An Examination of Orcs' Purpose in Frame of Prejudice and Historical Context

    
        There is some controversy about the portrayal of Orcs in Tolkien's work, and many have called it racist: words such as "swart" and "slant eyes" certainly appear to be assigning racially biased characteristics to Sauron's foot-soldiers. However, I suspect there is more to Orcs than an allegorical, racist demonization of nonwhite groups, and reducing them to such a characterization does both the Orcs and Tolkien's works as a whole a disservice. 

        For one thing, Tolkien was very clear that none of his works are allegorical:

"I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse "applicability" with "allegory"; but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author" (LOTR, Foreward to the Second Edition, xxiv).

The difference between "applicability" and "allegory" is crucial, because it reveals Tolkien's intent. Both applicability and allegory mean to show us something about their targets, but the crucial factor is that any concept can resemble something else without representing it. As Tolkien suggests, applicability works through the "freedom of the reader" to think critically about what they're consuming, to interpret the text in a more varied and individualized way, and to view each topic with much more nuance than if they were merely interpreting them allegorically (which includes viewing Orcs as a "metaphor" for some group or other). Tolkien's attention to detail is infamous, from his creation of entire languages to the making of maps featuring place names that are hardly ever mentioned in the books. His myriad writings surrounding his main bodies of work show the extreme level of thought he has put into every aspect of his books. Thus, when we look at the depiction of Orcs, we must assume that they are meant to tell us something, but that they are not meant to overtly and directly represent a particular racial group. It would, of course, be against the individualized spirit of "applicability" to claim that other Tolkien readers are not entitled to their opinions on this topic. However, I believe that reducing Orcs to a racist allegory is not only cheap, but misses the point of Orcs altogether.

        To be clear, Tolkien himself does admit the similarity between Orcs and, in particular, groups such as the Mongols. In one letter, he writes that Orcs "are squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes: in fact degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types" (Letters, Letter 210). This quote may seem to directly confirm the racialized nature of Orcs, but its implictions change vastly when we recall that The Lord of the Rings is canonically translated from The Red Book of Westmarch, which is meant, as Tolkien's preference, to be a historical text, one primarily written by Bilbo and Frodo Baggins (LOTR, Prologue: Note on the Shire Records, 14). Like many other historical texts, the Red Book was copied and corrected many times, through many iterations. The original book was lost. But Tolkien is also very clear that the Red Book does not have all the information there is to know about Middle-Earth: "[there was] much that did not appear in the Red Book. In Brandy Hall [for example] there were many works dealing with Eriador and the history of Rohan" (LOTR, Prologue: Note on the Shire Records, 15). If we are to read The Red Book of Westmarch as it was intended, as a historical text, then we should regard it with the same level and manner of scrutiny as we do other historical texts. Doing so means recognizing that, as a book written from a particular historical perspective, it automatically contains biases of some sort, and this includes those relating to Orcs. As a side note, in order to separate the Orcs from the groups they parallel, Tolkien states that Orcs are "degraded and repulsive versions of... Mongol-types." Tolkien carefully sets a boundary between Orcs and Mongols by pointing out that their appearances are relatively incidental. Orcs resemble Mongolian people in the same way that Gollum resembles an evil, twisted Hobbit, but is not really a Hobbit himself. If anything, Tolkien's note says more about the bias of Europeans than any inherent qualities of Mongolian people themselves.

        The similarity does exist, but the connection seems to be important from a historical standpoint, rather than a racial one. For example, the Orcs' preference for unnerving battle tactics like throwing severed heads over the walls (LOTR, 822-823) draws an extremely clear similarity to Genghis Khan's army, which was rumored to have hurled plague-ridden corpses over the walls of the city of Caffa in a shocking display of biological warfare (Wheelis). The Great Khan's forces were feared throughout the continent, unstoppable, and rumored to be invincible-- almost like a "great cloud [streaming] slowly westward from the Black Land, devouring light, borne upon a wind of war; but below the air was still and breathless, as if all... waited for the onset of a ruinous storm" (LOTR, 807). Due to Tolkien's dislike for allegory, and even the simple fact that the War of the Ring occurs long before the Mongols ever invaded Europe, the Orcs are clearly not meant to represent Genghis Khan's forces. However, they are clearly meant to invoke the same kind of looming fear among people of the West as the invading Mongolian army did the people of medieval Europe. From a historical standpoint, the similarity between the Orcs and Mongols therefore sets the precedent for terrifying invaders coming out of the East farther back into history than was previously thought. From a psychological standpoint, it's no wonder that the Hobbits are so terrified, and speak of the Orcs in such a horrifying way; demonizing an invader is no new phenomenon, especially when the invader has such a fearsome reputation.

        The responsibility for the negative portrayal of Orcs, therefore, does not lie on Tolkien, but rather on the biases of Hobbits and the societies of Middle-Earth's West in general. The fact that Tolkien points out the racial bias of Europeans towards East Asian cultures and appearances actually shows that he is not only conscious about the comparison he's drawing, but also that he is trying to make a point about how the natures of various "racial traits," among other things which relate to bias, are subjective to the beholder or speaker. This idea is further supported by the fact that the biases in the Red Book are not at all restricted to descriptions of Orcs. Pretty much every group in Middle-Earth has something nasty or disparaging to say about another group. The really interesting thing is that whenever some group says something derogatory, the audience usually ends up encountering the target group not long after, and not only does that group say disparaging things right back, they often use the same words as well. One particular conversation between residents of Hobbiton finds them criticizing Frodo's father for marrying someone "away there in Buckland, where folks are so queer" (LOTR, 22). A mere three chapters later, we meet Farmer Maggot, a Buckland resident, who says of Hobbiton that "the folk are queer up there" (LOTR, 94). These two claims not only mirror each other in message, but also use the same words and turn of phrase. Both use the descriptor "queer," and the directional descriptors "away there" and "up there" are remarkably comparable as well. Similar pairings are seen throughout the entire book: Shirefolk and Breelanders, for example, refer to each other as "outsiders" (LOTR, 150, 154, respectively). Legolas and Gimli blame each other's peoples for the breaking of the friendship between Dwarves and Elves (LOTR, 303). Even Celeborn and Treebeard join the bandwagon; Celeborn warns the Fellowship not to "risk becoming entangled in the Forest of Fangorn" (LOTR, 373), and Treebeard, when informed of Celeborn's statement, says that he would have said the exact same thing of Lórien, and in fact he uses more or less the exact wording (LOTR, 467). These are but a few examples of a trend that spans the entirety of The Lord of the Rings. Such a pattern is clearly trying to hint at something for the readers. However, what really connects this trend to the Orcs is the fact that they also participate in this particular habit. They refer to the Rohirrim as "cursed horsebreeders" (LOTR, 448) and "filthy horse-boys" (LOTR, 454), whereas Éomer, upon meeting the Three Hunters for the first time, speaks of Orcs in widely used terms including "plundering" and "fell" (LOTR, 436, 437, respectively), and talks about how the Rohirrim "despoiled" the Orc corpses and burned them according to their customary treatment of dead Orcs (LOTR, 434). Ironically, "despoiling" and "plundering" are synonyms.

        The Orcs are part of the exact same cycle of prejudice that is not only common, but prevalent throughout Middle-Earth. Yet, the Orcs actually play a key role in the unraveling of this prejudice. Although the Red Book never changes its stance on the evilness of Orcs (and, as seen in the case of "despoiling" and "plundered," being synonymous, is quite hypocritical about what is and is not acceptable treatment of others), Sam Gamgee overhears a conversation that shows that the Orcs have more depth than the people of the West seem to think. One Orc, Gorbag, reminds his companion not to forget that "the enemies don't love us any more than they love Him, and if they get topsides on Him, we're done too" (LOTR, 738). The entire conversation reeks of exhaustion, of the feeling that although the Orcs are participating in the war, they didn't choose it so much as were forced into it by Sauron. They feel unappreciated, are left in the dark by their higher-ups, and are made to fear for their life by the presence of the Nazgûl (LOTR, 737-739). If the pattern of mirrored prejudices had not already primed us for the idea that the biases expressed in the Red Book (or by the Red Book) were overblown or false altogether, the inclusion of conversations that make the Orcs even a bit less inscrutably evil certainly would have done the job (interestingly, Genghis Khan's reputation was blown out of proportion as well-- in addition to being a fearsome general, he was an adept administrator and ruler who united his people and promoted freedom of religion) (Cartwright).

        If anything, given the Orcs' history as Elves kidnapped, tortured, and twisted by Morgoth (The Silmarillion, 47), who have lived for thousands of years in an endless vicious cycle of violence, suffering, and generational trauma, the Orcs aren't inherently evil at all; as cliché as it sounds, they're actually just broken. We don't see any baby Orcs or Orc families, and that may be for the simple reason that the Hobbits never encounter any, and have no reason to. Perhaps a deeper knowledge of Orc social structures, history, and interpersonal dynamics would reveal even more humanizing ideas, and overturn even more ideas about what traits the Orcs possess. However, that's not what we receive, and that's because, once again, the Red Book of Westmarch is meant to be a historical source, recounting events from one extremely limited point of view. The Hobbits have no reason to see beyond their prejudices, because the Orcs, for them, represent destruction, terror, and indescribable evil, much like what the Mongols represented for 13th Century Europe. That does not mean their prejudices do not exist.

    Orcs definitively resemble East Asian peoples like the Mongols; Tolkien is very explicit in his intent. However, this similarity arises not from Tolkien's own prejudices, or from a place of malice, but from an attempt to undermine the very sort of widespread "othering" tendency that causes those prejudices to form in the first place. Tolkien uses the same sort of prejudices that exist today to make a point about empathy and unity, not to turn people against each other. Interpreting Orcs as a purposely racialized group intended to perpetrate negative stereotypes about East Asian peoples has a minute grain of truth in it, since Orcs do intentionally resemble historical invaders from Asia such as the Mongols, but they are not meant to represent them, or to say anything negative about the people they loosely parallel. To view their portrayal in those terms completely twists Tolkien's message to the opposite of its intent.

--GCE

Other Sources

Cartwright, M. (2023, April 6). Genghis Khan. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.worldhistory.org/Genghis_Khan/#:~:text=Genghis%20Khan%20had%20a%20fearsome,anywhere%20in%20the%20Mongol%20world.

Wheelis, M. (2002, September). Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa. Emerging infectious diseases. Retrieved April 8, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2732530/