The Two Towers: Book 3, Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

The scene with Pippin and the ball is frightening and confusing. Just as Pippin doesn’t know what the ball is or what’s happening to him, neither does the reader, and both must wait for Gandalf’s help. Pippin is deeply shaken by his experience speaking to Sauron through the ball and appears more afraid now than he ever has in physical peril. Sauron, as Pippin describes him, is arrogant, mocking, and cruel. Though neither Pippin nor Sauron specify what the “dainty” is, the reader can infer it means either the Ring or the hobbit carrying it (Frodo).

Though Pippin made a nearly catastrophic blunder in accidentally contacting Sauron, the quest isn’t endangered, partially because of Sauron’s own arrogance and cruelty. He wastes his opportunity to interrogate Pippin because he believes he can retrieve him from Orthanc to torture in person in Mordor. Gandalf reassures and forgives Pippin, despite the seriousness of his transgression—which he knew was wrong and which could easily have led Sauron to the Ring—and the matter is quickly closed. Gandalf’s mercy and matter-of-fact attitude contrast with Sauron’s relish for brute power and control.

Hobbits, Gandalf has learned from his long history with them, are so resilient and have such capacity for joy and optimism that he believes Pippin will recover as quickly from this ordeal as he does from any traumatic event. The palantír can tempt those who touch it—a power similar to the Ring’s, though less potent. Gandalf believes Aragorn can withstand the temptation and advises that they keep it away from Pippin to avoid tempting him further. Though Gandalf trusts both Aragorn and Pippin, he also understands that even the best people are fallible and susceptible to corruption, and so he gives Aragorn his warnings anyway.

Pippin’s theft has become a very fortunate accident. It wouldn’t necessarily be catastrophic for Sauron to know Gandalf still lives, but Sauron’s ignorance of the fact gives them a slight advantage. Still, there are consequences to Pippin’s actions, and they’re swift. Sauron has sent his Nazgûl, and once he realizes the hobbit isn’t in Orthanc, he’ll send the fearsome creatures to search the surrounding countryside. The party that rode to Isengard has to split up and leave the area as quickly and stealthily as possible. Despite the disastrous night and his separation from Pippin, Merry still finds the energy to comfort himself with a little joke about Pippin getting his wish.

The palantíri, like so many other things in Middle-earth, have fallen from a just and noble use (protecting and uniting Gondor) to a nefarious purpose. So too has Saruman, in turn, been corrupted through the palantír. Gandalf’s readiness to forgive Pippin for the theft now becomes clearer; if Saruman was corrupted by the palantír, and Gandalf also feels a compulsion towards it, it would be unreasonable of him to expect a young hobbit to resist.

For now, Sauron’s hastiness in letting Pippin go has only caused him confusion. His arrogance and belief in his own power have twice been proven weaknesses, not strengths as they first appear. He still has no idea the Fellowship seeks to destroy the Ring and now lost his only clue to finding it. While Sauron’s incredible power makes him a dangerous enemy, it also causes him to make critical mistakes. Whether Pippin’s theft of the palantír will ultimately help or hurt them is not yet clear. Still, Pippin seems largely unharmed by his ordeal, and greatly comforted by Gandalf’s closeness. His friends are split apart again, as they were at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, but, like then, they each have a commitment to duty and their own part to play in the defense of Middle-earth.