Q: Does Light Really Hurt the Orcs?
ANSWER: No. Orcs were not harmed by the light, although many readers have inferred as much. There are a few passages that readers sometimes misunderstand, thus concluding wrongly that Orcs were harmed or weakened by the sun. For example, in The Silmarillion we find:
Thus because of the curse that lay upon them the Noldor achieved nothing, while Morgoth hesitated, and the dread of light was new and strong upon the Orcs….
There is a passage in “The Battle of the Pelennor Fields” where Tolkien writes:
East rode the knights of Dol Amroth driving the enemy before them: troll-men and Variags and orcs that hated the sunlight….
In “The Departure of Boromir” Legolas describes Orcs’ reluctance to venture out into “the open under the sun”:
‘Unless our enemies rest also, they will leave us far behind, if we stay to sleep.’ said Legolas. ‘Surely even Orcs must pause on the march?’ said Gimli. ‘Seldom will Orcs journey in the open under the sun. yet these have done so,’ said Legolas. ‘Certainly they will not rest by night.’
One of the most oft-cited passages is this one from “The Uruk-hai”:
The orc-band began to descend a narrow ravine leading down into the misty plain below. Merry and Pippin, separated by a dozen Orcs or more, climbed down with them. At the bottom they stepped on to grass, and the hearts of the hobbits rose.
‘Now straight on!’ shouted Uglúk. ‘West and a little north. Follow Lugdush.’
‘But what are we going to do at sunrise?’ said some of the Northerners.
‘Go on running,’ said Uglúk. ‘What do you think? Sit on the grass and wait for the Whiteskins to join the picnic?’
‘But we can’t run in the sunlight.’
‘You’ll run with me behind you,’ said Uglúk. ‘Run! Or you’ll never see your beloved holes again. By the White Hand! What’s the use of sending out mountain-maggots on a trip, only half trained. Run, curse you! Run while night lasts!’
Then the whole company began to run with the long loping strides of Orcs. They kept no order, thrusting, jostling, and cursing; yet their speed was very great. Each hobbit had a guard of three. Pippin was far back in the line. He wondered how long he would be able to go on at this pace: he had had no food since the morning. One of his guards had a whip. But at present the orc-liquor was still hot in him. His wits, too, were wide-awake.
The northern Orcs from Moria claim they cannot run in the sunlight — and yet the narrative shows that they can indeed run in the sunlight. In fact, Orcs were capable of enduring great tasks in the sunlight; most of the major battles of the Wars of Beleriand were fought in broad daylight.
Were Orcs really weakened by the sun or were they simply so afraid of it that they struggled with it psychologically? Tolkien leaves it to the reader to discern how much the Orcs were capable of doing in sunlight, but he provides many clues. They preferred to act at night but they like all living creatures needed light to see by. They use torches and lanterns in many scenes which take place at night.
To resolve the question fairly, we can point to how Sauron’s dark skies made Men fearful and despairing when he attacked Gondor. One might view the sunlight as having a similar effect on Orcs. When Morgoth or Sauron were directly concentrating on the Orcs the Orcs might overcome their feelings of weakness in daylight; if their powerful masters’ thoughts were elsewhere, the Orcs would be less willing to engage in daytime activities under open sunlight. But clearly they were capable of fighting great battles in daylight and therefore could not have been physically diminished or harmed in the same way that stone trolls were harmed by sunlight.
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