Tolkien seems to obliquely be hinting at something in this chapter. Can't quite put my finger on it . . . perhaps it's that it's difficult to get into Mordor . . . yep. I think that's what he was trying to say.
What really needs to happen is Middle Earth needs a U.N., so that the forces of good can have Mordor join, and then they could work things out. Why not a little diplomacy? Did anyone think of that? I guess the only problem with that is that Mordor would probably get a veto vote, being a world super-power and all.
The U.S. could probably take that Mordor nonsense on, though. We wouldn't need Frodo to infiltrate into Mordor, to cast away a puny ring. We'd nuke the orcs! And the good thing is, since Mordor is already the equivalent of nuclear fallout, there would be no collateral impact to the environment.
Perhaps that is what the ring itself symbolizes--nuclear technology. Using the power corrupts, and leads to another tyrant. But, wait, I guess that metaphor is no good, cause that would make us the bad guys. Shoot.
Let's try again. Err, oh shucks. Who am I kidding? I just don't have much to say about this chapter. Frodo, Sam and Gollum see an impassable wall, Gollum suggests an alternate route, and off they go. The wall represents an obvious hurdle the protagonists must overcome. It is a literal obstacle. (I suppose sometimes chapters really aren't built for commentary.)
I guess one thing I could say is that entering into the land of evil is a common trope. You have to go into the villain's lair to do the deed. Here, Mordor is becoming more real than ever, and you get a sense what a horrible place this is. Tolkien does a great job of establishing mood. I enjoyed the chapter. But I don't have much to say about it.
So what you're telling me is that *we* were the real Mordor all along?! Deep man.
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