I spy with my little eye.....

[Isowen]

Bilbo complains that the ring, "was like an eye looking at me"
When Frodo sees the eye of Sauron in Galadriel's mirror, he is frozen with fear. So just one question........why would Sauron appaer as a one eye?

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

After Sauron's defeat in the battle of Dagorlad, he wasn't able to embody himself. As we know, he didn't die but his spirit just couldn't take a new form. The 'Eye of Sauron', however, is a plain reference to his sleeples attentivenes and wickedness. There wasn't any gigantic eye hanging out in Barad-dûr's pinnacle. The movie makers just got a bit carried away.

[Elianna]

One great eye, lidless, wreathed in flame, whose gaze pierces cloud, shadow, earth, and flesh. If nothing else, that's kinda creepy, good scare tactic.

An eye because that means he's looking, searching everywhere, and I mean everywhere for his Ring. "You cannot hide. I see you." "If I put it on, he'll find me. He'll see."

One because that shows how single minded he is in his persuit. "He is seeking it, seeking it. All his thought is bent on it."

(Sorry I can't think of any more quotes from the book, but that why I think he's an Eye.)

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Genius symbolism.

[Boromir88]

The spotlight of Sauron is the cheesiest thing PJ could have ever done. LOL, why don't they just sound the alarm and call SWAT (Sauron's wicked a** trolls). Anyway on to the "Eye of Sauron," since I've shown my extreme hatred towards the whole "spotlight" thing.

Most people have this covered, it was just to symbolize Sauron was watching you, even if you were a ring-bearer or not he was watching. Glorfindel points out in Rivendell,

Council of Elrond
"But in any case" said Glorfindel, "to send the ring to him (Bombadil) would only postpone the day of evil. He is far away. We could not take it back to him, unguessed, unmarked by any spy...

That is just one quote from the book of Sauron's "watchfullness." He has his 9 riders also going around searching for the Ring "watching" for him, well did, they're horses were drowned in Bruinen.

[The Perky Ent]

Wait a minute! Are Sauron and Santa Claus related? Think about it! They see you when your sleeping. They see when you're awake! Is this some kinda North Pole -> Mordor conspiricy?

[Boromir88]

So that's why I got this golden ring with a strange inscription on it for Christmas from Santa. I knew they were in this together!

Here Perky let me finish the tune.

"He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake
he knows if you've been bad or good so you better be...er...bad for badness sake"

[Elianna]

Sorry to continue on this tangent....

Another way Santa and Sauron are related: Forcing elves to do their will! Sauron's elves just happen to already be turned into orcs. I don't think Santa's elves are far from being changed. How can the elves, lovers of nature and all things that grow, survive in the frozen desert of the North Pole?!

[Encaitare]

I wonder how long it'll be before this thread is closed, or we're reprimanded for going completely OT... but I'll jump on the bandwagon. Maybe they're stragglers from when the elves crossed the Helcaraxe. They have since evolved into smaller creatures better suited to the icy environment.

[The Perky Ent]

But back to the eye. The omni-presense of an eye looming over the world strikes more fear then

"It's evil! Very evil! But it doesn't really exsist...well it does! But it's not in any kinda form. It's just there"

I've always thought of Santa...and Clowns for that matter to be crazy stalkers. And if Sauron has to resort to their level to be scary, then why shouldn't he?

[Son of Númenor]

Sauron was never just an eye. And he could and did take physical form after Isildur took the Ring; specifically, he took physical form circa the years leading up to the War of the Ring.

[Guinevere]

originally posted by DancingSpawn of Ungoliant:

After Sauron's defeat in the battle of Dagorlad, he wasn't able to embody himself. As we know, he didn't die but his spirit just couldn't take a new form.

As Son of Numenor says, this isn't so - Sauron did have a body! He's just never described, since none of the protagonists have ever seen him.

"Then Sauron was vanquished and his spirit fled and was hidden for long years, until his shadow took shape again."

Someone has seen him, though: Gollum! He tells Frodo that

He has only four (fingers) on the black hand, but they are enough.

In letter #200 Tolkien wrote:

....It was thus that Sauron appeared in this shape. It is mythologically supposed that when this shape was "real" (that is a physical actuality in the world and not a vision) it took some time to build up. It was then destructible like other physical organisms. But that of course did not destroy the spirit, nor dismiss it from the wolrd to which it was bound until the end.
After the battle with Gil-Galad and Elendil, Sauron took a long while to re-build, longer than he had done after the Downfall of Númenor. (I suppose because each building-up used some of the inherent energy of the spirit, which might be called the "will" or the effetive link between the indestructible mind and being and the realization of its imagination.)

And a quote from letter #246

Sauron should be thought of as very terrible. The form he took was that of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic.

[Boromir88]

Also other proof is found in the palantir, when Pippin sees the Dark lord in the Palantir. We know this has to be evidence because Sauron can't "alter" the Palantir, I mean what the Palantir show's is reality, he can't change it. If I lost you, because sometimes I don't know how to word things, here's an example...lol.

Ok, Sauron can't make the palantir "lie." For example, say Sauron has 10,000 orcs, in the palantir you'll see that 10,000 orcs, he can't make the palantir lie and show you 40,000 orcs. Hopefully, I've made it a little clearer.

[Son of Númenor]

Legolas provided this quote from the Letters in Sauron - Physical Form In the War of the Ring or Not?:

In his actual presence none but very few of equal stature could have hoped to withhold it from him. Of 'mortals' no one, not even Aragorn. In the contest with the Palantír Aragorn was the rightful owner. Also the contest took place at a distance, and in a tale which allows the incarnation of great spirits in a physical and destructible form their power must be far greater when actually physically present. Sauron should be thought of as very terrible. The form that he took was that of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic. In his earlier incarnation he was able to veil his power (as Gandalf did) and could appear as a commanding figure of great strength of body and supremely royal demeanour and countenance (Letters, #246).