"The Palantír" - Eric's Thoughts

The title of this chapter tells you immediately what is going to happen: that Pippin is going to have a second look at the crystal ball. The execution does not disappoint. For a couple of pages Pippin wonders aloud what's in the crystal ball, and Merry tells him to mind his own business. It's the stuff of wizards, he says, so you best forget about it. Pippin tosses and turns, and can't forget about it.

Instead, he tip-toes over to Gandalf and puts a palantir-sized rock in Gandalf's hands while Gandalf snores. This is a scene that we have all read before a million times, but we love it each time. It reminds us when we would sneak cookies from on top of the fridge. (Yes, I am guilty of this too.)

The crystal ball is revealed to be a telephone by which Saruman had been speed-dial chatting with Sauron. Gandalf also speculates that this was the fall of Saruman.

I guess Saruman should have chosen his speed-dial more carefully. Perhaps Tolkien's message here is that we should choose our friends more carefully. The people we talk to have the biggest influence on us. Saruman shouldn't have kept talking with Sauron. Perhaps if he had just said, "you know, Sauron, I really like you, and all, but I just can't hang out with you anymore. You don't support my values," then this never would have happened.

The problem is, that once Saruman had beheld evil, he could not turn away. The images and despair of inevitable defeat drove him to conclude, logically, that to join with Sauron's juggernaut was the only viable option. In a Citizens United world, these themes are still applicable today.