Tolkien & killling? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lobelia · 05-06-2003, 09:29 PM

Er- just a question here? Bill Ferny seems to be the gent who could best answer it, as the expert on things religious. Do the Orcs have free will or not? If they do, they're evil. If not, then strictly speaking, should they be counted as evil, whether or not they have families at home and play football in their non-combat time? In THE HOBBIT, they had their own communities, cities, kings and there are mentions of head-honcho orcs in the Appendices, but within LOTR itself, they seem to be pretty much eternal henchmen, with no real choice to be anything else. (I may have missed something : - D) I can understand why you HAVE to kill them - and, let's face it, they don't even like each other! But are they *intrinsically* evil?

05-06-2003, 09:29 PM	#11
Lobelia Wight Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 150	Er- just a question here? Bill Ferny seems to be the gent who could best answer it, as the expert on things religious. Do the Orcs have free will or not? If they do, they're evil. If not, then strictly speaking, should they be counted as evil, whether or not they have families at home and play football in their non-combat time? In THE HOBBIT, they had their own communities, cities, kings and there are mentions of head-honcho orcs in the Appendices, but within LOTR itself, they seem to be pretty much eternal henchmen, with no real choice to be anything else. (I may have missed something : - D) I can understand why you HAVE to kill them - and, let's face it, they don't even like each other! But are they intrinsically evil?