don't want to, what they usually had for dinner. But what if we narrow the question a little bit?
What I would like to do is a little analysis of the Orcs' "moral flaws". But be careful what you imagine under it. Certain Mr. Grishnákh at one point says:
Quote:
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"What do you think you've been kept alive for? My dear little fellows, please believe me when I say that it was not out of kindness: that's not even one of Uglúk's faults."
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This makes one think that kindness could be considered as a moral flaw among the Orcs. We are not surprised: the Orcs were mischievous, cruel, merciless, brutal. But people are different, and even Orcs probably are so. This thread works with the concept of free-willed and "redeemable" Orcs. That means the Orcish society could support and hold certain "moral ideals" of their own, but nevertheless individuals could be born with or cultivate in themselves some inherent traits that the society was not able to rip off of them. What if some of the Orcs really had the "fault" of kindness? Or some other "faults": complaisance, compassion, (unforced) fidelity...
This thread is devoted to search for hints of such flaws in the behavior of the Orcs who are known to us. Everyone is welcome to take an Orc to study or post whatever he finds could be a "moral flaw".
NOTICE: This thread works with the concept of free-willed (based for example on the discussion of Gorbag and Shagrat) and "redeemable" Orcs. Anyone who posts at this thread is presumed to post with these prerequisites in mind. This thread's purpose is not to argue whether the Orcs were capable of being kind or so, but its purpose is to find examples or hints of such a behavior.
List of available Orcs: Uglúk, Grishnákh, Gorbag, Shagrat, Snaga, "Little Snuffler" from Mordor, the Uruk-hai who was with him, the Great Goblin of Goblin-Gate, Azog. Any other characters I either forgot or are minor characters without names, yet show some "moral flaw", are also welcome - this list is presented only for inspiration for what can be looked at.
Hope you are going to have fun and looking forward to your contributions!
