Ok, so I know this topic has been hashed out over and over again, but it is really close to my heart. I want to hear all of your opinions on this. I feel it cannot be ignored, as the very moral threads that hold our civilization together rest on ethical questions such as this.
Do any of you feel that the people of the South Harad mistreated many or all of the animals native to their land? Many social issues abound in Tolkien that still are cause for great debate today, and this not the least. Cruelty to animals is a strong accusation indeed, but, as I will demonstrate, accurate.
Take these quotes into consideration (re: oliphaunts).
Quote:
I stump round and round,
Never lie on the ground
|
Now, if this isn't cruel and unusual treatment in forcing helpless beasts to stand for immeasurable amounts of time, to the point of death even, then I'm sure I don't know what is. Can you even imagine the pure agony of such torture?
Quote:
|
...the Mumak of Harad was indeed a beast of vast bulk, and the like of him does not walk now in Middle-earth....
|
Here is all the proof we need to ascertain that the greatest and most timeproof accomplishment of the Harad dynasty was the complete annihilation of Oliphaunts, to total and utter extinction. Who can even imagine what they did to other wretched species that are not mentioned?
Quote:
|
On he came...his small red eyes raging. His upturned hornlike tusks were bound with bands of gold and dripped with blood. ...On the great beast thundered, blundering in blind wrath through pool and thicket.
|
The very thought of the suffering of this poor beast brings tears to my eyes as I envision the pain, the anguish that had been building inside his oliphaunt soul for all his life, a life of slavery and toil, and now, in the midst of the horrors of battle, a chance for freedom. Freedom at last! Every torrid emotion from his early life through to the present comes roaring out in a raging fury of retaliation for all the wrongs he has suffered. This, my friends, is just one example. One case study among an entire species, now completely wiped out. Just imagine the beauty of this race of majestic kings and patriarchs of the animal world, and think about all the other species that were wiped out alongside. What an incredible loss to mankind.
I ask of you, is this right? Is it moral? What was Tolkien trying to say about these outrageous acts of inhumanity by such people? Please add any thoughts you may have on this painful subject to bring peace to a mere sympathizer's heart.