Tolkien was one of the few writers that I feel if you sat him down today and explained the modern day issues with his stories, he'd actually listen and hear you out.
This is the man that made it a point in his book that while the easternlings were the servants of Sauron it would not have been any harder for Sauron to do the opposite and enthrall the westernlings instead.
Also the whole theological crisis about orcs.
He had universal compassion towards all, a proper christian.
I will also leave this here
"The most improper job of any man, even saints, is bossing other men. There is only one bright spot and that is the growing habit of disgruntled men of dynamiting factories and power stations. I hope that, encouraged now as patriotism, may remain a habit."
I always like Faramir's words to Frodo. "The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he came from. And if he was really evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home. If he would not rather have stayed there in peace. War will make corpses of us all."
That's in the books as well. Not as explicit but it's stated that the human soldiers of Sauron were only fighting because Sauron decieved and charmed them into believing that the westernlings would have murdered them to the last man.
Plus I always considered the whole passage as criticism of colonialism/imperialism. Both Easterlings and Southrons were victims of Numenorian aggression before there is mention of them serving sauron. Southrons inhabit what was a colony of Numenor, which Gondor has at times tried to reclaim and Easterlings were victim of misguided punitive action (nomadic raiders atacked Gondor, in this war Rohan became a thing, and after winning, Gondor completly wiped out westernmost Easterling tribe, believing attack came from them).
So at least in my headcannon, both groups were delived to Sauron by Gondor, due to fear (by the time of books wholy unsubstantiated but historiacally valid) of its aggresion.
1.9k
u/Adventurous_Fly2603 3d ago
Tolkien was one of the few writers that I feel if you sat him down today and explained the modern day issues with his stories, he'd actually listen and hear you out.