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Old 06-30-2006, 08:48 AM   #112
Child of the 7th Age
Spirit of the Lonely Star
 
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Nova,

Bear with me....this will be long. I was the one who originally brought this topic up with Durelin. Behind my light hearted musings (which is mainly what they were), there was a serious observation. You deserve an explanation.

First, you've written a strong character, and I certainly wouldn't want you to change her. I used that incident as an example because the post had an immediate impact on me when I read it. It is well written and very clearly conveys the mental and emotional scars that Aedhild bears because of her experiences. If anything, my comment was a tip of the hat to you because the scene was so compelling. If that didn't come across clearly, I apologize.

There were actually a number of slave characters who behaved in "irrational" ways because of the terrible experiences they'd been through. Another one is Firefoot's Johari who convinces herself that someone is alive who is actually dead. I think all of these are very realistic depictions of what happens to people when they are put in situations that are beyond anything a human should endure.

Because I am an historian, I tend to relate things in Middle-earth to events I studied about in the "real world". To me, the situation on the Mordor plantations is half way between two horrific real life events: the worst excesses of black slavery in the southern U.S. prior to the civil war and the death/work camps during World War II. Some people are able to put their lives back together after experiences like these, but it leaves a mark on everyone and there are some who never adapt. When I was younger, I lived one summer with a woman who had survived Auschwitz. She was a good, kind person who lived a productive life but even after all those years there were times when the horrors came back to haunt her.

Tolkien himself was aware that being exposed too long to evil was a dangerous thing. We don't get a close look at the Easterlings or Haradrim, but we do have the examples of Saruman and Frodo. Merely by immersing himself in the study of Sauron and the Ring, the great istar Saruman turned "bad" and was utterly incapable of change even when he was offered that chance. When Frodo crossed the plains of Mordor bearing the Ring, it also left physical and emotional scars that he was unable to deal with even in the relatively kind society of the Shire. Unlike these slaves, Frodo had a comfortable life and an amazing network of friends looking out for him after the war. Yet, even with all that support, he was still broken and had to leave the Shire in hopes of "saving" himself.

I see each of these slaves as having to bear a portion of the Ring....not in a literal but a figurative sense. In Mordor, it is as if the blackness invades the land itself and pollutes whatever it touches, including the people who live in the southern plains. My guess is that some of the Mordor slaves will be able to take positive action and attempt to change (even though there will always be scars), as Frodo did in his decision to seek help in the West. Others, like Saruman, will be unable to get beyond the evil that has touched them, and it will become part of who they are, eventually destroying them. Really sobering stuff. Along with the question of whether orcs are redeemable, this is one of the most important questions of this story ---is change possible for the slaves who have been so abused and lived so close to evil? Your post was a vivid illustration of that theme.

There is also a second reason I brought this up. We have an unusual juxtaposition of characters in this story: the abused slaves, the abusing orcs, and the relatively optomistic expectations of those in the fellowship. (Mark me ---I use the word relatively here, because all of us have issues no matter how healthy we are.)

The slaves' behavior has to have an impact on members of the fellowship who are coming to "help". Will they be prepared to deal with this level of misery and anger? Members of the fellowship expect to have trouble with Orcs.....they would not be shocked or stunned to see an Orc murder someone. But they may have more difficulty in understanding and accepting the behavior of some of the slaves. I think my own character Lindir the Elf will understand to some degree--he fought in the wars of Beleriand and was present at the forging of the lesser rings. Poor Radagast is going to get an education, I fear. Coming from Valinor, he has been relatively sheltered. I am very curious to see how all the members of the fellowship will respond to the misery and deprivation they witness, as well as the emotional toll that evil has taken on the slaves. Certainly those posting for the fellowship can not ignore this.

Hope this explains why I brought this up, and the role that all this will likely play in the story. And that discussion doesn't even bring the orcs into the equation! This should be an interesting game.....

Sorry for this long-winded explanation but I wanted to get this down in words as much for myself as others!

************************

Yeah! Everything looks good. As soon as Nogrod finishes his edit and we recommend a post order to Pio, we should shortly be on our way.

Last edited by Child of the 7th Age; 06-30-2006 at 09:12 AM.
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