Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Two Towers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Decline and Decay
Good and Evil
Duty
Joy and Optimism vs. Despair
Power
Heroism, Honor, and Glory
Summary
Analysis
Pippin wakes up from a nightmare to find himself tied up beside Merry in the middle of a company of orcs. He recalls that he and Merry had run into the orcs in the woods and attempted to fight them before Boromir arrived. The orcs knocked Pippin out after they shot Boromir with arrows, and he doesn’t know where he is or what happened to his companions. He feels like a nuisance waiting for rescue and wishes that Gandalf hadn’t persuaded Elrond to let the hobbits go with the Fellowship.
Tempted to despair, Pippin finds himself regretting the choices that brought him to captivity. Pippin agrees with Gimli; he shouldn’t have joined the Fellowship. He doesn’t feel that way out of concern for his safety, though, but because of his feelings of helplessness and worthlessness— as far as he can see, he’s only hindered the quest.
Themes
When they realize Pippin is awake, the orcs threaten him until he lies still. Pippin realizes that he can understand some of the orcs’ speech and listens to them. They have orders to bring any hobbits they find back to Isengard “alive and as captured.” An orc called Uglúk appears to be the leader and kills several followers of another orc named Grishnákh, who questions the authority of Saruman. One of the dead orcs falls on top of Pippin, still holding a knife. Seeing that Uglúk is distracted, Pippin uses the knife to cut the ropes binding his arms. He holds the ropes in place to avoid suspicion and waits for an opportunity to escape.
Pippin feels more hopeful once he realizes he can understand the orcs’ speech and spy on them. The company is composed of orcs from several different places with different loyalties. The orcs see power as something to be hoarded rather than shared, fighting amongst themselves and struggling for control over their mission. This division of the company is an obvious weakness that Pippin, overlooked and underestimated, is quick to exploit.
Themes
The orcs carry the hobbits to the edge of a cliff, then cut the ropes around their legs and force them to climb down themselves. An orc scout spots a single horseman, but doesn’t attempt to kill him, instead driving the orcs to travel faster to Isengard before the horseman calls the Rohirrim to hunt them down. The orcs warn Pippin not to run and give him and Merry a burning drink that eases the pain in Pippin’s legs. Merry has a gash on his forehead, but he stands and greets Pippin, sarcastically asking for breakfast.
The orcs take pleasure in treating the hobbits cruelly, only healing them enough that they’re able to walk during their forced march across the fields of Rohan. They attempt to dissuade the hobbits from fleeing by keeping them fearful and hopeless of escape. Still, Merry wakes with his customary sarcastic humor, which gives him a measure of resilience in this desperate situation.
Themes
Merry and Pippin descend into the ravine, separated from each other by a dozen orcs. Uglúk informs the orcs that they will run through the night and the next day, despite their protests that they can’t run in the light. Their pace is grueling, and Pippin wonders how long he can keep it up on so little food. The bottom of the ravine is filled with mist, swallowing up the orcs at the front of the company.
Uglúk’s leadership contrasts sharply with Aragorn’s; he cares little for the comfort of the orcs he oversees, and his only goal is taking the hobbits to Isengard as quickly as possible. The orcs dislike his orders, but they don’t openly rebel since Uglúk proved his power by killing several Northern orcs. Put another way, it’s clear that the orcs obey out of fear instead of loyalty and respect.
Themes
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Pippin takes his chance and darts away from his three guards into the mist. Though Pippin is quickly caught, he does manage to drop the brooch from his cloak, in hopes that Aragorn can track it. Yet as he is carried away by the orcs, he assumes that his effort was useless since the remaining members of the Company will likely have gone with Frodo.
As the orcs traverse Middle-earth, the land itself seems to dislike their invasive presence and work against them, such as when the mist rises in the valley. Though Pippin leaves his brooch as a sign when he’s captured again, he has little real hope of it ever being discovered. He convinces himself not to expect pursuit or rescue from his friends, since he and Merry recognize that they aren’t the Fellowship’s priority—they know Frodo is.
Themes
Merry and Pippin, miserable and cold, are forced to run with the orcs, and later can’t remember much of the journey. Eventually, the orcs demand to rest and Pippin is allowed to lie down and given stale bread. Pippin hears an argument break out among the orcs between the Isengarders, led by Uglúk, and the Northerners. The Northerners fear the Rohirrim, who are tracking them, and Uglúk tells them to leave if they want. Most of them flee towards the mountains and the hobbits are left with the Isengarders. To Uglúk’s distaste, Grishnákh and his followers arrive from the east to rejoin the company and help deliver the hobbits. The Isengard orcs pick up the hobbits and start running, eventually overtaking the fleeing Northerners. Grishnákh spots the Rohirrim behind them and the orcs speed up, attempting to reach the forest, where the Rohirrim might not follow.
Though hobbits are resilient and skilled in finding joy in small victories, Merry and Pippin are now gloomy and downtrodden. The physical discomfort of their capture and the lack of hope of rescue makes it difficult for them to hold onto optimism. The fighting among the orcs leads to more desertion from the company. Rather than adhere to their duty and remain with the hobbits, the Northern orcs flee for their lives—a fundamental difference between themselves and the members of the Fellowship who remain devoted to their duty even through hardship and danger.
Themes
Pippin thinks the orcs might escape, but the horsemen surround them, driving the orcs along the river. All Pippin knows about the Rohirrim is that Gandalf’s horse Shadowfax comes from their land, a thought which sounds hopeful. Still, Pippin wonders how the horsemen will know that he and Merry aren’t orcs, since they probably haven’t heard of hobbits. He figures it’s likely that he and Merry will be killed “together with their captors” before the Rohirrim even know they’re there. The riders pick off orcs with arrows until nightfall, but don’t actually engage them in battle, instead waiting for sunrise.
Though the Rohirrim might recue them if they could, it’s more likely the hobbits will be killed accidentally in the battle. Still guarded by the orcs and now surrounded by the Rohirrim, Pippin doesn’t see any way they can escape with their lives. The hobbits seem doomed to be treated as baggage or collateral damage, things to be rescued or carelessly destroyed by others, unable (at the moment, anyway) to meaningfully take action for themselves.
Themes
Grishnákh mocks the leadership of Uglúk, who orders the hobbits to be tied up and kept away from the horsemen. Uglúk explains why they can’t just charge at the Rohirrim, who see too well at night for it to be an effective attack. This appeases the Isengard orcs, but the others are still frustrated and rebellious. Merry is too exhausted to crawl even if they could escape, but Pippin remembers that they have some lembas to eat.
Uglúk’s hold over the orc company becomes more tenuous with the return of Grishnákh and the threat of the Rohirrim; they seem to be nearing the point of all-out mutiny. The hobbits are weary in both body and mind after their ordeal, but Pippin has an optimistic thought: if they find an opportunity to escape, they can fortify themselves—body and mind—with lembas.
Themes
When Uglúk and the Isengarders are drawn away by a shout from the side of the company, Grishnákh searches the hobbits. Pippin realizes that he’s looking for the Ring and wonders if he can use Grishnákh’s desire to escape. Impersonating Gollum, Pippin tells Grishnákh that “It” isn’t easy to find, and then adds “my precious.” Pippin offers to exchange the location of the Ring for their freedom, but Grishnákh isn’t tempted since Sauron can get the information out of them, which is why they’re being kept alive. Merry then tries to convince him that Saruman will take the Ring for himself when they reach Isengard, and Grishnákh won’t get any credit with Sauron for delivering the hobbits.
Remembering the lembas gives Pippin the burst of hope and energy necessary to form a plan. The hobbits attempt to use Grishnákh’s own treacherous nature against him by turning him against Uglúk and the other members of his company. Pippin has been listening intently and recognizes the way Grishnákh conceives of power (as something only one person can possess). By suggesting that he take the Ring directly to Sauron, where Grishnákh can take all the credit for delivering it, the hobbits have a chance to bargain for their freedom or escape.
Themes
Grishnákh loses his temper, asking if either of them has the Ring, but Merry demands again that they be freed before they tell him. Rather than untying them, Grishnákh grabs them violently and steals them away from the orc company. When he encounters a horseman, he draws his sword to kill the hobbits rather than let them be rescued, but an arrow pierces his hand, and he drops the sword. Another horseman kills him with a spear and the hobbits remain on the ground, unseen in their elven-cloaks and unharmed by the horses passing over them.
Though Grishnákh doesn’t take the hobbits’ bargain for their freedom, he is influenced enough by their persuasion to steal them away from the other orcs. His greed is repaid by the surrounding Rohirrim, who swiftly notice and kill him. Through a combination of Grishnákh’s selfishness and their own good luck, Merry and Pippin find themselves free from the orc company.
Themes
As Merry wonders how they might get away without being killed, there is a ruckus from the orcs who have discovered the hobbits’ disappearance. Other orcs arrive and begin to attack the horsemen, and the hobbits realize that they’re outside the circle of the Rohirrim and able to escape. Pippin drops the cut ropes around his wrists, and the two eat lembas, which reminds them of happy memories. Pippin then grabs Grishnákh’s knife and cuts through the rest of their ropes.
Pippin’s plans, though he despaired of them ever working, have all contributed to their escape. With his hands already freed during the brawl when he first awoke, Pippin is able to reach their lembas and cut their other bindings. The lembas doesn’t only give them the physical strength to continue fleeing from the approaching fight, but also provides them with a calm moment of emotional respite after all the terror and hopelessness of their captivity.
Themes
Merry and Pippin crawl away until they’re able to walk along the river towards the forest. The sounds of the battle die away behind them and the hobbits chat lightly about what happened since their capture. Merry praises Pippin for his resourcefulness and tells him he’ll “get almost a chapter in old Bilbo’s book.” He takes the lead from Pippin, since he knows where they are, and Pippin reminds him of the warnings they’ve heard about Fangorn forest.
Being worthy of earning a place in Bilbo’s book is the highest praise Merry can give Pippin, but he only thinks of it after the danger has passed. Any glory Pippin receives from his resourcefulness during their time with the orcs will be the byproduct of his heroism, not its motivation. In the moment, Pippin was motivated only by necessity.
Themes
Fleeing into the forest despite the warnings, Merry and Pippin hear men singing and the sounds of battle as the sun rises and the Rohirrim attack. They don’t stay to watch Uglúk be killed by Éomer’s sword at the edge of Fangorn or the bodies of the orcs be burned by the Rohirrim. No news of the orc raid ever reaches Isengard or Mordor, though many people see the smoke of the fire.
Unlike Pippin, who has heroically saved himself and Merry from their captors, the orcs have done nothing worth remembering. No news of the hobbits ever reaches their masters Saruman or Sauron, and all their effort, fighting, and struggles for power amount to nothing. The hobbits’ and orcs’ contrasting fates suggest that while doing what’s necessary is often honorable, fighting for power rightfully comes to nothing.
Themes
