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Ring destroyed by Eagle Express?
There's been a conversation going on over on a GoodReads discussion group about The Lord of the Rings:
For the record, I loathe the movies. That was the whole point of post #3. It's my hope and belief that the LOTR books will still be read and loved long after those idiotic movies are forgotten. The movies stood many of Tolkien's themes on their heads, and replaced some of his most memorable and beautiful dialog with ersatz idiocy. They represent a profound disrespect of Tolkien, although I believe that Peter Jackson was too self-important (and possibly too stupid) to realize that he was crapping all over a work that he wasn't qualified to read, much less film.
The Eagle was Gwaihir the Windlord. He was sent to Orthanc by Radagast the Brown, one of the Five Wizards and a particular friend of animals, at Gandalf's request - to bring news. Radagast had been misled by Saruman, but was not a traitor. Gandalf had certainly had dealings with the Eagles before, most notably in The Hobbit. Gandalf did not control Gwaihir, ever - the eagle helped him out of friendship. As far as I know, the only living things that Gandalf ever controlled were Grima Wormtongue and Saruman - and in both cases, only for a few moments at most.
Gandalf did die in his battle with the Balrog, and was "sent back" to take Saruman's place. Presumably, it was Illuvatar who sent him back. Or possibly it was Manwë, the Vala. Tolkien never specified.
As for an eagle taking the Ring to Mount Doom, there are several problems. For one, the Ring (or the lust for it) can corrupt even an angel - and the eagles, though exceptional creatures in Middle-Earth, are no angels.
Also, Sauron commands many creatures, including flying ones. I'm not at all sure that he had any dragons left, however. Smaug may have been the last one. But he certainly commanded many other flying creatures, and surely had enough "air power" to destroy any eagle who approached Mordor. The flying mounts of the Nazgûl may not have been "ready" when the Council met at Rivendell and formed the Fellowship, but it seems certain that several (perhaps many) of the aerial mounts were alive and living in Mordor at that time - under Sauron's control.
And in any case, an eagle flying towards Mount Doom would have been terribly obvious. Sauron would have been aware of it quite quickly, and would have taken action. A major point of the Quest was that hobbits were small and unnoticeable; naturally quiet and stealthy, when they wanted to be. They were, in fact, so insignificant that Sauron wasn't aware of them for an Age or more:
In comparison, the Eagles were actually rather mighty among the mortal races of Middle-Earth - when they chose to be involved, that is. The Eagles were the deciding factor in the Battle of Five Armies in The Hobbit, for example.
For the record, I loathe the movies. That was the whole point of post #3. It's my hope and belief that the LOTR books will still be read and loved long after those idiotic movies are forgotten. The movies stood many of Tolkien's themes on their heads, and replaced some of his most memorable and beautiful dialog with ersatz idiocy. They represent a profound disrespect of Tolkien, although I believe that Peter Jackson was too self-important (and possibly too stupid) to realize that he was crapping all over a work that he wasn't qualified to read, much less film.
The Eagle was Gwaihir the Windlord. He was sent to Orthanc by Radagast the Brown, one of the Five Wizards and a particular friend of animals, at Gandalf's request - to bring news. Radagast had been misled by Saruman, but was not a traitor. Gandalf had certainly had dealings with the Eagles before, most notably in The Hobbit. Gandalf did not control Gwaihir, ever - the eagle helped him out of friendship. As far as I know, the only living things that Gandalf ever controlled were Grima Wormtongue and Saruman - and in both cases, only for a few moments at most.
Gandalf did die in his battle with the Balrog, and was "sent back" to take Saruman's place. Presumably, it was Illuvatar who sent him back. Or possibly it was Manwë, the Vala. Tolkien never specified.
As for an eagle taking the Ring to Mount Doom, there are several problems. For one, the Ring (or the lust for it) can corrupt even an angel - and the eagles, though exceptional creatures in Middle-Earth, are no angels.
Also, Sauron commands many creatures, including flying ones. I'm not at all sure that he had any dragons left, however. Smaug may have been the last one. But he certainly commanded many other flying creatures, and surely had enough "air power" to destroy any eagle who approached Mordor. The flying mounts of the Nazgûl may not have been "ready" when the Council met at Rivendell and formed the Fellowship, but it seems certain that several (perhaps many) of the aerial mounts were alive and living in Mordor at that time - under Sauron's control.
And in any case, an eagle flying towards Mount Doom would have been terribly obvious. Sauron would have been aware of it quite quickly, and would have taken action. A major point of the Quest was that hobbits were small and unnoticeable; naturally quiet and stealthy, when they wanted to be. They were, in fact, so insignificant that Sauron wasn't aware of them for an Age or more:
'To tell you the truth,' replied Gandalf, 'I believe that hitherto - hitherto, mark you - he has entirely overlooked the existence of hobbits.'
In comparison, the Eagles were actually rather mighty among the mortal races of Middle-Earth - when they chose to be involved, that is. The Eagles were the deciding factor in the Battle of Five Armies in The Hobbit, for example.