Are Orcs That Bad?

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Originally Posted by Lalwendë

...but as davem suggested in his Fantasy thread, maybe seeing some of the gore involved in battle, and some of the fallout, would make these images of slaughter somehow more important.

Yeah, I agree. Tolkien perhaps felt that grown-up readers would be able to discern the message without the gory details that would be too grisly for younger readers to stomach? And he certainly had a penchant for glorifying battles too, with swords shining in the morning sun, banners flying high and men dying almost happily on the battlefield, praised ever after in song and verse.