Tolkien and the Monsters

[The Saucepan Man]

Fordim

I was thinking of "capacity for independent thought" in terms of sentience. Oliphaunts are not sentient, but simply beasts pressed into evil service. To my mind, therefore, they cannot be classed as "evil". The same might apply with regard to the Fell Beasts.

I take your point with regard to the Nazgul, however. They are sentient. Yet, having been enslaved by Sauron, they have no choice but to carry out his will. In one sense, therefore, they are no longer independent creatures at all, but simply extensions of Sauron's will. Conceivably, it might also be said of Gollum that he had no choice in his evil conduct - at least while his will was subservient to the Ring. Perhaps the difference is that they had a choice at the outset whether or not to take the path that led to evil. However difficult, Gollum could have resisited the lure of the Ring when he first set eyes on it, but he gave in to temptation. Similarly, the Nine Kings of Men could have rejected the Rings offered to them by Sauron but gave in to their pride and lust for power. I am not sure off the top of my head whether they were aware of exactly who it was who offered them the Nine Rings. But, even if they were not, they succumbed to vices which, ultimately, led them onto the path of evil.

With Orcs, we come back to the eternal question: are they inherently evil, or do they have a choice?

Although they are not "monsters" as such, I would add Saruman and Wormtongue to your list of those who freely chose to commit evil acts.