When Barad-dûr collapses you get the following description:
“all the host of Mordor trembled, doubt clutched their heats, their laughter failed, their hands shook and their limbs were loosed. The Power that drove them on and filled them with hate and fury was wavering, its will was removed from them; and now looking in the eyes of their enemies they saw a deadly light and were afraid.” [6.IV.] (Emphasis mine)
I sort of wonder if the orcs represent the 'I was just following orders, sir', kind of evil? You have a contrast:
“the creatures of Sauron, orc or troll or beast spell-enslaved, ran hither and thither mindless; and some slew themselves, or cast themselves in pits, or fled wailing back to hide in holes and dark lightless places far from hope. But the Men of Rhûn and of Harad, Easterling and Southron, saw the ruin of their war and the great majesty and glory of the Captains of the West. And those that were deepest and longest in evil servitude, hating the West, and yet were men proud and bold, in their turn now gathered themselves for a last stand of desperate battle.”
between 'beasts enslaved', which kill themselves or despair (in the knowledge of what they've done, or the absence of leadership?), versus the humans who literally signed up for this in full knowledge, who are independently fighting for the cause.
The orcs aren't explicitly mentioned here, but I think there is a distinction between the thrall of the orcs (who were made by Morgoth, I think, and could be seen as part of his 'plan' in a similar way to how Elves/Men/Good Folk are part of Eru's 'plan'), and men like the Haradrim or the Mouth of Sauron. There is sort of a question here as to what extent the orcs had free will at all.
no subject
I sort of wonder if the orcs represent the 'I was just following orders, sir', kind of evil? You have a contrast:
between 'beasts enslaved', which kill themselves or despair (in the knowledge of what they've done, or the absence of leadership?), versus the humans who literally signed up for this in full knowledge, who are independently fighting for the cause.
The orcs aren't explicitly mentioned here, but I think there is a distinction between the thrall of the orcs (who were made by Morgoth, I think, and could be seen as part of his 'plan' in a similar way to how Elves/Men/Good Folk are part of Eru's 'plan'), and men like the Haradrim or the Mouth of Sauron. There is sort of a question here as to what extent the orcs had free will at all.